This year has had many ups and downs. While it has been a struggle in moments, it has also been full of so much life! This Grilled Steak Oscar is an ode to the New Year! A grilled filet mignon on top of grilled asparagus, a handful of lump crab meat and lathered in my “attempt” at a béarnaise sauce. While this dish has its flaws (added too much béarnaise, lost the light when filming at the end…), it is full of love and dedication. Cheers to each and everyone of you for making this year one to remember.
What Is Oscar Style Steak?
If you are like me, then you have probably never heard of Grilled Steak Oscar. There are so many turn of the century recipes that I have been keen on trying recently, and one of them is this very dish.
Traditionally, this dish is made with veal cutlets instead of steak; but, I am one that liked to break culinary rules. It is usually served with asparagus, topped with crab meat and an emulsified butter sauce. This is what we attempted at making, but this time over the open pit fire.
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Recipe Ingredients
Gather your ingredients for this recipe!
For the steaks
- Filet Mignon
- Sea Salt
- Black Pepper
- Canola Oil
Simple Bearnaise Sauce:
- Butter
- Shallots
- White Wine Vinegar
- Egg Yolks
- Tarragon
- Sea Salt
- Black Pepper
- Lemon
- Butter
Crab Topping:
- Steamed Lump Crab Meat
- Sea Salt
- Black Pepper
- Butter
Asparagus:
- fresh asparagus
- Sea Salt
- Black Pepper
- Red Chili Flakes
- Canola Oil
Step By Step Instructions
Preparing The Bearnaise Sauce
Firstly, we are making the butter sauce. You are welcome to make this with a variety of sauces, but I attempted a simpler bearnaise sauce. I first browned the shallots, and then reduced them in white wine vinegar to half. One thing you’ll notice that I did is that I used a steel skillet instead of cast iron for the Grilled Steak Oscar. I highly recommend this since cast iron is not ideal for simmering food. Once the shallots in vinegar were good, I melted some butter until it was nice and foamy.
When all that was good, I added the shallots in vinegar, egg yolks, tarragon, salt, pepper and lemon juice to a food processor. Blended them until they were smooth, then I began adding the butter. If you have a food processor that allows you to add while blending, then add the butter in two batches. If you do not have that luxury, then just stop the blending and add the butter in two batches as well. Place the sauce into a serving skillet and keep it warm for our Grilled Steak Oscar. You can do this by placing it into the oven at 140F; however, don’t go over 160F as that will cook the sauce which is not what we want.
Let’s cook some Grilled Steak Oscar!
Finally, we come to the fun part. Seasoned the steak with oil, salt and pepper, then I grilled it over the fire until it was 120F internal. While the steak cooks, we are going to add the asparagus with seasoning and saute the lump crab. All that should come off the grill around the same time, and we then are ready to plate this Grilled Steak Oscar. Starting with a base layer of asparagus, next the steak, top that with lump crab and finally the bearnaise sauce to finish. This is an epic recipe for any special moment. Cheers and happy New Year!
How To Serve Steak Oscar
Serve this delicious steak oscar with fresh asparagus for that classic steakhouse dinner. Or serve it with fresh green beans and roasted potatoes.
Pair this recipe with coal-roasted oysters for a truly unforgettable feast!
Expert Tips
Make sure your steaks are all the same width, size, and thickness to help them cook evenly.
This recipe has a lot of steps but it’s not that hard to make over the fire once you get going. Just make sure you have all of your ingredients ready to whisk the tasty Bearnaise sauce so the eggs don’t curdle. To keep the sauce warm, place it in a small pot or ramekins. Remember, anything over 1460F will ‘cook’ the eggs, changing the texture and you will have to start the sauce over again.
The crab meat is already cooked, so all you are doing it is warming it up in the butter sauce.
Grilled Steak Oscar Recipe
Ingredients
Steak:
- 3-4 Filet Mignon trimmed and trussed
- 1 tbsp of Flakey Sea Salt
- 1 tbsp of Fresh Black Pepper
- 1 tsp of Canola Oil
Simple Bearnaise Sauce:
- 1 tbsp of Butter salted
- 2 tbsp of Shallots chopped
- ¼ cup of White Wine Vinegar
- 3 Egg Yolks
- 1.5 tbsp of Tarragon Leaves
- 1 tsp of Sea Salt
- 1 tsp of Black Pepper
- 1 Lemon juiced
- 1 cup of Butter melted
Crab Topping:
- ⅛ cup of Steamed Lump Crab Meat
- 1 tsp of Sea Salt
- 1 tsp of Black Pepper
- 2 tsp of Butter
Asparagus:
- 1 bundle of Asparagus
- 1 tsp of Sea Salt
- 1 tsp of Black Pepper
- ½ tsp of Red Chili Flakes
- 1 tsp of Canola Oil
Instructions
- Preheat your grill for direct cooking around medium high heat (375F)
- Add a steel skillet to your grill along with some butter. Let that melt, then add your shallots to brown for 2-3 minutes. Next, add your white wine vinegar. Let the shallots and vinegar simmer until they are reduced by half (around 7-8 minutes). As they are simmering, add another skillet with the 1 cup of butter to gently melt. Stir both the butter and the shallots occasionally to prevent burning. Let the butter melt until it becomes foamy on top.
- When the butter and shallots are ready, set up your food processor. First, add the shallots in vinegar, egg yolks, salt, pepper, tarragon leaves and lemon juice. Blend until smooth. Next, add half of the butter and blend until smooth. The sauce should begin to thicken. Finally, add the last half of the butter and blend until smooth. When the sauce is done, place it in a serving dish and keep warm. (Tip: To keep it warm, keep your oven on at 140F. Anything over 160F will make the sauce “cook,” and you will have to start all over!)
- Reheat your fire to a high temperature around 400F for direct cooking.
- Season your steaks with oil, salt and pepper. Add them to the grill and cook for 4-4.5 minutes per side until they are 120F internal for medium-rare. As the steaks cook, add your asparagus to the grill and season with oil, salt, pepper and red chili flakes. Cook for about 5 minutes until charred and dark green. Finally, add a skillet to the grill and melt some butter. Add the crab meat into the skillet along with salt and pepper to cook for 2-3 minutes to warm up. When everything is done, pull it off to rest for 3-4 minutes.
- Serve your dish with a base layer of asparagus followed by the steak, topped with crab meat and lathered in 2 tbsp of the sauce. Eat and enjoy!
Why is cast iron not ideal for simmering?
It can hurt the seasoning on it when you simmer for too long