How to Make Steak, the French Way

New York Times

27-03-2025

Melissa Clark will show you how to pan-sear and pair it with a number of delicious sauces. Perfecting a bone-in rib-eye and red wine pan sauce doesn't have to be intimidating. Francesco Tonelli for The New York Times Published March 27, 2025 Updated March 27, 2025
[This article was originally published on Feb. 14, 2017.]
A ruby-rare steak napped with buttery sauce is classic and comforting bistro fare, be it steak frites with a sharp béarnaise, entrecôte au poivre with a peppery bite or a simple rib steak with a red wine reduction. This guide is part of The New Essentials of French Cooking, the 10 definitive dishes every modern cook should master.
There are few faster, easier and more impressive ways to get dinner on the table than to sauté a juicy steak over a hot flame, then whisking together a sauce from the coppery drippings at the bottom of the pan.
Although the technique for making pan sauce is used here with beef, it is easily adaptable to all sorts of meats, including pork, lamb, chicken, veal and even fish.
A proper pan sauce begins with browning the meat. The pan needs to be hot enough to sear the meat and cause the Maillard reaction, which is the caramelizing of the amino acids and sugars in food.
After the meat is cooked to taste, it is removed from the pan, leaving behind a seared-on layer of browned bits called the fond. The fond is culinary gold, containing an incredible savory character that forms the foundation of the sauce. To access that meaty flavor, the fond needs to be dissolved into a liquid; this is called deglazing the pan. Technically, any liquid can be used, and water and stock frequently are. But something alcoholic and acidic, such as wine, is better at extracting the flavors.
A classic method of building a pan sauce, which we use here, is to develop the flavors in stages. First, brandy is used to deglaze the pan, then wine and stock are added and simmered down until syrupy. At the very end, butter is whisked into the pan to thicken the sauce, giving it a silky texture that helps it cling to the steak for serving. Other liquids can stand in for the brandy, wine and stock: fruit and vegetable juices, cream or milk, condiments like soy sauce and chile paste, vinegars and spirits.
Once you've learned this adaptable technique, you will always be able to whisk up a fast and pungent pan sauce from whatever fond your pan has produced. A depiction of a Paris provision shop in 1871, from The Illustrated London News. De Agostini /Getty Images
Since the earliest bovines met the spears of our ancestors, steaks have been prepared pretty much the same way. The cuts were grilled over a fire to quickly sear what many consider to be the choicest, most tender part of the animal. (By contrast, think of the stewing, braising and roasting necessary for larger and tougher cuts.)
Innovations in pans and the creation of the modern stove have changed things slightly, but the goal is the same, which is to brown the outside of the meat while preserving the juiciness of the middle. This can be done on green wooden sticks or hot rocks, over a grill, or in a metal or earthenware pan.
But the sauce accompanying this steak has had a more varied history. And it's one that exemplifies the evolution of French cuisine over the centuries.
The earliest European sauces, which date to ancient times, were distinct from the meat, fish or vegetables with which they were served, prepared separately and from their own set of ingredients. The reasons were medicinal, rather than for the sake of taste. Based on the theory of humorism, a sauce was meant to balance out the intrinsic qualities of other ingredients in the dish to create a harmonious and health-giving meal. Pork, which was considered to be inherently moist and cold, might be paired with spicy, acidic sauces, to counter any potential upset of humors in the person eating it.
By the 17th century, a new French cuisine had begun to emerge. The focus shifted to enhancing the natural taste of foods rather than smothering them in spices and vinegars for purported health benefits. The ancestors of modern French sauces can be found in cookbooks from that era, in which herbs replaced spices, wine and stock eased the reliance on vinegar and verjus, and flour and butter roux, rather than bread crumbs, were used as thickeners. The practice of deglazing a pan of roasted meats to make the base for an elaborate sauce grew in popularity.
Over time sauces became richer and more voluptuous, beaten with butter, eggs and flour to achieve a thick and satiny consistency. In the 1830s, Marie-Antoine Carême first wrote about four mother sauces: espagnole (a demi-glace-based brown sauce), velouté (a stock-based sauce thickened with roux), béchamel (a creamy milk-based sauce) and allemande (a velouté thickened with eggs and cream). Auguste Escoffier would later refine Carême's classification, demoting allemande to a subset of velouté and adding tomato sauce and hollandaise to the list.
These mother sauces remained central in French kitchens until the birth of the nouvelle cuisine movement of the 1960s. As the country's top chefs worked to simplify the national cuisine, they moved away from heavy sauces. (One of the 10 commandments for the movement, laid out in a 1973 article by the pioneering restaurant critics Henri Gault and Christian Millau, 'Vive la Nouvelle Cuisine Francaise': 'You will eliminate rich sauces.') Rather than relying on roux as thickeners, French chefs turned to the lighter touch of lemon juice, butter and herbs.
That approach lives on. Instead of deglazing a pan to use the resulting liquid in an intricate sauce, cooks now savor the mixture as a simple yet elegant sauce in its own right. A beef steak seared in a hot pan and served with a sauce made from the wine or other liquid and the drippings in the pan. By Meg Felling Stainless-steel pan. These are best for cooking pan sauces with a good dose of acidity; enamel-lined pans also work well. Carbon steel and cast iron pans are reactive and could discolor the sauce, though this isn't a deal breaker, so if that is all you've got, use it. But do avoid nonstick pans. Your drippings, upon which the sauce is built, won't brown nearly as well.
Meat thermometer. It is worthwhile to learn how to test your steak for doneness with your fingers, but it also helps to have a good meat thermometer. Digital thermometers will give you a more exact reading, and they usually work very quickly.
There's more to searing a steak than a hot pan and a good piece of meat, though that is the right place to start. And learning how to use the drippings for a fast pan sauce will help you make the most out of every meal, whether you're cooking steaks, chops, fish or chicken. Francesco Tonelli for The New York Times
The French butcher the cow differently from the English and Americans. They divide tough and tender meats, creating high-quality cuts like fillets from the sirloin region (chateaubriand being the thickest, then tournedos, faux filet and the thinnest, filet mignon) and entrecôte from the fore rib region. One of the most desired French cuts is the onglet (hanger steak), cut just below the sirloin region.
This said, you can use any good steak in this recipe, either a boneless or bone-in cut. Boneless cuts take less time to cook, so start checking them for doneness before you'd check bone-in meat. Filet mignon, cut from the tenderloin, will give you the softest and most tender meat, but has less fat (and less flavor) than other cuts. Rib-eye and other sirloin cuts are a little chewier, but have a deeper, beefier flavor. You could also use a thinner steak (hanger, strip, flank), but watch them closely so they don't overcook. Francesco Tonelli for The New York Times You need some fat on your steak. Look for marbling. Fat equals flavor, both for the meat itself and also for the pan sauce.
Seasoning the steak at least 15 minutes before cooking (and up to 24 hours if you keep it in the refrigerator) gives the meat time to absorb the salt evenly. If you season it several hours in advance, you can press herbs and-or minced garlic all over the surface of the steak, then wipe it off just before cooking so nothing burns.
Cooking steak in butter gives the meat excellent flavor. But since butter can burn, it is often combined with a little grapeseed oil, which raises its smoking point. Or you can use all oil if you prefer. Clarified butter and ghee also work well.
For optimal browning, which results in a flavorful pan sauce, get your skillet very hot before adding the meat, letting it heat for at least 3 to 5 minutes. A drop of water should immediately sizzle when flicked into the pan. Francesco Tonelli for The New York Times The timing of your steak depends on the skillet, your stove and the temperature of the meat when it hits the pan . For rare steak, cook to 120 degrees; medium-rare is 130 degrees. Learn how meat cooked to those temperatures feels when you tap its surface with your fingers, and then use that to guide you in future cooking. For medium-rare, the meat should offer some resistance but not feel firm, which indicates a well-done steak. Rare meat is a bit softer.
Rest your steaks before slicing them. Put the meat on a cutting board and tent with foil. Let it sit for 5 to 10 minutes. This helps the meat reabsorb the juices and will also raise the temperature slightly. Do this every time you cook steak; it's always a good idea to keep those juices.
You must cook the steaks and the sauce in immediate succession, and just before serving. Once you start this recipe, there isn't much waiting around. If you're making this for a dinner party, do not start cooking the steaks until all your guests arrive. Making a red wine sauce. By Alexandra Eaton
The alcohol in wine and brandy helps dissolve and release the pan drippings, extracting their flavor. While you can also deglaze a pan with stock or water, it won't be as intensely flavorful. Much of the alcohol cooks off as the sauce simmers.
To quickly cook off much of the alcohol in the brandy, light it with a long match or igniter. Just make sure to step back before you do. The flame should die down in a few seconds. If you really don't want to set the alcohol on fire, you can simmer it down for a few minutes instead.
Letting the liquids in your pan simmer until they are thick and syrupy is central to getting a silky sauce. Be sure to let them reduce before whisking in the butter and any herbs.
If at any point your sauce separates and you can't seem to whisk it together into a smooth, emulsified liquid, scrape it into a blender and whirl it for a few seconds. That should fix it.
A pan sauce is easy to make, but it does require last-minute attention. Here are three sauces than can be prepared ahead of time and go deliciously with the seared steak above.
Like hollandaise sauce, one of the mother sauces of French cuisine, Béarnaise is based on an emulsion of butter and egg yolks. It is seasoned with vinegar, tarragon and shallots for a savory edge.
To make it: Melt 1 ½ sticks unsalted butter; set aside. In a heavy-bottomed, nonreactive skillet, combine 3 tablespoons white-wine vinegar, ¼ cup dry white wine or dry white vermouth, 1 tablespoon minced shallots, 1 tablespoon minced fresh tarragon or chives, ⅛ teaspoon black pepper and a pinch of salt. Simmer until the liquid has reduced to 2 tablespoons. Let cool.
In the meantime, beat 3 egg yolks until they're thick and sticky, about 1 minute. Strain the vinegar mixture into the egg yolks, and beat until combined. Add 1 tablespoon of cold butter, but do not beat it in.
Scrape egg mixture back into skillet, and place it over very low heat. Stir egg yolks with a wire whisk until they slowly thicken, about 1 to 2 minutes. Beat in another tablespoon of cold butter, then beat in melted butter in a slow, steady stream until sauce thickens; consistency should be like mayonnaise. (You may not need all the butter.) Taste and correct seasoning, and beat in 2 tablespoons fresh, minced parsley. Serve the sauce warm, not hot. It will keep for up to 5 days in the fridge. Karsten Moran for The New York Times
Easily made in less than five minutes, this piquant, creamy sauce can be stirred together a few days in advance and gets even better as it sits (which it can do for up to 3 days).
To make it: In a small bowl, whisk together 1 cup crème fraîche, 2 tablespoons white horseradish, 1 tablespoon minced chives, 1 teaspoon mustard, and salt and pepper to taste. Karsten Moran for The New York Times
A decadently rich combination of butter, garlic and herbs, a small slice of compound butter goes a long way on a steak. And leftovers freeze perfectly for up to six months.
To make it: In a bowl, mash together 1 stick softened unsalted butter, 1 tablespoon minced shallots or 1 minced garlic clove, 1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme or rosemary, 1 tablespoon minced parsley or chives, 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice, ¼ teaspoon black pepper and ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt.
Spoon the butter onto a piece of parchment paper or plastic wrap, form into a log and wrap well. Chill for at least 3 hours before using. Karsten Moran for The New York Times