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Entrecôte bordelaise
Rib steak in red wine sauce
Entrecôte bordelaise: rib steak with Bordeaux red-wine and shallot sauce
Bordeaux's brasseries, from the quays of the Garonne to the old Chartrons wine-merchant quarter, still grill entrecôte over vine cuttings and serve it with sauce bordelaise: shallots, thyme and red wine reduced to a syrup, then enriched with stock and cold butter. Poached bone marrow, folded in at the end, is the old-school touch and well worth trying. The sauce is glossy, deep and a little sweet against the well-browned, juicy steak. The sauce uses red wine; the ingredient note gives an alcohol-free version. Serve with frites or sautéed potatoes and a crisp green salad. Chef's tip: let the steaks sit out of the fridge for 30 minutes before cooking so the centre cooks evenly.
- Total time
- 50 min
- Difficulty
- medium
- Serves
- 2
Ingredients
For the steaks
- 2 rib-eye steaks (entrecôte)about 300 g each, 2.5 cm thick
- 1 tbsp sunflower oil
- 1 tsp flaky salt
- ½ tsp black pepperfreshly ground
For the sauce
- 4 shallotsvery finely chopped
- 1 ¾ oz cold butterdiced
- 1 ¼ cups red Bordeaux wineor alcohol-free: 250 ml unsweetened red grape juice plus 2 tbsp red wine vinegar
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 cup beef stockor veal stock
- 2 beef marrow bones (optional)cut in 5 cm lengths, or 60 g marrow
- 1 tbsp flat-leaf parsley (optional)chopped
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Method
0/9 doneStep 1: Take 2 rib-eye steaks (entrecôte) out of the fridge 30 minutes ahead, pat them dry and season with ½ tsp black pepper.
30 minStep 2: Melt a small knob of ⅓ oz cold butter in a saucepan over a medium heat and cook 4 shallots for 4 minutes, until soft and translucent but not brown.
4 minStep 3: Add 1 ¼ cups red Bordeaux wine, 2 thyme sprigs and 1 bay leaf, bring to the boil and reduce over a medium-high heat until only about 4 tablespoons of syrupy liquid remain. The most common mistake is stopping too soon: an under-reduced sauce tastes sharp and thin.
15 minStep 4: Add 1 cup beef stock and reduce again by half, until the sauce lightly coats a spoon. Remove the thyme and bay and keep it warm over the lowest heat.
10 minStep 5: If using marrow, push it out of the bones, slice it and poach it in simmering salted water for 2 minutes, until it turns translucent. Drain.
Step 6: Heat 1 tbsp sunflower oil in a heavy frying pan over a high heat until it just smokes. Season the steaks with 1 tsp flaky salt and cook for 3–4 minutes on each side for medium-rare, without moving them, until a dark crust forms. Check the centre with a thermometer: about 126°F for rare, 135°F for medium-rare, 145°F for medium.
8 minStep 7: Rest the steaks on a warm plate for 5 minutes, loosely covered.
5 minStep 8: Take the sauce off the heat and whisk in the rest of the cold 1 ⅜ oz cold butter a few pieces at a time, until glossy. Fold in the marrow and parsley and pour in any juices from the resting steaks.
Step 9: Slice the steaks or serve them whole, with the sauce spooned over.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 780 kcal
- Protein
- 58 g
- Carbs
- 10 g
- Fat
- 50 g
- Fibre
- 1 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
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Good to know
- How long does entrecôte bordelaise take?
- About 50 minutes in total: 15 minutes to prepare and 35 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 2 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- What can I use instead of shallots?
- Half an onion per 2 shallots.
- What can I use instead of cold butter?
- The same weight of ghee or coconut oil (for frying and most baking).
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Perfect for:Date night




