Steak Diane Sauce Perfect Recipe

The best steak diane sauce that I ever tasted came from my local restaurant by the sea and had a velvety silky consistency, creamy yet savoury with a hint of parsley and mustard. Perfect with steaks of any domination it is surprisingly simple to make and very quick to cook.

Fortunately for me, my local restaurant is run by a good friend of mine and one summers night after our meal I decided to pop into the kitchens and see the chef making this delicious creamy sauce. This is what happened;

The Perfect Steak Diane Sauce Recipe Ingredients

2 x Shallots sliced thinly

4-5 Mushrooms thinly sliced (chestnut mushrooms are favourite)

2 x Tablespoons of Worcestershire Sauce

1 x clove of crushed Garlic

1 x Tablespoon of Dijon Mustard

2 x Tablespoons of Cognac

Small handful of chopped fresh parsley

1 x knob of butter (teaspoon)

Olive oil

200ml Single cream

Salt & Pepper

Method

1. Using the same saucepan as you used to cook your steaks (they can be resting whilst you make your sauce (see Cooking Time For Steaks) heat up the olive oil and butter until hot.

2. Add your finely chopped shallots, mushrooms, garlic and some salt and pepper cooking gently for a couple of minutes until soft.

3. Add the Dijon mustard and Worcestershire sauce mixing together all the ingredients.

4. Time for the Cognac! use extreme caution when adding and be prepared for the height of the flames, carefully tip the edge of the pan towards the flame to ignite the alcohol and burn it off. This will usually all be completed in just a few seconds when the flames will die out.

5. Add the single cream and parsley stirring.

6. Bring up the boil and reduce to simmer.

7. You should now have a caramel colour thick and creamy sauce.

As I said, really simple recipe yet amazing flavours from the cognac, mustard and shallots, with just a hint of Worcestershire sauce makes this steak diane recipe the best in the world and as good as you will find in any top restaurant! Enjoy your cooking.

How Long Do You Marinate Steaks

The process of marinating meat produces some beautifully tasting and succulent results achieved through the use of liquids, seasonings, spices and oils. But just how long do you marinate meat to achieve the best results?

This very much depends on the effect you are trying to achieve and indeed how intense the flavour you are looking for and the type and size of the meat you are looking to marinate. To give you an idea of how to marinate meats below is a basic steak marinade to get you started. This marinade produces two notable effects on the meat. Firstly, the seasonings and liquids (especially acidic juices, lemon juice for example) used will help to break down the proteins in the meat and thus making it more tender. Secondly given the marinade will actually draw itself into the steaks it will infuse the meat proteins with the flavours and aromas of the marinades you apply.

Marinading steaks is a great method of tenderizing otherwise cheaper cuts of steak such which can at times be somewhat tough. Rump steak is the primary example to this and if marinading steaks then other cuts such as topside steaks, can also be used in this process.

Basic steak marinade

Juice of one large Lemon

Half a teaspoon freshly cracked pepper

Half a teaspoon of coarse salt (use a course good quality sea salt)

Zest of the Lemon used for the juice (cut the Lemon zest off with a knife in strips)

2 whole cloves of garlic crushed with the back of a knife (leave the skin on, you just need to break open the clove to release the flavour)

Handful of freshly chopped parsley

Handful of fresh Basil chopped

1/4 pint of fresh good quality olive oil

The presence of Lemon juice and salt really penetrate the steaks and infuse the flavours into the meat providing you with a balanced fresh tasting and above all, tender steak using this marinade recipe. You can of course change the ingredients to suit your own tastes adding more herbs for example. The longer you can leave the steaks in the marinade the better, overnight will give you the best results leaving in the fridge during this time and turning to ensure the steaks are coated as much as you can.

You can either use a plastic bag to hold the steak and marinade or use a glass bowl covered.

Best Way To Cook A Ribeye Steak

Ribeye steaks in my opinion are one of the best beef steaks available and have a distinctive taste and flavour like no other. But just what is the best way to cook a ribeye steak to perfection?

Without doubt the best method to cooking ribeye steaks is to fry them in a hot pan or skillet with a knob of butter and a small amount of oil. Adding the oil to the butter ensures that butter does not burn given the high temperature required to fry the steaks. Here is how I cook my ribeye steaks which never fails to give anything but perfect results.

The timings here will give you a medium done ribeye steak (around half an inch thick), if you like your steak cooked more simply extend the cooking times slightly to cater for your own taste.

1. Heat up a heavy based frying or skillet under a medium to high setting.

2. Add a knob of butter and around a teaspoon of olive oil and allow the oil to heat up fully (tilt the pan to coat and allow the bubbles from the butter to disappear).

3. Place the steaks into the pan with the fat side laying inwards (the higher heat in the middle crisps up the fat)

4. Cook the steaks for 3 minutes on the first side and then gently turn and cook for a further 3 minutes.

5. Most important step – remove from the pan and place on a warm plate and cover with foil leaving for 5 minutes (this allows the meat juices to redistribute into the steak giving it a mouth watering succulence). You will notice that I do not add any seasoning to the steak before cooking. Feel free to add some freshly ground pepper but leave out the salt. This just serves to help the juices escape from the meat, simply add some salt at the table if you wish.

If you like to have a simple jus to pour over your steak follow the instructions below (very tasty indeed!)

Ribeye Steak Jus Recipe

1. Turn up the pan/skillet to high.

2. Spoon in 2 tablespoons of beef stock (chicken also works well)

3. Spoon in 6 tablespoons of good quality balsamic vinegar

4. Stir in a knob (teaspoon) of unsalted butter.

5. Mix the mixture and bring to the boil tilting and mixing (be careful though given it is very hot) until the sauce starts to thicken. The sauce will combine and thicken once boiling in around 1 minute – as soon as it starts to thicken bring to the desired consistency and pour over your rested steaks and enjoy!

Cooking Time For Steaks

Just how long should you cook your steaks for? Below is our cooking time for steaks chart which guides you through the process for cooking the perfect steaks. The cooking times are relating to the thickness of the steak and require turning according to the cooking result you require.

These times can be adapted to any of the steaks whether that is rump steak , sirloin steak or indeed the king of steaks, filet.

Steak Cooking Tips

Remove your steak from the fridge a good 45 minutes before cooking and leave on your worktop. By bringing the steaks up to room temperature prior to cooking will ensure it is cooked uniformly. Season with some pepper but leave keep the salt to a minimum (it helps to draw out the juices from the steak which we really want to keep inside the meat, you can season with more salt at the table). Once cooked, leave to rest (transfer to a plate and loosely cover with foil) for 3-5 minutes to allow the juices to redistribute back into the steak. If you do not let it rest then all the juices will flow out as soon as you cut in on your plate.

Cooking Time For Steaks		Gas Grilling
Thickness	Cooking Result	First Side	After Turning	Total Cooking Time
3/4″	Rare	4 Minutes	2 Minutes	6 Minutes
3/4″	Medium	5 Minutes	3 Minutes	8 Minutes
3/4″	Well Done	7 Minutes	5 Minutes	12 Minutes
1″	Rare	5 Minutes	3 Minutes	8 Minutes
1″	Medium	6 Minutes	4 Minutes	10 Minutes
1″	Well Done	8 Minutes	6 Minutes	14 Minutes
1 1/4″	Rare	5 Minutes	4 Minutes	9 Minutes
1 1/4″	Medium	7 Minutes	5 Minutes	12 Minutes
1 1/4″	Well Done	9 Minutes	7 Minutes	16 Minutes
1 1/2″	Rare	6 Minutes	4 Minutes	10 Minutes
1 1/2″	Medium	7 Minutes	6 Minutes	13 Minutes
1 1/2″	Well Done	10 Minutes	8 Minutes	18 Minutes
1 3/4″	Rare	7 Minutes	5 Minutes	12 Minutes
1 3/4″	Medium	8 Minutes	7 Minutes	15 Minutes
1 3/4″	Well Done	11 Minutes	9 Minutes	20 Minutes

How Long Do You Cook A Medium Steak

Cooking steak to varying levels of doneness really is all around the type of cut of steak, how thick it is (the weight)  and of course to what level you require it cooked to, but just how long do you cook a medium steak for? There are three dominant steak cooking categories namely;

1. ‘Rare’ – simply the outer skin of the steak is seared on a grill or frying pan but the majority of the steak remains in an uncooked state. Really only used for filet steak (or Filet Mignon as it is sometimes referred).

2. ‘Medium rare’ – the outer part of the steak is cooked with around half of of the meat content fully cooked through. You will have a small section of the middle of the steak which is pink.

3. ‘Medium’ – the majority of the steak is cooked and will exhibit a general light pink colour when cut through (the most common of steak cooking categories)

4. ‘Well Done’ – the entire steak is fully cooked through and should not have any signs of pinkness to the inside (does exactly what is says…)

The next consideration is of course the cut of steak, Rump steak, sirloin steak, or filet steak.

1. Rump – less tender of all the steaks.

2. Sirloin – second in line and a good compromise between the rump and filet (on price and tenderness) .

3. Filet Steak – the ultimate in steaks and most tender.

Given personal preferences makes how you cook you steaks difficult to generalise I have provided below a Steak Cooking Charts diagram below which covers the main sizes of steaks and how long to cook them before turning to a finish. You will see that in general terms how long do you cook a medium steak for is actually around 8 minutes for a steak about 3/4″ in thickness.

Cooking Time For Steaks		Gas Grilling
Thickness	Cooking Result	First Side	After Turning	Total Cooking Time
3/4″	Rare	4 Minutes	2 Minutes	6 Minutes
3/4″	Medium	5 Minutes	3 Minutes	8 Minutes
3/4″	Well Done	7 Minutes	5 Minutes	12 Minutes
1″	Rare	5 Minutes	3 Minutes	8 Minutes
1″	Medium	6 Minutes	4 Minutes	10 Minutes
1″	Well Done	8 Minutes	6 Minutes	14 Minutes
1 1/4″	Rare	5 Minutes	4 Minutes	9 Minutes
1 1/4″	Medium	7 Minutes	5 Minutes	12 Minutes
1 1/4″	Well Done	9 Minutes	7 Minutes	16 Minutes
1 1/2″	Rare	6 Minutes	4 Minutes	10 Minutes
1 1/2″	Medium	7 Minutes	6 Minutes	13 Minutes
1 1/2″	Well Done	10 Minutes	8 Minutes	18 Minutes
1 3/4″	Rare	7 Minutes	5 Minutes	12 Minutes
1 3/4″	Medium	8 Minutes	7 Minutes	15 Minutes
1 3/4″	Well Done	11 Minutes	9 Minutes	20 Minutes

How Long Do You Grill Filet Mignon

Filet Mignon is the most tenderest and succulent of the beef steaks and as a consequence is the most expensive. For this reason alone, many cooks no matter how experienced, take great care when grilling this beautiful of fillet steaks. The fear of overcooking, burning or simply ruining this cut of meat strikes fear into the cook!

Take heart however, given grilling Filet Mignon is not a difficult process but just takes focus and attention during the cooking process. The first tip I can give you for the best results in grilling your Filet Mignon is to ensure that the steak is bought up to room temperature before cooking. This basically allows the meat to cook consistently and reduces the overall grilling time. Leave the steaks out of the refrigerator for around 45 minutes prior to cooking.

The next step is of course seasoning. This is really down to personal preference but just bare in mind that this amazing steak has a flavour and personality all of its own and generally doesn’t require anything other than a sprinkling of freshly ground pepper. I personally do not use salt given it tends to help in drawing out the meat juices whilst cooking and we really are looking to keep as much of the succulence inside the steak.

Now it is time to think about cooking your Filet Mignon – turn on your grill to the highest setting and bring up to maximum heat.

Once your grill is ready carefully place your steaks on the grill pan (primary importance is not to stab, rip, poke the steak given we want consistent surface areas which again ensures that your juices remain locked inside the steak) and grill for 2 minutes without any intervention for the cook(!) 2 minutes will give you a medium rare finish 3 minutes for medium.

After 2 or 3 minutes we now need to rotate the steak 90 degrees (we are not turning yet but just rotating) – this will have the effect of achieving those lovely grill marks on the steak surface and leave grilling for a further 3 minutes for medium rare, 4 minutes for medium.

So far our cooking time for this Filet Mignon is standing at 5 minutes for medium rare, 7 minutes for medium.

Next, after the previous 2 minutes have elapsed, we are going to flip our Filet Mignon (the only time we will). Gently use a spatula and flip over and then leave for a further 2 minutes. Now we need to again turn 90 degrees (as we did previously) and grill for a further 2 minutes.

A good trick to test your Filet Mignon is to gently depress your finger on the top of steak, if it leaves an indentation it will be rare, a medium grilled steak will allow you to push your finger into the surface but will not leave an indentation. If it is firm and has a distinctive lack of movement when pressed you can consider this steak to be well done.

Your steak is now nearly ready, but not quite ready to eat just yet! The final step is to leave your Filet Mignon ‘resting’ for 2 minutes, this is to ensure that the excited cooking juices do not simply spill out when you first cut your steak but instead redistribute back into the meat leaving you will without doubt, the best cooked Filet Mignon you will have ever cooked!

Enjoy!

How Long Do You Broil Ribeye Steaks

Broiling is a cooking technique which requires the application of very high heat for a brief period of time. In addition to cooking ribeye steaks rapidly, broiling is additionally used for low fat cooking.

As a overall rule of thumb, narrower cuts of meat are more appropriate for broiling, to ensure that the meat is cooked thoughroughly.

There are two distinctive kinds of broiling. One requires cooking the steaks in an oven which is set to broil settings. The additional method is named pan broiling, and is cooked on the stovetop employing dry, high heat. Both cause somewhat distinctive end results, particularly pan broiling, which on occasions is likened to sauteeing than broiling.

As a consequence of the two differing types of broiling you will need to employ different timings to calculating how long do you broil ribeye steaks.

If you are using the stovetop method then depending on the thickness of the steaks you will need around 6 minutes each side to produce a medium ribeye steak cut at 1″ thick, if you are using the oven method to broil your ribeye steaks then you will need to preheat the broiling element and place the Ribeye steak onto a broiler pan 2 to 4″ from the heat source. Cook the steak for around 8 to 10 minutes, ensuring that you turn it half way through cooking.

How Long Do I Grill A Ribeye Steak

Ribeye steaks are succulent and full of flavour coming from the rib region and ordinarily have a distinctive marbling within the flesh effectively self basting the steak during cooking, but just how long do you grill a Ribeye Steak for?

Cooking times of steaks very much depend on the type of cut and thickness of the meat however, the best way to test if you steak is cooked is to emply a skewer into the meat and to check what clour the resulting juices are. Depending on how you like you steak cooked this can be either slightly pink (medium) dark pink (rare) or clear (medium to well done).

On average for a steak around 1″ thick you can expect to cook each side for around 6 minutes for a medium to well done steak and around 4 minutes each side for a medium steak both under a medium grill however, as above, simply check the juices half way through cooking to get a better idea of what is going within the steak itself.

Don’t forget to add some extra basting to the steak whilst grilling. Although Rib-eye steaks have the benefit of additional inbuilt fat content they can always benefit from additional basting during cooking. This is especially so with grilling given the direct heat can dry out the meat during the cooking process. My favourite is to smear a small amount of butter over each side of the steak during cooking to ensure the meat remains moist and succulent.

You can always add a clove of crushed garlic and some parsley to the butter to give your steak that extra flavour although ribeye steaks have a superb flavour all of their own so use only if you like to add additional flavourings.

Therefore, on average, you can expect to cook a ribeye steak for around 8 minutes under a medium to high grill setting for a medium finish.

Cooking Steaks

Cooking steaks perfectly need not be a difficult task if you firstly understand the meat you are trying to cook to perfection. Beef steaks such as Ribeye, Sirloin (also know as New York Strip Steak) , Fillet (also referred to as Filet Mignon) and Rump steak need to be treated differently primarily due to the differences in the tenderness of the specific cuts.

Lets taake a look in more detail at the diffirent cuts of steaks and order them in tenderness (1 being the most tender).

1. Fillet Steak

2. Sirloin Steak

3. Ribeye Steak

4. Rump Steak

In essence, the variances in tenderness relate directly to the activities of the muscle of the animal whist roaming the fields.

1.The Fillet Steak is located around the spine area of the animal and is protected and not used as a movement muscle therefore, is the most tender muscle. As a consequence, it is also the most expensive grilling steak.

2. Sirloin steak is located along the rear back area of the animal and again is not a muscle which is used promantely which makes this cut of beef the second most tender.

3. Ribeye steak is located further along the back area nearer to the shoulder and whilst encassed by the ribs is comparable in tenderness to Sirloin steak.

4. Rump steak is found towards the rear end of the animal just shy of the rear leg, given it closeness to the leg and movements this produces is considered to the less tender of all steaks.

The above is a guide to the tenderness of steaks but it is worth bearing in mind that the diet, local enviroment and slaughter proccedure all have a direct impact on the quality and tenderness of steak cuts. This is why it is important to know the providence of your beef to ensure that it derives from a reputable source and has been treated well during its lifetime. Your local reputable Butcher in most cases will be aware of where his meat comes from – simlpy ask them aand they will be happy to tell you where their beef derives and any other information about it’s upbringing you desire.

Moving on to the actual cooking of steaks very much depends on the cut of steak, the thickness and how you intend to cook it (grill, oven, BBQ etc). Please take a look at our steak section where you will find many cooking meat articles around the best methods to cook steaks.