Recipe: Porterhouse Steak with Béarnaise Sauce and Onion Rings

Jan. 29, 2007 — -- From former White House chef Walter Scheib: When Mrs. Clinton was out of town, we delved into our secret stash of very special steaks that were reserved for the boss only. The weight in the recipe is not a typo; we served 24-ounce cuts to the President, and his plate always came back clean. (If you're serving smaller appetites, use smaller steaks, but make sure they're still at least 1 ¼ inches thick. Or figure on one large steak serving two people.)

Both the steak and onion rings should be served piping hot, so I suggest frying the onion rings while the steak is marinating, or if you have a helper on hand, have one person grill the steaks while another is frying the onions.

1. Preheat the boiler, or prepare a charcoal grill for grilling, letting the coals burn until covered with white ash, or preheat a gas grill to high.

2. Meanwhile, brush the steaks with oil and let sit for 15 minutes at room temperature. Season the steaks with salt and pepper.

3. Broil or grill the steaks to desired doneness; an internal temperature of 135°F will give a nice, medium-rare steak. Time will vary greatly based on how powerful your grill or boiler is and how thick the steaks are, but it should take about 8 minutes per side.

4. To serve, put one steak on each of four dinner plates. Set a stack of onion rings alongside and pass the béarnaise sauce in a sauceboat or bowl. Serves 4 people.

If you clarify the butter and make the tarragon-shallot reduction ahead of time (up to one day), you can make the sauce while the meat is resting at room temperature. Refrigerate the butter and reduction in airtight containers until ready to use- a useful trick to time the finished sauce to coincide with the steaks.

¼ cup chopped fresh tarragon leaves

3 tablespoons dry white wine

3 tablespoons tarragon vinegar, champagne vinegar, or white wine vinegar

2 tablespoons chopped shallots

¼ teaspoon freshly ground black

pepper

2 large egg yolks

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, clarified

Salt