Step by Step Series: Steak, chips and mushroom sauce

Steak, chips and mushroom sauce are classics and although not difficult, working out the steps and understanding how to cook is half the battle. I hope that with everything set out below for you that if you have not given it a try, you will. Victoria has been testing my timings and the steps and said this was one of the nicest meals she has cooked.

When I first started cooking steak I really struggled to cook it well - I either had undercooked steak or a kitchen full of smoke. I know there are tried and tested methods but honestly none worked for me.  I now realise that I was never going to be successful as my steak wasn’t at room temp, I did not have the pan at the right temperature and using a griddle pan was all wrong because there is no oil and it caused a lot of smoke in the kitchen.  All of these things really put me off.   I also found it was never as cooked as I had thought, probably because there just isn't the contact to give you the dark crust. You need to be brave when cooking steak.

Fillet is wonderful but it is the most expensive, if you want a more cost effective steak to cook with this method then pick either rump, sirloin or rib-eye.  My favourite is rib-eye because I like my steak cooked medium and I love the flavour from the fat.  When buying steak, go for thick cuts as this will help get a good colour and crust without overcooking the inside.

These gorgeous potatoes I’ve chosen for this sit somewhere between a chip and a roastie and work so well with the mushroom sauce.  They are really delicious, really moreish and super easy. The fact they are cooked in the oven works here and makes keeping control much easier.

This dish is finished off with a full flavoured mushroom sauce and buttered broccoli, both of which are perfect with the steak and chippies.

One of the most important things to remember is that your meat must be at room temperature before you begin to cook as cold meat will cause the temperature in the pan to really drop and you risk stewing your steak as the pan struggles to get back up to temperature.  This means removing the steaks from the fridge 30 mins - 1 hour before you start to cook.

You need to have the heat high enough when you start to cook and keep it high because otherwise the juices start to come out of the steak and it tends to stew rather than getting that deep wonderful crust on it.  The golden brown crust will really give you a great taste.  You also need to not fiddle once you start to cook, put your steak in and leave it alone without moving or touching it for the first few minutes. 

Preparation 15 mins
Cooking time 1 hour

Ingredients
600g Vivaldi potatoes, peeled
Oil (I like corn oil but vegetable or sunflower will work just as well)
2 x 225g  steak, whatever cut you prefer
50g + 2 tsp of butter
100g broccoli spears, sugar snaps or asparagus
1 tsp sugar
Salt and seasoning
Black pepper, freshly ground

Ingredients for mushroom sauce
10g butter
125g mushrooms, sliced
1 shallots, finely chopped
2 tsp porcini powder
70ml marsala
125ml chicken stock
70ml double cream
1 tbsp finely chopped parsley (optional)
Salt
Pepper

Method

Remove the steaks from the fridge 30 mins - 1 hour before you start to cook to allow them to come up to room temp.

Heat the oven to 180c. Put 2 tbsp oil into a large baking dish and put into the cold oven while you prepare your potatoes. If the pan isn’t large, increase the temp to 200c.

Cut your peeled potatoes into little chunks (around 2.5cm) - they need to be roughly the same size but don't stress too much.

Take a carrier bag and wash the inside fully.  Don’t worry about drying it because this is what you are using to steam your potatoes and the wet bag will help to create the steam earlier.

Take the washed carrier bag and put the potatoes in it and tie a knot in the bag so that no steam can escape.  Put the bag into the microwave on full power for 5 minutes.  If you do not have a microwave you can par boil them for 5 mins but you will need to drain them very well.

Carefully put the potatoes into the hot oil and put into the oven for 30-40 mins, turning every 10 mins until they are golden. 

Meanwhile prep the vegetables for the mushroom sauce and then rub oil into the steaks and season with salt and pepper.

When the chippies are golden, turn the oven down to 80c, season the chippies and put back into the oven. Put an oven dish into the oven for the steak.

Put a frying pan over a high heat and when smoking hot, add the steaks one at a time, moving them for the first few seconds so they don’t stick. Now leave the steaks alone for 2 mins for rare and 3 for medium to develop the deep dark crust. Turn over and repeat.

Put 50g butter into the pan and start to baste the steak with the hot melted butter for around a min.

Remove the steak from the pan and put into the oven dish. Turn off the heat and allow to rest in a warm oven.

In the steak pan, without cleaning it out, cook mushrooms until the juice has come out and evaporated and the mushrooms are starting to go golden, then add the shallots and cook until the mushrooms have browned and the shallots are soft. Stir through the porcini powder.

Add the Marsala and flambé. Cook until the flames subside and the liquid has reduced until almost gone.  Add the stock and bring to a simmer and cook for 3-5 mins until reduced by roughly half.  Add the cream and heat through.  Season with salt and pepper and the parsley if using.

Meanwhile put the green veg, the 2 tsp of butter, the sugar some salt and 2 tbsp of water into a pan and cook until the veg is softish with still a little bite.

While the stock is reducing and the veg cooking, drain the chippies on kitchen roll and check the seasoning.

Put the chips on to the plates, the steaks to the side and pour the sauce when cooked over half of the steak.

Enjoy your hard work - you have earned it.