Steak with Creamy Mushroom Pan Sauce
Steak cooked hard in a hot pan for a deep brown crust, then a silky cream and mushroom sauce built right in the same pan from the browned bits. A splash of brandy lifts the sauce so it stays rich but never heavy.
- Total
- 40 min
- Prep 10 · Cook 25 · Rest 5
- Serves
- 1
- Difficulty
- Medium
You'll practice: Searing · Deglazing
- Savory
- French
- Stovetop
- Oven
Instructions
-
Pat the 2 steaks completely dry with paper towels and season both sides with 1/2 tsp of the salt and all of the black pepper. Wipe the 250 g mushrooms clean, trim the stems, and slice them 5 mm thick. Peel the onion, cut it in half, and slice it thinly.
~10 min
A dry surface prevents steam, letting the steak brown instead of grey, while early salting seasons the meat.
-
Heat the olive oil in a large frying pan over high heat until it shimmers. Lay in the steaks and cook undisturbed for 3 minutes, then turn with tongs and cook 3 minutes more for medium-rare. Move the steaks to a plate and set aside.
~6 min
High, undisturbed heat drives Maillard browning, building the dark crust and fond the sauce depends on.
Dry the steak surface well and leave it untouched for the first 3 minutes: a dry surface and no prodding are what build the dark crust the sauce later draws its flavour from.
Searing Get the pan shimmering hot and leave the steak untouched for a full 3 minutes; moving it early prevents the crust from forming.
-
Lower the heat to medium-high and add the sliced mushrooms and onion to the same pan with the browned bits. Cook, stirring now and then, until the mushrooms release their liquid, it cooks off, and the edges turn golden, about 8 minutes.
~8 min
Cooking off mushroom liquid first concentrates flavour and lets the edges brown rather than stew.
-
Pour in the 2 tbsp brandy and stir, scraping the browned bits off the bottom of the pan, until the liquid has almost completely evaporated, about 1 minute. Pour in the 150 ml cream and stir to combine.
~1 min
Brandy deglazes the fond, dissolving browned bits, and its alcohol evaporates, leaving concentrated flavour.
Deglazing Pour the brandy in and scrape the browned bits as it bubbles; those dissolved bits are the sauce's flavour base.
-
Slide the steaks and any juices from the plate back into the pan. Simmer gently, spooning the cream and mushrooms over the meat, until the sauce thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon and the steak reaches 63°C in the centre, 4 to 5 minutes. Stir in the remaining 1/4 tsp salt.
~5 min
Simmering reduces the cream so it thickens and clings, while gentle heat keeps the steak from overcooking.
If the cream looks thin after the steaks go back in, keep simmering a minute longer; if it tightens too much, loosen it with a tablespoon of water rather than more cream.
-
Move the steaks to warm plates and let them rest 5 minutes so the juices settle. Spoon the mushroom cream sauce over the top and serve.
~5 min
Resting lets juices redistribute through the meat so they stay in the steak rather than running out.