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.

Steak Ingredients:

4 dry-aged, prime porterhouse steaks, at least 1 ½ inches thick (24 ounces each)

2 tablespoons olive oil

Salt and freshly ground black
pepper

Onion Rings

Béarnaise Sauce

Directions:

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.

Béarnaise Sauce Ingredients:

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

Directions:

1. Put the tarragon, wine, vinegar, shallots, and pepper in a small saucepan set over medium heat. Bring to a simmer and let simmer until reduced by half, 2 to 4 minutes. Remove the pot from the heat and let cool slightly to avoid scrambling the egg yolks in the next step. (At this stage, you can also let the reduction cool completely and refrigerate it in an airtight container overnight.)

2. Put the yolks in a medium stainless steel bowl, add the vinegar-shallot mixture to the yolks, and whisk together well.

3. Bring a small saucepan of water to a simmer, place the bowl on top and whisk the yolk and vinegar mixture over the heat until it thickens and becomes frothy. Move the bowl over and away from the simmering water periodically to keep eggs from scrambling.

4. Once the mixture is frothy, begin pouring in the clarified butter, a little at a time, whisking it in and continuing to periodically remove the bowl from the simmering water. Once all the butter has been incorporated, season it to taste with salt, cover, and keep it warm. Makes about 1 ½ cups.

To make clarified butter:

Put unsalted butter in a saucepan over medium heat, let it melt, and bring it to a simmer. Skim off and discard the froth (whey protein) that rises to the surface. Continue to skim until no further froth is produced. Let the butter rest for 5 minutes so that all milk solids sink to the bottom, then strain the melted butter through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl or storage container, leaving the milk solids in the pot.

You will lose about one quarter of the volume you begin with; so 2 sticks (1 cup) of butter will yield about ¾ cup clarified butter, and so on. I recommend starting with at least 2 sticks of butter (it's difficult to work with any less in the pot). Extra clarified butter can be cooled and refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks. Use the extra to dress cooked steaks and shellfish.

Onion Ring Ingredients:

You can liven up the onion rings by seasoning the flour with Cajun spices, cayenne, or anything else you like. Note that the onions need to soak in buttermilk for one hour before being battered and fried.

1 large Vidalia or other sweet onion, cut into ¼-inch-thick slices and separated into rings

2 cups buttermilk

Vegetable oil, for frying the onion rings

1 cup all-purpose flour

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions:

1. Put the onion rings and buttermilk into a medium bowl and let the onions soak for 1 hour at room temperature, or cover and refrigerate overnight.

2. Fill a deep-fryer with oil according to the manufacturer's directions and preheat to 350°F. (Alternatively, fill a large, deep cast-iron skillet with oil to a depth of 3 inches and heat until a thermometer registers 350°F.

3. Season the flour with salt and pepper. Drain the onion rings and toss in the flour just to coat, shaking off any excess. Fry in small batches until golden brown, 4 to 5 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon, drain on paper towels, and season with salt. Serves 4 as a side dish.