Grilled steak with potatoes

There is very little for  Christmas  and in my head ideas for dinners and meals at the end of the year are already boiling. It is not always necessary to complicate life on these occasions, there are many recipes that are very simple and do not require time in the kitchen, like the one that I present today. You can also expand more information in the post How to prepare a grilled steak . As you can see, a quick, simple and full of flavor dish.

At home we have a passion for meat and one of our favorite pieces is  veal steak , even if it is beef much better. Those tasty and tender pieces of meat adapt perfectly to different cooking techniques, although the one I like the most is grilled. Before, I didn’t always get the most professional result, the one you find in restaurants and meat shops, a problem solved with my new electric iron. Also, coming home guests, I wanted to present the star dish with something different from the typical fried or roasted potatoes, and I decided on Rösti potato , grilled zucchini and a little tomato marmalade.

Preparation of the potato and zucchini Rösti

To accompany the entrecots I have decided on something different but at the same time classic:  “rösti” , a classic  Swiss recipe  that has potato as a base and grilled zucchini. The rösti was originally part of the usual breakfast for farmers in the cantons of Zurich and Bern. Today it is served as an accompaniment to meat and fish dishes throughout the country.  Potato toasts  are a very popular dish in Europe, even Jewish cuisine has  the typical Hanukkah latkes .

1. Before starting to cook the entrecots, and to take the temperature of our griddle well, let’s prepare the rösti . Peel the potatoes and onions and grate them thick with a grater. The onion usually releases a lot of water, so we drain it so that our toast is not bothered by excess moisture.
2. Peel the garlic cloves (it gives it a slightly stronger flavor, if you don’t like it you can remove it) and chop very finely or crush. The less it looks the better, it will also be better combined with the rest of the ingredients.
3. In a bowl mix the potatoes, onion, garlic, salt and freshly ground black pepper.
4. We give the grill a maximum temperature and let it heat up (with 4-5 minutes of preheating it will be perfect for cooking). We put a little of the butter and let it melt. To make it look nice, you can use the typical plating rings. We place the rings inside the plate and fill them with the mixture to a thickness of 2 cm. Crush and smooth with a spoon, when we see that they catch a bit of crisp, remove the rings and put a pinch of butter on top of each serving. Repeat with all the mixture until the portions are complete.
5. Cook the rösti over medium-low heat for 12-15 minutes and carefully turn it over with a spatula. We put another pinch of butter on top of each of the portions and let cook another 12-15 minutes. A delicious accompaniment!
6. We cut the zucchini and place on the griddle with a little extra virgin olive oil. With half the time of the rösti is enough, 5 minutes per side.
7. We remove our companions and we get the meat.

Preparation of entrecots. Tips and recommendations

1. One of the most important things when we are going to cook meat is that it is at room temperature. When you put a cold steak on a hot surface, the meat constricts and becomes tough and leathery. So we take the meat out of the fridge and let it warm up before cooking.
2. The second tip is that you don’t put salt on them until you’ve cooked them. When you put salt on a steak, it absorbs the moisture from the meat, and when you put it with salt on the griddle, the moisture on the surface of the salt tarnishes the meat instead of letting it brown. Although many people like to season meat before, the best option is aromatic herbs: oregano, parsley, black pepper, rosemary or thyme.
3. Many people try to beat steaks or marinate them with marinades and extra liquids to soften them. No need, entrecots are one of the softest types of fillets out there, so they don’t need extra softening. If you use a marinade with an acid base in a steak you risk that the outside of the veal becomes a dough. So if you tend to make this type of marinade, at least avoid those that contain vinegar, salt or other citrus juices.
4. And finally we have to control the temperature of the steak so that it is in its point (the point of the meat gives it the maximum flavor, many people cook it too much and we eat pieces of coal).
5. We put a little extra virgin olive oil on the surface of the plate  and with a cotton cloth or kitchen paper we distribute it on its surface to ensure that the fillet will not stick. When the surface begins to shine it’s the right time to cook the entrecote. Wait until it is hot but not too hot, using the temperature regulator over medium heat. If the griddle becomes too hot, the steak will overcook on the outside, leaving the inside almost raw and cold. We should hear a hissing sound when we put the steak on the grill.
6. For a piece like this (250 g.) We cook it for 5 minutes on each side, for pieces of greater thickness we must increase the time. I do not bring here the bible of how to cook meat, it is simply a tip and of course it varies depending on how you like meat. We use tweezers avoiding to pierce the meat and to lose its juices. To know if it is ready we press the fillet with your fingers, the fillets that are lightly done or medium will be soft, the medium well done will have a more solid but still elastic feel. If the meat is overcooked it will be firm when touched.
7. Remove from the griddle, add the salt flakes (to taste) and let it rest 2-3 minutes before serving. We let them rest so that the juices return back to the meat, thus ensuring that the steak is tasty. Meanwhile we place the garnish in the juice of the griddle with the fire turned off, with the residual heat it will return to the temperature point.
8. We serve on a plate with a little tomato or red fruit jam (the sweet touch goes very well) and our garnish.

I assure you that they are delicious, perfect for a holiday or special day. I recommend that you try this recipe, you will tell me.

As an accompaniment I recommend the most useful and used garnish in our country, potatoes . Whether a grilled style Jamie Oliver potatoes , whether French fries , some potatoes with gravy , boiled, fried potatoes , stewed potatoes ,  potatoes to the oven , potatoes importance , stuffed potatoes , accompanied by salsa , in salad  or simply a mashed potato , potatoes are an easy and successful resource to perfectly accompany this recipe.

Be sure to enjoy all the meat recipes that we have on the blog, I assure you that you will find a lot of ideas to make yours much happier.