Recipes, re-invented from cooking shows
Steak & Eggs, Sirloin 5 Ways
Prep. Time:
Baking Time:
Total Time:
1 hour 30 minutes
3 hours
2 days
Serves:
Serves 6
Buddha created this dish for America's Culinary Cup Season 1. It is a deconstructed steak and eggs built entirely from a single New York strip: the centre baked en croûte, a confit egg yolk, a sauce reduced from the trimmings, a hollandaise emulsified with the rendered fat cap, and a sirloin salt gr...
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Ingredients
FOR THE CUT, AND WHAT COMES OFF IT: Whole New York strip loin, fat cap intact, well aged — 1.4 kg / 3 lb — of which: centre section for the en croûte — 600 g / 1 lb 5 oz — of which: tail section for searing — 300 g / 10½ oz — of which: fat cap, for rendering — 150 g / 5½ oz — of which: trimmings and sinew, for the sauce — 250 g / 9 oz — of which: clean lean offcut, for the salt — 100 g / 3½ oz Beef dripping or neutral oil, to top up the rendered fat — about 400 ml / 14 fl oz
FOR THE SIRLOIN SALT: Lean beef offcut, sliced as thinly as possible — 100 g / 3½ oz Flaky sea salt — 30 g / 1 oz
FOR THE TRIMMINGS SAUCE: Beef trimmings, chopped small — 250 g / 9 oz Shallot, sliced — 1 large Carrot and celery, diced — 1 each Tomato purée — 1 tbsp Full-bodied red wine — 200 ml / 7 fl oz Good beef stock — 700 ml / 1¼ pints Thyme sprigs and bay leaf — 3 sprigs, 1 leaf Cold unsalted butter, to finish — 30 g / 1 oz
FOR THE PICKLED SHIMEJI: Rice vinegar — 150 ml / 5 fl oz Water — 100 ml / 3½ fl oz Caster sugar — 50 g / 1¾ oz Fine salt — 1 tsp Bay leaf — 1 Shimeji mushrooms, clusters separated — 200 g / 7 oz
FOR THE SIRLOIN EN CROÛTE: Chestnut mushrooms, very finely chopped — 300 g / 10½ oz Shallots, finely diced — 2 medium Unsalted butter — 30 g / 1 oz Thyme sprigs — 4 Dijon mustard — 1 tbsp Thin savoury crêpes, about 22 cm / 9 in — 2 All-butter puff pastry, chilled — 500 g / 1 lb 2 oz Egg yolk, beaten with 1 tbsp milk, to glaze — 1
FOR THE CONFIT EGG YOLKS: Egg yolks, very fresh — 6 Rendered beef fat, or neutral oil — 400 ml / 14 fl oz
FOR THE BEEF-FAT HOLLANDAISE: Egg yolks — 3 White wine vinegar, reduced with shallot and peppercorn — 2 tbsp reduced to 1 tbsp Rendered beef fat, warm and clear — 150 ml / 5 fl oz Clarified butter, warm — 50 g / 1¾ oz Lemon juice and salt — to taste
FOR THE SEARED SIRLOIN MEDALLIONS: Tail-section sirloin, cut into 6 medallions — 300 g / 10½ oz Rendered beef fat — 2 tbsp Flaky sea salt and cracked black pepper — to taste
EQUIPMENT: Dehydrator, or an oven that will hold 60–70°C / 140–160°F Spice grinder or small blender Probe thermometer Heavy roasting tray Wide, heavy frying pan Fine chinois or muslin Small deep pan or shallow ovenproof dish for the yolks
Method
DAY ONE
STEP 1: BREAK DOWN THE STRIP
Remove the fat cap in one piece and set it aside. Take the centre 600 g as a clean cylinder for the en croûte and the tail 300 g for the medallions. Keep every scrap of trim and sinew for the sauce, and set aside 100 g of clean lean meat for the salt. Nothing is discarded — that discipline is the dish.
STEP 2: MAKE THE SIRLOIN SALT
Slice the reserved lean offcut as thinly as you can, spread it in a single layer and dry at 60–70°C / 140–160°F for 6–8 hours until brittle and snapping cleanly. Cool completely, then grind to a powder with the flaky sea salt. Store airtight; it will take up moisture from the air within hours.
STEP 3: RENDER THE FAT CAP
Dice the cap and cook it very gently in a heavy pan for 45–60 minutes until the fat runs clear and the solids are golden. Strain and reserve. The cap alone will not yield everything the plate needs, so top the reserve up to about 600 ml with bought beef dripping or a neutral oil — the searing, the confit and the hollandaise all draw on the same pot, and the confit fat can be strained and reused once the yolks come out.
STEP 4: START THE TRIMMINGS SAUCE
Brown the trimmings hard in a little of the rendered fat, then add the shallot, carrot and celery. Add the tomato purée and cook it out for two minutes. Deglaze with the red wine and reduce until syrupy, add the stock, thyme and bay leaf, and simmer for 90 minutes. Strain through muslin, then reduce to about 200 ml / 7 fl oz — further than instinct suggests. It should coat a spoon heavily and taste assertively of beef rather than of stock. Chill.
STEP 5: PICKLE THE SHIMEJI
Bring the rice vinegar, water, caster sugar, fine salt and bay leaf to a boil. Separate the shimeji clusters and pat them thoroughly dry, then pour the hot liquor over them, cool and refrigerate overnight. Wet mushrooms going into the brine are what read as slippery later, so the drying is worth the minute it takes.
STEP 6: MAKE THE DUXELLES
Cook the chestnut mushrooms and shallots in the butter with the thyme over a moderate heat until every drop of moisture has gone and the mixture is dark and dry — 20–30 minutes, longer than feels necessary. A spoon drawn through it should leave a channel that holds with no liquid running back. Season and cool completely.
DAY TWO
STEP 7: SEAR AND WRAP THE CENTRE
Season the centre cylinder and sear it hard in rendered fat on all sides, 60–90 seconds a face. Cool, brush with the Dijon mustard, then roll tightly in the crêpes spread with the cold duxelles. Chill for 30 minutes.
STEP 8: BAKE THE EN CROÛTE
Wrap in the puff pastry, sealing the join underneath. Glaze, chill for 20 minutes, glaze again and score. Bake at 200°C / 400°F / gas 6 for 25–30 minutes to a core of 50°C / 122°F for rare-to-medium-rare. Rest for 15 minutes on a rack — the core will climb another 4–5°C. Catch the resting juices.
STEP 9: CONFIT THE EGG YOLKS
While the beef bakes, warm the rendered fat to 63°C / 145°F in a small deep pan. Slip in the yolks and hold at that temperature for 45 minutes. They should be set enough to lift whole and still liquid at the centre. Lift out on a slotted spoon, never tongs, and drain on kitchen paper. Cook one spare.
STEP 10: FINISH THE SAUCE
Reheat the reduced sauce, stir in the resting juices from the en croûte, then whisk in the cold butter off the heat. Do not thin it — it should nap heavily and read as beef on its own.
STEP 11: MAKE THE BEEF-FAT HOLLANDAISE
Whisk the yolks with the reduced vinegar over a bain-marie to a thick sabayon, then trickle in the warm beef fat and clarified butter together, warm rather than hot and in a thin stream. It will taste more savoury and hold a little firmer than a butter hollandaise. Season with lemon juice and salt and hold warm, not hot.
STEP 12: SEAR THE MEDALLIONS
Season the six medallions, get the pan and the rendered fat properly hot, and sear for 60–90 seconds a side for a deep crust and a rare centre. Rest for 3 minutes. This is the second cooking method, and it should look and taste emphatically like cooked steak — that legibility is the whole point of its presence.
STEP 13: PLATE
Carve the en croûte into six thick slices. On each plate set a slice of en croûte, a seared medallion beside it, a confit yolk, and a spoonful of hollandaise, with the sauce poured at the table. Lay a broad band of sirloin salt across the plate where it will be picked up with the meat — a visible band, not a dusting. Pickled shimeji alongside.
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Instructions
FOR THE CUT, AND WHAT COMES OFF IT:
Whole New York strip loin, fat cap intact, well aged — 1.4 kg / 3 lb
— of which: centre section for the en croûte — 600 g / 1 lb 5 oz
— of which: tail section for searing — 300 g / 10½ oz
— of which: fat cap, for rendering — 150 g / 5½ oz
— of which: trimmings and sinew, for the sauce — 250 g / 9 oz
— of which: clean lean offcut, for the salt — 100 g / 3½ oz
Beef dripping or neutral oil, to top up the rendered fat — about 400 ml / 14 fl oz
FOR THE SIRLOIN SALT:
Lean beef offcut, sliced as thinly as possible — 100 g / 3½ oz
Flaky sea salt (/interesting-ingredients/flaky-sea-salt)— 30 g / 1 oz
FOR THE TRIMMINGS SAUCE:
Beef trimmings, chopped small — 250 g / 9 oz
Shallot, sliced — 1 large
Carrot and celery, diced — 1 each
Tomato purée — 1 tbsp
Full-bodied red wine — 200 ml / 7 fl oz
Good beef stock — 700 ml / 1¼ pints
Thyme sprigs and bay leaf (/interesting-ingredients/bay-leaf)— 3 sprigs, 1 leaf
Cold unsalted butter, to finish — 30 g / 1 oz
FOR THE PICKLED SHIMEJI:
Rice vinegar — 150 ml / 5 fl oz
Water — 100 ml / 3½ fl oz
Caster sugar (/interesting-ingredients/caster-sugar)— 50 g / 1¾ oz
Fine salt — 1 tsp
Bay leaf — 1
Shimeji mushrooms, clusters separated — 200 g / 7 oz
FOR THE SIRLOIN EN CROÛTE:
Chestnut mushrooms, very finely chopped — 300 g / 10½ oz
Shallots, finely diced — 2 medium
Unsalted butter — 30 g / 1 oz
Thyme sprigs — 4
Dijon mustard (/interesting-ingredients/dijon-mustard)— 1 tbsp
Thin savoury crêpes, about 22 cm / 9 in — 2
All-butter puff pastry, chilled — 500 g / 1 lb 2 oz
Egg yolk, beaten with 1 tbsp milk, to glaze — 1
FOR THE CONFIT EGG YOLKS:
Egg yolks, very fresh — 6
Rendered beef fat, or neutral oil — 400 ml / 14 fl oz
FOR THE BEEF-FAT HOLLANDAISE:
Egg yolks — 3
White wine vinegar, reduced with shallot and peppercorn — 2 tbsp reduced to 1 tbsp
Rendered beef fat, warm and clear — 150 ml / 5 fl oz
Clarified butter, warm — 50 g / 1¾ oz
Lemon juice and salt — to taste
FOR THE SEARED SIRLOIN MEDALLIONS:
Tail-section sirloin, cut into 6 medallions — 300 g / 10½ oz
Rendered beef fat — 2 tbsp
Flaky sea salt and cracked black pepper — to taste
EQUIPMENT:
Dehydrator, or an oven that will hold 60–70°C / 140–160°F
Spice grinder or small blender
Probe thermometer
Heavy roasting tray
Wide, heavy frying pan
Fine chinois or muslin
Small deep pan or shallow ovenproof dish for the yolks
Heading 5
Ingredients
DAY ONE
STEP 1: BREAK DOWN THE STRIP
Remove the fat cap in one piece and set it aside. Take the centre 600 g as a clean cylinder for the en croûte and the tail 300 g for the medallions. Keep every scrap of trim and sinew for the sauce, and set aside 100 g of clean lean meat for the salt. Nothing is discarded — that discipline is the dish.
STEP 2: MAKE THE SIRLOIN SALT
Slice the reserved lean offcut as thinly as you can, spread it in a single layer and dry at 60–70°C / 140–160°F for 6–8 hours until brittle and snapping cleanly. Cool completely, then grind to a powder with the flaky sea salt. Store airtight; it will take up moisture from the air within hours.
STEP 3: RENDER THE FAT CAP
Dice the cap and cook it very gently in a heavy pan for 45–60 minutes until the fat runs clear and the solids are golden. Strain and reserve. The cap alone will not yield everything the plate needs, so top the reserve up to about 600 ml with bought beef dripping or a neutral oil — the searing, the confit and the hollandaise all draw on the same pot, and the confit fat can be strained and reused once the yolks come out.
STEP 4: START THE TRIMMINGS SAUCE
Brown the trimmings hard in a little of the rendered fat, then add the shallot, carrot and celery. Add the tomato purée and cook it out for two minutes. Deglaze with the red wine and reduce until syrupy, add the stock, thyme and bay leaf, and simmer for 90 minutes. Strain through muslin, then reduce to about 200 ml / 7 fl oz — further than instinct suggests. It should coat a spoon heavily and taste assertively of beef rather than of stock. Chill.
STEP 5: PICKLE THE SHIMEJI
Bring the rice vinegar, water, caster sugar, fine salt and bay leaf to a boil. Separate the shimeji clusters and pat them thoroughly dry, then pour the hot liquor over them, cool and refrigerate overnight. Wet mushrooms going into the brine are what read as slippery later, so the drying is worth the minute it takes.
STEP 6: MAKE THE DUXELLES
Cook the chestnut mushrooms and shallots in the butter with the thyme over a moderate heat until every drop of moisture has gone and the mixture is dark and dry — 20–30 minutes, longer than feels necessary. A spoon drawn through it should leave a channel that holds with no liquid running back. Season and cool completely.
DAY TWO
STEP 7: SEAR AND WRAP THE CENTRE
Season the centre cylinder and sear it hard in rendered fat on all sides, 60–90 seconds a face. Cool, brush with the Dijon mustard, then roll tightly in the crêpes spread with the cold duxelles. Chill for 30 minutes.
STEP 8: BAKE THE EN CROÛTE
Wrap in the puff pastry, sealing the join underneath. Glaze, chill for 20 minutes, glaze again and score. Bake at 200°C / 400°F / gas 6 for 25–30 minutes to a core of 50°C / 122°F for rare-to-medium-rare. Rest for 15 minutes on a rack — the core will climb another 4–5°C. Catch the resting juices.
STEP 9: CONFIT THE EGG YOLKS
While the beef bakes, warm the rendered fat to 63°C / 145°F in a small deep pan. Slip in the yolks and hold at that temperature for 45 minutes. They should be set enough to lift whole and still liquid at the centre. Lift out on a slotted spoon, never tongs, and drain on kitchen paper. Cook one spare.
STEP 10: FINISH THE SAUCE
Reheat the reduced sauce, stir in the resting juices from the en croûte, then whisk in the cold butter off the heat. Do not thin it — it should nap heavily and read as beef on its own.
STEP 11: MAKE THE BEEF-FAT HOLLANDAISE
Whisk the yolks with the reduced vinegar over a bain-marie to a thick sabayon, then trickle in the warm beef fat and clarified butter together, warm rather than hot and in a thin stream. It will taste more savoury and hold a little firmer than a butter hollandaise. Season with lemon juice and salt and hold warm, not hot.
STEP 12: SEAR THE MEDALLIONS
Season the six medallions, get the pan and the rendered fat properly hot, and sear for 60–90 seconds a side for a deep crust and a rare centre. Rest for 3 minutes. This is the second cooking method, and it should look and taste emphatically like cooked steak — that legibility is the whole point of its presence.
STEP 13: PLATE
Carve the en croûte into six thick slices. On each plate set a slice of en croûte, a seared medallion beside it, a confit yolk, and a spoonful of hollandaise, with the sauce poured at the table. Lay a broad band of sirloin salt across the plate where it will be picked up with the meat — a visible band, not a dusting. Pickled shimeji alongside.
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