Steak Diane
Serves 4
In former times, these savory (and simple) steaks were a popular dish to cook table-side in a chafing dish. When you ignite the cognac, the resulting pillar of fire makes for great drama in a darkened dining room. For a fun retro evening, you can replicate this trick with an electric skillet.
It’s trivially easy, but you need to have absolutely everything prepared, portioned, measured out, and arranged at hand before you start. The cooking itself is simple and goes very quickly.
Just observe a simple safety tip: do not ever pour liquor directly from the bottle when cooking.
Ingredients #
- 2 flat iron or top blade steaks
- 2 tbsp. butter
- 2 tbsp. minced shallots
- 2 tsp. minced garlic
- ½ cup Cognac or brandy
- 1 ½ tbsp. Dijon mustard
- ½ cup heavy cream
- ½ cup reduced veal or beef stock
- 1 ¼ tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
- 4 drops Tabasco sauce
- 2 tbsp. finely chopped scallions
- 1 tbsp. minced parsley
Instructions #
Trim the steaks of excess fat and cut each in half horizontally to create two 6 to 8 ounce steaks. Gently pound the steaks between sheets of waxed paper to flatten them to a uniform ¼ inch thickness. Season on both sides with salt and pepper.
Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. When the foam subsides, add the meat and cook for 1 minute on each side. Remove the steaks to a plate and set aside.
Reduce heat to medium-low and add the shallots and garlic. Sauté until translucent, about 1 minute.
Increase heat to high. Add the Cognac and ignite (carefully!) with a match. Cook, scraping the bottom of the pan, until the flame dies out.
Add the mustard and cream, stir to combine, and cook for 1 minute. Add the veal stock and simmer for an additional minute.
Add the Worcestershire and Tabasco and stir to combine. Return the steaks and any accumulated juices to the pan, and turn the meat to coat with the sauce.
Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the scallions and parsley. Divide the medallions and sauce between 4 plates and serve immediately.