Pan-Seared Steak With Red Wine Sauce
- Total Time
- 35 minutes
- Rating
- Notes
- Read community notes
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Ingredients
Yield:4 servings
- Kosher salt, as needed
- Freshly ground black pepper, as needed
- 1½pounds boneless steak, or 1¾ pounds bone-in steak (1½ inches thick)
- 2shallots
- 2½tablespoons unsalted butter
- ½teaspoon neutral oil, such as grapeseed
- 2tablespoons good brandy, preferably Cognac
- ⅓cup dry red wine
- ⅓cup beef or chicken stock, preferably homemade
- 1tablespoon chopped chives
- Watercress, for serving
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)
523 calories; 35 grams fat; 16 grams saturated fat; 2 grams trans fat; 15 grams monounsaturated fat; 2 grams polyunsaturated fat; 7 grams carbohydrates; 1 gram dietary fiber; 3 grams sugars; 36 grams protein; 656 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
Powered byPreparation
- Step 1
Generously sprinkle salt and pepper all over steaks, then let steaks rest uncovered for 15 minutes at room temperature. Meanwhile, mince the shallots.
- Step 2
Melt ½ tablespoon butter and the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat until almost smoking. Add steaks and cook until done to taste, about 3 to 4 minutes per side for rare and a little longer for medium-rare or medium. (Bone-in steaks take a few minutes longer to cook through than boneless.) If the pan begins to smoke or burn, lower the heat. Transfer steaks to a plate to rest while you prepare the sauce.
- Step 3
Add shallots to the skillet and cook over medium heat until lightly browned, about 1 minute. Add brandy to the skillet and use a long-handled match or igniter to set the brandy on fire. (Stand back when you do this.) Let flames die out, then add red wine and cook until reduced and syrupy, 2 to 4 minutes. Add stock and boil until reduced and thickened, 3 to 4 minutes longer.
- Step 4
Remove pan from heat and whisk in remaining 2 tablespoons butter and the chives. Serve steaks and sauce immediately with watercress.
Private Notes
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Cooking Notes
Stephen F
This is a great steak, but the cook in the video pours cognac directly from the bottle into a hot skillet over a flame. Don't do that. There's a chance, albeit a slim one, that fumes will ignite back to the bottle. In that case, you have a low-grade but dangerous version of a Molotov cocktail. I measure the liquor into a small cup, briefly remove the skillet from the heat, add the alcohol and light it. When the alcohol stops burning, I return the pan to the heat. Best to be safe.
KC
Recipe says mince . . .
Arlo
I undercooked the steak (by accident). I realized it after the sauce was made when I started to slice the meat. I removed the sauce and put the pieces of sliced steak back in the pan where the sauce had been (without cleaning the pan). It was so good I'll do it that way intentionally next time!
Violet
A wonderful method for many meats. Sub white wine, thyme, and mushrooms for chicken; add rosemary and garlic for pork. Try a splash of balsamic or herb vinegar with the wine.
Alan R
When did these videos all become buzzfeed-like, without commentary? I really value the commentary and explanation from Melissa Clark's older videos--they helped me figure out what was going on 'under the hood,' what was essential to the technique and what could be easily be ignored, substituted, etc.
tal
For those of us that don't cook professionally, the value of a good instant read thermometer cannot be overstated, especially when cooking expensive cuts of meat.
Laura
Because I didn't have cognac, I made the recipe without it, and it was delicious.
Eileen
In never use oil or butter in the cast iron I cook steaks in. No need. Also, have made this with mushrooms and a really good aged balsamic instead of brandy/wine. Delish! Cheaper too.
Walter
Add some flour, sprinkled through a tea sieve, to the sauce. Thickens the sauce into gravy - Dutch tradition.
Luther
Where has this sauce been all my life. Wow, really good. Don't add or subtract here. Just follow as written. Another winner from Melissa Clark. Thanks
J. Wong
Port works well in place of the red wine and brandy
chris
Made this just for me so used a smalll NY strip and half of the rest of the ingredients. It would have been better if I had also quartered the sauce. Next time.
Ted
I'm assuming the shallots should be chopped...
Es
I made the sauce to accompany a grilled steak and it was excellent. I thinly sliced the shallots and added them to melted butter in a small saucepan. After browning I added a bit of cognac and did not fire it up. It evaporated on its own in an instant. The wine and chicken stock also almost completely evaporated. Kept warm until just before serving, then whisked in the butter and chives. Delicious.
Sue Fisher
My husband gave this a big thumbs up. I followed the recipe exactly except that I cooked off the cognac rather than setting it on fire as I'm a klutz. The sauce compensated for the cheap cut of steak my husband's family sent to us as a gift.
Kimberly
This sauce tastes like it has a past. It has so much character and depth. Makes for a great Friday night meal. So easy. So so good.
Debbie G
Easy and delicious. Made for New Year's Eve along with the chocolate lava cake for two. Both are spectacular and make you look like a 5-star chef.
Jan Maugans
Perfect!
Dan
Perfect steak. For a 1-inch grass-fed boneless ribeye I cooked over medium high for 5 minutes a side (but not a second longer) for medium rare. The time it takes to make the sauce is enough for the steak to sit before slicing. While there is no beating the taste of good cognac, I've used bourbon and even, once, tequila with good effect. Sweet onion can sub for the shallot, but the shallot is better. Please pay attention to the advice to use a long-handled match or lighter.
Ngrimmick
I made this today using boneless sirloin. The steak was a little on the chewy side as this cut of beef tends to be but the sauce was spectacular! Like others, my husband & I found the steak a bit too rare for our liking, so we sliced it and tossed a few pieces back into the simmering sauce to cook through just for a minute or two and it was perfect!!
Brad
Absolutely fantastic recipe! One of the best steaks I’ve had! Great job Melissa!
lucy
What did I do wrong? The sauce was uninteresting and too rich, so buttery such that it dominated the other flavours. Other than not having chives, I followed the recipe. The brandy didn’t catch on fire…. But I doubt that would make this recipe so boring.
LAWKinMO
This was delicious; I switched recipes mid-gear to this one, calling for 1/3 cup wine instead of the 2/3 cup I'd already poured. I poured the extra wine back in the bottle, forgetting I'd already added Worcestershire to the wine. It actually didn't do much harm to the bottle of wine, but I'm considering it an excuse to braise something soon ...
Nadine
great flavors...I doubled the amount of stock and used flour to thicken the sauce as someone recommended. i also sieved out the shallots bc I didn't cut them small enough. next time I will double everything.
Cat
Delicious! I did make one major change, however. A long time ago when I was barely teen-age, a late Norwegian family friend told me his secret to all steak sauces: add berry jam. Any berry jam, but only the real, whole fruit stuff. A teaspoon or two, whisked in near the end. It elevates any sauce to the divine, and it did exactly that with this recipe. I thought his secret better shared than kept to myself…
Eric Friesen
This is a FABULOUS recipe, Melissa. Snowed in completely on the northern shore of Lake Ontario, Canada, and unable to join friends nearby for Christmas dinner, found a steak in the freezer, avoided the barbecue under two feet of snow, and had all the other essentials for this, so an amazing Christmas dinner for my wife and myself. Just followed the instructions and a new favorite was born.
Keith
Why not beef stock?
FrancesNapa
Terrific way to cook steak and so easy. I am going to use this recipe again and again. I think I will saute mushrooms with it next time, and I might even add some creme fraiche at the end. Be sure to generously add salt and pepper as I did not add enough, and I could tell it was under seasoned. Also, be sure to take it off the heat before it reaches your desired temperature as it continues to cook as it rests.
mwarden
I made this last night for friends. I added some sliced mushrooms with red onion instead of shallot because I had some that I want to use up. I’m not a big steak person, but this was delicious! I used a couple of filet mignon and a couple of sirloin steaks because I had several people to feed. Both of them came out excellent. I did use a meat thermometer to try to avoid over cooking them.
M Parlett
Holy guacamole. This is incredible. To those who noted that letting the steak rest in a 250 f oven allowed for a perfect medium steak: thank you! We also sliced the steak before serving and let it rest in the sauce. We roasted cubed russet potatoes at 425 f and allowed the steak another 10 minutes at that temperature. We used sirloin from Winn Dixie that was on special, and my chef husband was surprised at how good a cut it was.
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