While I wouldn’t visit France just to eat there, it’s a lot of fun to go to a branch of L’Entrecôte. If you go, there are effectively no choices. You get a green salad, fries, and steak with sauce. That’s the menu. (Albeit, the wine list and dessert menu have a few more choices.)
It’s a particular treat because their steak sauce is great, and feels very distinctive. It’s not the usual béarnaise.
It’s also famously a “secret recipe” that’s only known to a few people, if the legends are to be believed.
The base of this version is from the team at ChefSteps, which I’ve been tinkering with and turning into something of my own.
Ingredients
- 225 g unsalted butter
- 90 g shallots, thinly sliced
- 1 lemon, peeled
- 30 g anchovies
- 18 g flat-leaf parsley leaves and tender stems
- 15 g capers, drained
- 12 g tarragon leaves
- 10 g Worcestershire sauce
- 10 g Dijon mustard
- 3 g pepper
- 1 egg yolk
To Finish the Sauce
- 15 g capers
- 3 g flat-leaf parsley
- 3 g tarragon
Method
Melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Then add the shallots and sweat them down until they’re softened, but not browned.
Add the remaining ingredients (less the finishing components). Then either transfer the mixture to a blender (or use an immersion blender) to make a smooth, uniform purée.
Just before serving, warm the sauce through with the finishing ingredients.