This dish was the best thing I ate in Argentina. I happened upon it at Francis Mallman’s 1884 restaurant and it was amazing! So, this is a pretty direct copy of that. Or my guess at how each element of the dish was created. Depending on the size of the steak, this is enough for one or two people, though the potatoes are for one portion.
Steak:
- Cast Iron pan
- Choice grass-fed beef steak (in this case we use a porterhouse, but really you could use any piece. The thicker the better, over an inch is recommended)
- cooking oil
- butter
- spring of thyme or oregano
- clove of garlic
Chimichurri;
- 1 cup minced parsley
- 1/2 cup minced oregano
- 2 cloves of garlic
- 1 teaspoon dried chili flake
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
- salt and pepper
Patagonian Potatoes
- 1 large russet potato
- 2 tablespoons clarified butter
- salt
- large cast iron pan
Start by making the potatoes. Peel the potato and slice into very thin circles using a mandolin, maybe half a centimeter. Heat the pan and add clarified butter. Then arrange the potatoes in a circular fashion. Press something heavy on top and let cook for 10-15 minutes on a medium flame (depending on your stove) — making sure not to turn it up too high and burn the potatoes. The slower this goes, the less char you will have and the more even crispiness. Also, the thinner the potatoes, the crispier they will be. after 10 minutes, take the weight off the top and season the potatoes. Continue cooking until they are translucent on top. Also, the potatoes will shrink a bit, so you can rearrange them to make sure there are no gaps in your design. Check for color, flip and season other side.
For the chimichurri, just mince all the ingredients and combine them together. This will last for a week or so in the fridge and the flavors will come together more. Add more vinegar and oil if you want a less thick consistency.
Now onto the Steak. This really depends on how thick it is, but the key points here are to make sure your meat is seasoned before hand, that it is dried off with a towel before cooking and that the pan is nice and hot – oh and that you let it rest… If you do that, you have won half the battle — and if you have a thermometer, you can’t lose. So, season the meat with lots of salt and let it sit out while you prepare the other components. Then dry the meat off and salt again while your cast iron pan is heating up. Add oil to the cast iron and sear that steak hard. Once it has got some serious color, flip it over, let it sear on the other side for about a minute. Then add the butter, garlic and oregano. Base the steak in the butter – depending on how thick your steak is, this could be a 30 second thing or an 8 minute process. For an inch thick piece of meat after the sear I would give it about a minute of basting. Let the meat rest for a good 10 minutes. Then heat the pan up and throw the steak back on for 10 seconds just to heat up the exterior again. Serve directly on the potatoes so the juices drip through. And, of course, top with the chimichurri salsa.
