Description
Hanger steak frites with twice-fried steak fries and malt vinegar mayonnaise. From Tuffy Stone’s book Cool Smoke: The Art of Great Barbecue.
Ingredients
Scale
For the steak frites
- 3 large Idaho potatoes, halved and cut into ~12 wedges
- 2 Tbsp steak rub (below)
- 1 1/2 C malt vinegar mayonnaise (below)
- 1–2 C canola oil
- 2 hanger steaks, 1–1 1/2 pounds each, trimmed to your liking
- 1 1/2 tsp smoked salt (or plain salt if you don’t have any smoked)
Steak rub (makes 1 3/4 cups)
- 1/2 C cracked black pepper
- 1/4 C coarse-ground mustard seeds
- 3 Tbsp dill seed, coarse ground
- 4 tsp coarse ground coriander seed
- 5 Tbsp + 1 tsp kosher salt
- 5 Tbsp + 1 tsp granulated garlic
- 1 Tbsp + 1 tsp crushed red pepper
Mix everything together. Store extra rub in an air-tight container.
Malt vinegar mayonnaise (makes 1 1/2 cups)
- 1 C mayonnaise
- 1/4 C malt vinegar
- 1 tsp dijon mustard
- 2 Tbsp minced cornichons or sweet gherkins
- 1 Tbsp minced capers
- 1 tsp lemon zest
- 1/2 tsp granulated garlic
- 1/4 tsp hot sauce
- 1 Tbsp chopped chives, fresh
- 1 Tbsp chopped flatleaf parsley, fresh
Mix all together with a spatula until well combined
Instructions
- Soak the potato wedges in cold water for 4 hours or overnight if possible. Drain on a wire rack until dry.
- preheat your oven to 200°F (93°C)
- Heat 1/2″ of oil in a large cast iron pan until 325°F (163°C). Check the temperature regularly with Thermapen ONE.
- Fry the potato wedges in batches of 6–8 for 5 minutes each, turning occasionally if they are not fully submerged. Test for tenderness with your Thermapen probe. When the wedges are tender, transfer them to a paper towel-lined baking sheet. Repeat with remaining potatoes until all have been cooked.
- Turn off the heat under the oil but leave the oil in the pan.
- Season the steaks generously with the steak rub and allow to sit for 15–30 minutes.
- Reheat the oil in the skillet to 400°F (204°C), using your Thermapen to track the temp. Fry the wedges, again in batches of 6–8, for 4–5 minutes, turning if needed, until deep golden brown. Transfer the cooked wedges to a paper towel-lined bowl. Toss them with a little of the smoked salt.
- Transfer them to a paper towel-lined casserole or baking dish and put them in the oven. Continue cooking the rest of the fries, seasoning, and putting them in the oven to stay warm.
- Keep all the fries in the oven until the steaks are ready to eat.
- Heat your grill to 400°F (204°C). Prepare the grill for two-zone cooking—one side of it with direct heat, and the other side without direct heat.
- place the steaks over the direct heat and cook for 3 minutes, then rotate 90 degrees and cook another 3 minutes. Flip, cook for 3 minutes, then rotate and cook another 3 minutes.
- Check the internal temp of the steaks with your Thermapen ONE. If the temperatures have not yet reached 125°F (52°C) (for medium-rare steak) move the steaks to the indirect-heat side of the grill and continue to cook, checking the temp with your Thermapen.
- When internal temps reach 125°F (52°C), remove the steaks from heat. (Leave them on longer if you want medium-done steak.)
- Cut the steaks into 1/4–1/2″ slices across the grain and serve alongside the potato wedges. Use the malt vinegar mayonnaise for the fries and the steaks.