French · Main · Medium
Steak Frites
A perfectly seared bavette or hanger steak sliced against the grain, piled next to a mountain of twice cooked golden frites. Simple, bistro perfect, and ready in under an hour.
The whole recipe in 60 seconds
Steak Frites, in 5 ideas
- Double frying is the whole secret, the first cook makes them fluffy inside, the second makes them shatteringly crisp.
- Dry the potatoes completely after soaking, water and hot oil are a dangerous and sputtery mix.
- Let the steak rest a full 10 minutes or the juices run out all over the plate.
- Bavette has more flavor than ribeye at half the price, it just needs slicing against the grain.
- Baste with the foaming butter in the last minute for a restaurant quality crust.
What you need
Ingredients
- 2 lbs bavette or hanger steak
- 4 large russet potatoes
- 1 quart neutral frying oil
- 4 tbsp unsalted butter
- 2 cloves garlic, smashed
- 2 sprigs fresh thyme
- Flaky sea salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
How to make it
Directions
- Cut the potatoes into 1/4 inch sticks, soak in cold water 20 minutes, then dry thoroughly.
- Fry the potatoes once at 325F for 6 minutes until pale and soft. Drain and let cool.
- Bring the steak to room temperature and season generously with salt and pepper.
- Sear the steak in a ripping hot cast iron skillet, 3 to 4 minutes per side, then add butter, garlic, and thyme and baste 1 minute. Rest 10 minutes.
- Fry the potatoes a second time at 375F for 3 to 4 minutes until deep golden and crisp. Drain and salt immediately.
- Slice the steak against the grain, arrange over the frites, and finish with parsley and flaky salt.
Hanger steak and bavette are butcher favorites with deep beefy flavor at a fraction of the price of a ribeye, just ask your butcher to trim the center tendon.