A Chef’s Guide To Nailing A Cast Iron Seared NY Strip Steak

NY strip steaks go nicely with potato parsnip puree. This is getting finished with fried parsnip and red wine pan sauce. All the ingredients and procedures for putting this incredible, chef quality steak dinner is spelled out below. This could easily be on a menu at a steak house that would be a hit seller.

Ingredients:

- Pan seared NY Strip:

1 x 12 - 14 oz ny strip steak

3 tbsp tallow or other high temperature oil

Kosher salt done by 1 % weight of the meat

2 tbsp unsalted butter

3 garlic cloves

2 sprig thyme

- Potato parsnip puree:

8 mini gold potatoes

3 parsnip

2 tbsp butter

Pinch salt

Pinch black pepper

- Red wine pan sauce:

1 glass red wine

1/4 c heavy cream

1 shallot, mineced

1 clove garlic, minced

1 sprig thyme

- Fried parsnip:

2 parsnips, shaved with vegetable peeler

2 qt frying oil such as canola

Tools needed:

Sharp knife

Cutting board

Digital scale

Vegetable peeler

Food mill or immersion blender

Small stock pot

Cast iron skillet

Spoons

Slotted spoon

Large mixing bowl

How to make it:

First up, the steak needs to get seasoned. For this to be a quality steak that is elite level, we need to calculate the amount of salt needed to season the steak. This is done by weighing the meat in grams and calculating 1 % for the amount of salt needed. In the example from my video, the steak weighed 320 g. Example: 320 x .01 = 3.2 g salt needed.

Pat the steak dry and season it on all sides with the calculated amount of salt. This amount equaled about 1 tsp kosher salt for a visual reference. This method works perfectly as the steak will always be seasoned properly no matter what the weight is. Let the steak rest on the counter while the potato parsnip puree and fried parsnips get made.

For the potato parsnip puree, peel and wash the potatoes and parsnip. Halve the potatoes. For the parsnips, cut off the ends, peel, and cut into pieces about the same size as the potato pieces. In lightly salted boiling water, blanch the potatoes and parsnip for about 8 minutes or until fork tender.

Using a food mill for the puree gives the potato and parsnip a velvety smooth texture.

Put together the food mill with the medium sized disk. Process the potatoes and parsnips until you used them all up over a mixing bowl. Add butter, salt and pepper and mix thoroughly to incorporate. This puree should be smooth and well seasoned.

For the fried parsnip, peel the outer skin and discard. Peel again around the parsnip lengthwise until it is peeled down to its core. You will end up with long ribbons of parsnip. In oil heated to 350 f, fry the parsnips for a couple minutes until they are a nice golden brown, stirring if needed. Keep an eye on them as they burn quickly. Remove from the oil with slotted spoon to a paper towel lined plate and season with salt and pepper.

Now, for the star of the show, the NY strip steak.

Heat your cast iron pan over medium high heat until the pan starts to smoke. Turn on your hood vent and add the fat to the pan. I prefer to use tallow when cooking beef steaks as it can handle high heat. Pat the meat dry with a paper towel, do not skip this step. If the steak has a decent fat cap, render it first for about 30 seconds. Cook the steak on the first side for about 1-1/2 minutes for a 1 inch thick steak to be medium rare. Flip steak over, sear that side for 30 seconds before adding butter, garlic cloves and thyme to the pan. Once you add in the butter, melt through and tilt the pan slightly so the melted fat pools to once side of the pan. Spoon the hot butter over the steak while it finishes searing on the last side for the last minute. during this process, place the garlic and thyme on top of the steak and spoon the hot butter over the top. As the hot butter runs off the garlic and thyme, it flavors the meat. Remove from the pan on a plate to rest for the time it takes to make the red wine pan sauce. At this time, reduce the pan heat to medium low.

To start the sauce add in 2 tbsp butter and the shallots. Add a pinch of salt to the shallot and sweat for 2 - 3 minutes until they begin to turn translucent. As the shallot sweats, scrape any browned bits from the bottom of the pan. This is great flavor. Add the garlic and sweat for about 1 minute to cook the rawness off. Deglaze the pan with the wine and add the thyme sprig. Turn up the pan heat to medium and bring the wine to a simmer. Continue to simmer cooking off the alcohol and reducing the wine to about 2 tbsp.

Reduce the wine and cream for a nice depth of flavor.

Add the cream and continue to simmer until the sauce is reduced and a spoon leaves a streak when scraped on the bottom of the pan that holds for 1/2 of a second. Turn off the heat and tasted the sauce adding more salt and pepper if desired. Remove the thyme sprig and discard. Once the sauce is finished, plate and serve immediately. In the restaurant, I would strain the solids from the sauce before serving over the steak.

Plate the steak beginning with the potato parsnip puree, the steak, the fried parsnip and finally the sauce.

Enjoy!

Logan