Steak de Burgo - a classic American steak recipe from Des Moines, Iowa. Tender beef fillet is seared then basted in garlic and herb butter for a rich, steakhouse-style finish. Easy to cook at home and perfect with crispy potatoes or mash.
Category
Dinner
Servings
2
Prep time
10 minutes
Cook time
10 minutes
Steak de Burgo - a classic American steak recipe from Des Moines, Iowa. Tender beef fillet is seared then basted in garlic and herb butter for a rich, steakhouse-style finish. Easy to cook at home and perfect with crispy potatoes or mash.
Ingredients
- 2 beef tenderloin fillets (220g each)
- salt and cracked black pepper, to season
- 1 tbsp tallow or peanut oil
- 80g butter, cold and chopped
- 6 cloves garlic
- 3 sprigs fresh thyme
- 60ml (¼ cup/2oz) dry white wine
- ½ tsp dried oregano
- 2 tbsp chopped fresh basil
- mashed potato or crispy potatoes, steamed greens or salad, to serve
Directions
Prep and cook the beef
Pat dry your beef and season steaks well with salt.
- Heat tallow in a heavy based frying pan over medium-high heat.
- Place steaks carefully into your pan with the hot tallow and place a protein press on top. Turn steaks every 45 seconds, 4 times, to sear the outside of the fillets.
- Remove protein press and continue to cook, flipping every 45 seconds until you reach your desired internal temperature of 5-6°C below medium rare (46°C - 52°C).
- Add 20g of the butter, thyme and 3 crushed garlic cloves to the pan. Once the butter starts to foam, begin basting until your steaks reach the desired temperature.
- Transfer to a tray to rest.
Make the sauce
Reduce the heat to medium and discard the garlic and thyme from the pan.
- Finely chop the remaining garlic, then add to the pan with the oregano and saute, moving frequently, for 30 seconds.
- Deglaze pan with wine and cook for 30 seconds to reduce by half.
- Turn the heat off and add the remaining butter, mix continuously until the sauce comes together. Check for seasoning, then add the torn basil.
Finish and serve
Slice steaks to serve, then pour over a generous amount of sauce, with a side salad or steamed greens and crispy potatoes or mash.
Recipe notes
Origins
This traditional dish originally made famous by Johnny and Kays Restaurant in Des Moines, Iowa, is a regional speciality of the USA Midwest. Originally it was only made with butter but updated versions also include cream.
Cook support
Keep your butter cold before adding to the pan so that it doesn’t melt too quickly and burn before you can baste the steak, and then make the sauce.
Sourcing
Ask your butcher for thick pieces of fillet so they won’t cook too quickly before you can baste it. You could also use New York Strip steak for this dish.
Storage
This is best cooked just before serving.
