Figuring out which steak dish to cook from The New Steak took some time. They all sounded good. I narrowed it down to three and asked Mr. L to choose. I knew he'd pick this recipe since he is such a big fan of cherries. It worked out that I was able to go to the local farmers market and get some fresh cherries from one of the stands (I had to try each and every stand that sold cherries before hand of course).
The recipe called for rib eye steaks. Though that's a favorite of ours, Mr. L was in the mood for some skirt steak so what the heck, we used that instead. The recipe said rib steaks were great to use in this recipe because of their "robust flavor", but we thought the skirt steak worked fine.
I wish it had said the amount of shallots or how much beef to be used. When I find shallots they are either really small or really large, so I would prefer them saying "a fourth of a cup" or something. And since we switched steaks I wasn't sure how much skirt steak was comparable to 4 rib steaks. That concerned me at first, and I tried to remember not to worry about measuring. I realize it probably didn't matter but I would have been more comfortable knowing rough sizes...I know, I know, just get over it.
It also didn't tell me what temp to cook the sauce at. Though I used the chicken juices as requested, it still took me an extra twenty minutes to reduce the sauce and I probably didn't get it as thick and "jammy" as they wanted...hey, we were hungry, our brains said dinner was ready in 15 minutes and we'd already made it 20 minutes late....
We put this on Cauliflower Mash (recipe included in the book but you can find similar online or in South Beach). The book says to put the mash in the food processor to make it a smooth mash, but did I mention we were hungry? I just mashed it with a potato masher and it came out fine for the dish.
We also didn't grill or pan fry the steak as suggested. We put it under the broiler til it was medium rare.
This turned out really good. The cherry sauce reduction worked really well with the skirt steak and I assume it would taste just as good with a rib eye. Lots of flavor in the cherry sauce. It all went great with the cauliflower mash and I can see it over potatoes too.
RIB STEAK WITH BING CHERRY-PINOT NOIR REDUCTION
4 rib steaks, bone-in or boneless
1 teaspoon kosher salt
Olive oil for rubbing
For Sauce:
2 shallots, minced
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 cups pinot noir, or Shiraz or Merlot
2 dozen fresh Bing cherries, pitted
3 tablespoons chicken juices or 1/2 cup chicken stock
Prepare the steaks by salting them, and then let them come to room temperature. Rub with a bit of olive oil just before cooking.
To make the sauce, quickly saute the shallots in 2 tablespoons of the butter to soften, about 2 minutes. Add the wine, cherries, and chicken juices before the butter browns. Cook the sauce 10 to 15 minutes, to reduce to about 1/2 cup, stirring frequently. When it's done, the sauce should be thick and rich-the consistency of heated jam. If you're working with chicken stock, not chicken juices, reduce the sauce a little longer-as long as twenty minutes. Set the sauce aside until the steaks are resting.
(The book gives directions on how to grill rib eyes or pan fry them. We just put our skirt steaks under the broiler about 3-4 minutes a side to get them medium rare.)
However you cook your steaks, check for doneness often (an instant-read thermometer 130 degrees F for medium rare). After cooking, rest the steaks for 5 minutes in a warming oven (170 degrees F) or on a warm plate under a loose tent of foil.
While the steaks are resting, finish the sauce by gently reheating and adding that final 1 tablespoon of butter. Next, get your plates ready with the steak and a neat scoop of Cauliflower Mash. The sauce should go over the steak last. Serves 4
Note: I used the chicken cooking juices which is a recipe found in the book. I assume that the chicken stock would work just as well. I used Merlot.
Note: The sauce was very tasty and I think it would also go well with chicken.
Note: Husbands make very good cherry pitters.
OH, that looks soooo good! A husband that pits cherries??? Wow! I'm really impressed. Seriously!
Posted by: sher | July 02, 2008 at 01:45 AM
Oh my, that looks good!!!
Posted by: peabody | July 02, 2008 at 01:54 AM
holy smokes, that sauce sounds utterly amazing. i'll take a bowl of it, with a pinch of steak on the side. :)
Posted by: grace | July 02, 2008 at 02:28 AM
i'd make this in a heartbeat if i could only find the cherry-pitting husband...
Posted by: NotSoccer Mom | July 02, 2008 at 09:09 AM
Simply mouthwatering!!! There's gotta be some award for showing such self-restraint to photograph with marvel before digging in.
Posted by: Louise | July 02, 2008 at 09:19 AM
Wow, does that steak look gorgeous or what? I'm keeping this recipe, as a big fan of cherries. Thanks for sharing!
Posted by: Miri | July 02, 2008 at 11:27 PM
Now this is a meal for me. It's so very beautiful!
Posted by: noble pig | July 03, 2008 at 07:20 AM
That steak with cherry sauce sounds really tasty!
Posted by: Kevin | July 03, 2008 at 05:31 PM
I hate that the seasons in the South Pole are opposed to the seasons in the North Pole (you're in Summer... us, in Winter) cause I can't get the ingredients!! I guess I'll have to wait some months to get the cherries.
*Thanks for your comment in my blog
Posted by: Isa | July 03, 2008 at 06:48 PM
Oh wow! It's only 8:45 a.m. here but I want steak!
Posted by: Jan | July 04, 2008 at 05:45 AM