The Omnivore's Delight

Ann and I are shameless omnivores. There are very few things we won't try. Ann draws the line at black pudding and haggis; I still suffer from occasional aesthetic panic about shellfish. This happens less frequently the older I get, but when it does the gastronomical renaissance man in me regresses to become the squeamish, sensitive child who gazed in horror at the humble mussel and saw something that looked like the diseased expectoration of a consumptive squid.

But one thing neither of us has any qualms about is a solid chunk of red-blooded, four-legged animal flesh. We have every respect for vegetarianism but sometimes we just want to get some juice-oozing meat between our teeth.

Last night I dropped in at the Grand Central Market and picked up a pair of thick New York Strip steaks. While I was there some plump little mushrooms called to me and that was that; I had dinner sorted. Steak in creamy mushroom sauce with baked spuds and salad. Simple yet effective, like the first Ramones album or a young Mike Tyson. Here's what I did for the two of us.

Steak with Mushroom Sauce
serves 2

2 good, thick steaks (New York strip, sirloin, anything nicely marbled and about an inch and a half thick)
Olive oil
Coarse salt
Ground black pepper

Sauce

8oz mixed wild mushrooms, sliced (crimini, shitake, portobello... whatever you fancy)
2 tbsp flour
2 tbsp heavy cream
1/4 cup red wine
1/2 cup of reduced beef stock
1 tbsp finely chopped shallots
1 oz butter
1 tbsp Worcestershire Sauce
Salt and pepper

Preheat the oven to about 400. Use a griddle pan to cook the steaks if you have one, otherwise a regular skillet will do. Put it on full heat and leave it until it is terrifyingly hot. You want that pan hot enough to set off your smoke alarm, intimidate your neighbours and bring back terrible memories of Chernobyl. While it's reaching meltdown, generously sprinkle your steaks with coarse salt and ground pepper, press that in a bit and then lightly rub them with just a little olive oil. Slap 'em into the pan, then open the doors and windows and don breathing apparatus as your kitchen fills with smoke. Don't worry, you're not going to be searing flesh for long. Two minutes a side and that's it. Don't pierce the steaks while this is going on, and use tongs or a spatula to turn them. Don't move them around except to flip them that one time or to swivel them through 90 degrees if you're using a griddle and you want the pleasing traditional cross-hatched pattern.

Transfer the steaks to a roasting grill over a baking tray and put them on the middle shelf of the oven. You'll want to leave them there for about ten minutes if you like it rare, maybe 15 for medium-rare, 20 for medium. You'll need to know your own oven for this. While they're finishing, make the sauce as follows.

Melt the butter in a saucepan and fry the shallots and mushrooms until just tender, about 2-3 minutes. Sprinkle flour into the pan and quickly stir it in. Add the wine and the cream and blend. Reduce for about two minutes. Add the stock and the Worcestershire sauce and blend. Add salt and pepper to taste then keep on a low simmer while the steak finishes and the sauce thickens. Shouldn't take more than ten minutes at the very outside.

Pour a little of the sauce over each steak and serve it with whatever takes your fancy. As I mentioned, I went for baked potatoes with sour cream and a simple green salad with thinly-sliced red onion and mustard dressing.  Obviously a full-bodied red was involved as well. When it comes to steak, some traditions should not be messed with.

Comments

[michelle]

Hi Jack - Here, here! My husband and I are the same way - shameless omnivores, although we tend to eat many vegetarian meals too. But I'm with Ann - no black pudding for this girl (though I have tried to like it, numerous times, and I just can't do it)!! Nice to see that you're both posting now - I haven't been around in a while.

[adele]

Yum. I agree there's nothing quite like a nice, bloody chunk of beef once in a while.

Love the writing in the recipe - particularly the line about setting off the smoke alarm and bringing back memories of Chernobyl.

[jj]

Having grown up on German dishes packed with meat and potatoes, I can relate to the need to sink one's teeth into some nice animal flesh from time to time! Great recipe, thanks!

[Lydia (The Perfect Pantry)]

Jack, I'm with you. There are days when this -- meat and potatoes -- is the perfect meal.

[giz]

The steak looks delicious but somehow I don't think I'll ever think of mussels in quite the same way again....ever...again...

[Manggy]

Gorgeous plate! Ugh, I suddenly became hungry. Thanks for ruining my "diet," Jack. Omnivore here!!

I'm on Ann's side for the most part, though. Shellfish- love. The thought of oats inside a sheep's stomach-- pass. But I will still not get over her aversion to peas!

[grace]

i admit it--i'm picky about my meats. that being said, there ain't nothing wrong with this here steak creation. ya done good.
(i'm not really sure why i decided to break out the hillbilly-talk in this comment, but there ya go.)

[Sandie (Inn Cuisine)]

This sauce sounds really good. I've experimented shamelessly with so many sauces to pour over steak(s) in the last few months, with some of the most recommended and/or popular sauces bombing pathetically. I kept thinking, "Red wine & mushrooms, what can go wrong?" But plenty can go wrong, let me tell you. When I work up the courage to try again, I'm giving your sauce a go, because as I always say, "Red wine & mushrooms, what can go wrong?" Wish me luck!

[Jack]

michelle - oh, we eat plenty of veggie stuff too, but we both love meat far too much to go the whole way and actually become vegetarians.

Black pudding is delicious! Try it again! :-)

adele - Thanks. Whenever I cook steaks I open the kitchen window and the door to the stairwell, and just hope that I'm done before the neighbours call the fire department.

jj - absolutely. Give it a try.

Lydia - Sometimes it's the only thing that'll do the job. We've been having a weird lapse into slightly chilly pre-spring weather of late so this went down even better than expected.

giz - heh... don't get me wrong, I like mussels. It's just that sometimes I still need to not look at them too closely.

Manggy - It's more than just oatmeal in that sheep's stomach, you know. There's sheep's heart, liver and lungs, onion, suet... and it's delicious. No, really!

grace - hillbilly talk, eh? That reminds me; I must post my great recipe for roadkill possum stew. :-)

Sandie - this is a really nice sauce. You can vary the amount of cream according to, well, how creamy you want it! In fact it's nice even with no cream at all but a little dash does make it that bit more rich and luxurious. The Worcestershire sauce is also pretty optional, I just find it beefs up the stock when necessary. I probably wouldn't bother with it if I was using a heavy stock.

[RecipeGirl]

Mmmm. Just the sort of dinner we like too. When I try to serve dinner without meat, my husband says, "Ok, but what's for dinner?"

[Psychgrad]

Is it wrong to make steak dinner at 1am? Maybe I should hold off until tomorrow. This looks excellent. Clearly, I'm of the omnivorous variety.

I've tried Haggis. To my recollection, it wasn't that different from a hamburger as long as you don't think about what it's made of.

[dhanggit]

oh this is perfect for an omnivore like me..yum!! im glad to be back.;cant wait to check all your old posts thats if my 7 months old little girl will allow me hehehe :-)

[Neen]

I love being an omnivore. Do's from the midwest, so he doesn't feel satisfied unless there's been meat for dinner. Interestingly, precisely because we're dedicated omnivores, we gave up meat for 6 weeks a couple months ago. The excuse was Lent, but we actually really wanted to see what on earth we would do with ourselves if we couldn't have meat. Would we be more creative? Or would we just tear our hair and count the minutes? It was definitely a mixed experience, but overall a positive one. If nothing else, now we appreciate those juicy steaks all the more! :) (Not that I'm recommending such ascetic practices, mind you!)