Steak Frites Is the Perfect Date Food, According to Ludo Lefebvre
Ludo Lefebvre talks family history andsteak fritesin this episode ofLudo à la Maison. This classic meat-and-potatoes dish has a nostalgic component for the洛杉矶厨师, “Mymaman(mom) was always做炸薯条for me on Saturday” he says, speaking about his childhood. He once madesteak与当时的女友约会的弗里特人 - “我想它有效，你知道。现在我结婚了。”
Ludo begins with the fries. “It’s so quick,” he says of his recipe, encouraging everyone to tryfrench friesat home. “Seriously, it’s going to take you like—I don’t exaggerate—20 minutes. That’s it.”
如果你让他们在家的时候,不要担心贝ng exact. Ludo says that, when his mom used a knife to make fries for him, “the potatoes were never really the same size. I like it.”
He says to soakpotatoesin cold water—preferably overnight—to remove the excess starch, and then dry them thoroughly.
Wondering what kind of fat to use? “In the restaurant, I fry them in clarified butter,” says Ludo. “Trust me, it’s good.” However, this might not be the most sustainable method: “It costs a lot of money to fill the fryer with clarified butter. But it is so good, sometimes I don’t care about the price. It’s about quality.”
This time, he’s using grapeseed oil—“because grapeseed oil really never burns”—to blanch the potatoes at 250F until soft, but not browned. “It’s very important you keep your potato white,” he says of this first cooking stage.
After blanching, it’s on to the steak. For steak frites, Ludo likes to make asteak au poivre, which includes a creamy and spicy black pepper sauce. “Most of the time,” for steak au poivre, “we use acoulotte. It’s a good piece of filet mignon.牛里脊肉.”
The first step is searing at a very high temperature, “for like four minutes each side.” Ludo says you want to achieve a crunchy, brown crust at this step—“A good steak for me, it’s really about the crust.”
Ludo removes the steaks and rests his meat—a crucial step, he notes—before adding rosemary and garlic to melting butter on a lower heat. He then puts the steaks back in the pan, spooning the herb-laced butter over the meat to soften the crust and continue to cook them. Finally, says Ludo, you must flambé with somecognac.
Once the steaks are done, Ludo deglazes the pan with beef stock and a little creme fraiche. He strains the deglazed pan sauce and bolsters the seasoning—“The secret ingredient is a brined green peppercorn,” a Lefebvre family tradition.
For the final step, Ludo turns his attention back to the frites. He gives them their second fry, this time at a higher temperature—375F—until they turn a deep golden brown. Once they’re done, he adds salt—“like, a lot of salt”—calling unsalted fries “the worst.” We’d have to agree.
Get Ludo's steak frites食谱在这里.
Ludo plates the dish simply: frites on one side, steak on the other, with peppercorn sauce drizzled over the top. How did it turn out? “Leave me alone,” says Ludo. “I’m eating. I don’t want to talk about that.”