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Turn your home into a French eatery with this mouthwatering steak frites - tender ribeye paired with super crunchy double-cooked fries and topped with homemade béarnaise. The mix of golden potato strips and succulent meat delivers that special comfort food feeling that's both fancy and totally satisfying.
I tried making this the first time when I wanted to bring back memories of my favorite little Paris café. After tweaking it through countless dinner gatherings, my pals now beg me to cook this whenever they come over.
What You'll Need
- Ribeye steaks: Go for thick ones with lots of fat marbling for extra juiciness
- Russet potatoes: They've got enough starch to give you that fluffy inside and crispy outside
- Shallot: Brings a mild sweetness that makes the béarnaise taste amazing
- Fresh tarragon: This key herb gives that classic licorice flavor to the béarnaise
- Egg yolks: They thicken and smooth out the sauce base
- White wine and red wine vinegar: Cut through the richness with their tanginess
- Unsalted butter: Don't skimp here - good butter really makes a difference
- Fresh chives: Add some mild onion taste and pretty green flecks
- Tabasco: Just a dash wakes up all the other flavors
How To Make It
- Get Your Potatoes Ready:
- Start by peeling your russets and cutting them into fry shapes. Try to make them all the same size so they cook evenly. Soak them in ice water for at least 2 hours but overnight works better. This gets rid of extra starch so they won't stick together and helps them get super crispy.
- Prep The Steaks:
- Cover your ribeyes with plenty of salt on every side, basically giving them a dry brine. Put them in the fridge uncovered for an hour. This not only gets flavor into the meat but also pulls out moisture from the surface so you'll get a better sear later.
- Cook Fries The First Time:
- Warm up neutral oil to 275°F in a heavy pot. Take your potatoes out of their bath and dry them completely with paper towels. Cook small batches for about 5-6 minutes until they're soft but not brown. This first fry cooks them inside while keeping them pale.
- Chill Your Fries:
- Put your blanched fries on a tray with paper towels to soak up extra oil. Stick the whole tray in your freezer for 30-45 minutes. This drying step is what creates that amazing texture contrast between the fluffy inside and crunchy outside.
- Start The Béarnaise:
- Mix finely diced shallot, tarragon (both fresh and dried), chives, red wine vinegar, and white wine in a small pan. Cook it slowly, stirring often, until all liquid is gone and everything's soft. Let it cool completely before moving on.
- Warm Up The Steaks:
- Take steaks out of the fridge and let them sit for 30-45 minutes. This helps them cook more evenly from outside to middle.
- Finish The Béarnaise:
- Put egg yolks in a big heat-safe glass or metal bowl. Add 2 tablespoons melted butter, your cooled tarragon mix, white pepper, and Tabasco. Pour about an inch of water in a small pot, bring it to a simmer, then lower the heat. Place your bowl on top without letting it touch the water. Whisk the egg mixture constantly for about 2 minutes until it gets thick and pale. Don't stop whisking or walk away - eggs can scramble fast! Take it off the heat and very slowly pour in the rest of your melted butter while still whisking until everything's smooth and mixed.
- Cook The Steaks:
- Get a cast iron pan super hot for 2 minutes until it's smoking. Dry your steaks completely with paper towels and drop them in. Cook about 3 minutes on each side for medium rare, depending on thickness. Let them rest for at least 5 minutes before cutting so the juices stay in.
- Final Fry And Serve:
- Heat your oil to 375°F. Put your cold fries back in, again in small batches, and fry until they're deeply golden and crunchy, around 3-5 minutes. Drain them and right away sprinkle with salt and fresh parsley while still hot. Slice your rested steak against the grain. Serve with the béarnaise topped with fresh chives and black pepper alongside your crunchy fries.
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What I love most about this dish is watching those potatoes change during the double-fry process. The first time I saw those pale, limp fries turn into golden crunchy heaven in the second round, I finally got why French bistros are so proud of their technique. These days my family judges every restaurant fry against our homemade version.
Fixing Your Bearnaise
If your béarnaise splits or breaks while you're making it, don't worry - you can fix it. Start by beating in a tablespoon of hot water to help everything come back together. Keep whisking hard until it smooths out. Another trick is to put a fresh egg yolk in a clean bowl and slowly whisk in your broken sauce bit by bit, basically starting a new emulsion from scratch.
Do-Ahead Steps
Steak frites tastes best right after you make it, but you can prep some parts ahead of time. You can do the first fry of your potatoes up to a day before - just keep them in the fridge until you're ready for the final fry. The flavor base for the béarnaise with shallots, tarragon, wine and vinegar can be made up to three days ahead and kept in a sealed container in your fridge. Just finish making the sauce right before you serve for the best results.
Best Drinks To Serve
Steak frites goes great with a bold red wine that can handle the richness. Try a Left Bank Bordeaux blend with lots of Cabernet Sauvignon - its firm tannins work wonderfully with the fat in ribeye. For something easier to find, an Argentine Malbec gives you similar structure with more fruit flavors upfront. If you prefer white, a rich, slightly oaky Chardonnay pairs surprisingly well with the béarnaise sauce.
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The mix of tender steak, crunchy fries, and smooth béarnaise will knock your socks off every single time.
Frequently Asked Questions
- → Why soak the potatoes in ice water before frying?
Dunking potatoes in ice water gets rid of extra starch, so they won't stick together while cooking and will turn out crunchier on the outside. The long bath also makes sure the insides will stay soft and fluffy after frying.
- → What is the purpose of the double-frying technique for the fries?
Frying twice makes fries amazing: the first cook at cooler oil (275°F) makes them tender inside, while the second dip in hotter oil (375°F) gives them that golden crunch everyone loves. Freezing them between cooks drives out moisture, making them even crunchier.
- → Why salt-brine the steaks before cooking?
Letting steaks sit with salt for an hour puts flavor all through the meat, softens the tough parts, and pulls out extra water. This helps them brown better in the pan and ends up making them tastier and juicier.
- → What's the key to a successful bearnaise sauce?
Getting bearnaise right comes down to watching your heat and never stopping your whisking. The egg yolks need gentle warmth until they thicken but don't scramble, and you've gotta slowly add butter while whisking like crazy to make everything mix together properly.
- → How can I prevent my bearnaise sauce from breaking?
To keep your bearnaise happy, let your melted butter cool a bit first, keep that whisk moving the whole time, use very gentle heat with the egg yolks, and pour the butter in really slowly while you keep whisking fast.
- → Can I make components of this dish ahead of time?
You bet! The potatoes can soak overnight and get their first fry whenever you have time. Just keep them frozen until the final fry. The herb reduction for the bearnaise can sit in the fridge, but make the actual sauce fresh. The steaks should get their salt treatment early, but cook them right before you eat.