Simple Steak Bordelaise Recipe

Servings 4 servings
Prep time 30minutes
Cooking time 40 minutes
Calories 420 kcal

Steak Bordelaise [bohr•duh•LAIZE] (also known as Entrecôte Bordelaise or Bœuf Bordelaise in French) sounds fancy, but it just means “steak with Bordeaux sauce.”

As you might imagine from my super professional translation, the most important element of this sauce is reduced Bordeaux wine, though many purists will also argue that the bone marrow really makes it a true bordelaise. Still, if you can’t get your hands on bone marrow or simply don’t want to bother (because really, it’s a weeknight and we’ll skip all the steps we can), a slice of foie gras or other fatty additive would also do.

Here’s a simple steak bordelaise recipe from a Bordeaux class I took at Cook Street in April:

Grilling the Steak:

Although you can always sear a steak in a sauce-pan like we discussed in our Steak Au Poivre recipe, many chefs like to grill their steaks, especially in the Summer.

 

If you want to get those nice criss-cross grill lines on your steak, make sure you flip the steak 3 times – it will sit on the grill twice on each side at 90° angles. Grill the steak to your desired temperature noting that the second side will cook faster than the first.

Bordelaise Sauce:

INGREDIENTS

  • Caramelized onions
  • Sweated Leeks
  • Wine
  • Fresh or frozen stock (beef or veal), reduced
  • Bone marrow (“moelle“) or foie gras
  • Crème Fraîche
  • Salt and Pepper to taste
food

DIRECTIONS

  • In a hot saucepan, drop in your caramelized onions, sweated leeks, reduced wine, and your reduced stock.
  • Cook the mixture down to a hot, rich sauce and then remove from heat.
  • Whisk in crème fraiche to your liking (though this is not a creamy sauce, so only mix in enough to add richness, not creaminess).
  • Before the sauce cools, melt in the foie gras or bone marrow for additional richness (the French aren’t shy about richness, so be generous).
  • Salt and pepper to taste

You can pair your steak bordelaise with crispy onions, mashed potatoes, frites, or just solo. A classic wine pairing will mirror the Merlot flavors in your sauce, so you can stick with another right-bank Bordeaux (consult this easy wine guide for some recommendations).

Cook Street is continuing their culinary tour de France with a course on Alsace’s food and wine on October 1st.