Steak and Mushrooms with Red Wine Sauce

Learn how to make perfectly cooked steak in a pan at home easily and fool proof.

I love a good steak, who doesn’t? But if you ever thought making restaurant quality cooked steak at home was intimidating or out right impossible think again! I’m going to show you a fool proof way to make really great tasting juicy steak every time with just a single pan. I’ll also show you how to prepare perfectly sauteed cremini mushrooms and a rich and velvety red wine reduction sauce to pair with the delectable steak. Okay let’s get started!

Great steak starts with the proper technique.

So the big secret behind getting steak right at home is ALL about the TECHNIQUE! Yes technique is very important and it all starts out with the pan. Now like myself most of us have those convenient non-stick pans but I highly recommend you invest in a quality all stainless steel cooking pan by All-Clad or anything that has a thick bottom. Thick bottom means more heat will be retained while you cook which means more even cooking. Plus these pans can get to very high temperatures unlike most teflon coated pans which is critical to the process.

The next thing is to get a nice well marbled piece of steak. You can go for a New York strip or nice piece of ribeye but remember more fat = more flavor and texture. The leaner the steak the less juicy and tasty and stringier the meat. Costco usually has a really good selection of steaks for a reasonable price so that’s where I usually get mine.

Alright, the next step is to really PAT DRY your steak and SEASON AGGRESSIVELY with salt and pepper. You almost want to make a nice crust of seasoning on the surface which will then help seal in all the juices during the cooking. Afterwards you must let the steak come to room temperature before cooking otherwise your desired doneness will be off in the end. So don’t skip this step!

The hotter the cooking pan the better and flip only once.

When cooking you want to get your pan to ultra high heat, the hotter the better. Last thing you want to do is have a pan that’s not hot enough which will lead to you boiling the meat…not fun! I usually wait a few minutes for the pan to get to temperature and then add in the oil and steaks. Don’t crowd your pan, for a 9 inch size pan 2 steaks is enough. The key thing is to keep the pan as hot as possible during the cooking!

Once the steaks are in the pan, don’t keep flipping! Yes, let them sizzle away for the full 3-4 min and then you can take a little peak to check the caramelization. This is very important to ensure a good hard sear on the meat and to ensure even cooking.

Lastly, once the steaks are cooked you must let it rest for at least 5 min before cutting. This allows time for the juices to settle back into the meat and continue carry over cooking to get to the right doneness.

How to prevent soggy sauteed mushrooms.

When I started out cooking my skills were not the greatest and my sauteed mushroom always came out shriveled, soggy, and watery. My mistake….well there were two major ones. One was I washed the mushrooms by soaking in water which is a big no no since they are literally like a sponge and hence the additional water. What I learned was to wash the mushrooms quickly under the water to remove the dirt and allow them to drip dry in a colander before cooking. My second problem was the fact that my pan was not hot enough.. Yup like the steak you want to make sure the pan is ultra hot when cooking mushrooms.

Drippings = big flavor for the sauce.

As I mentioned in the beginning this is a one pan recipe for good reason because after cooking the steak you develop so much good flavor in the cooked bits stuck to the bottom of the pan….which ultimately becomes part of your red wine sauce! So that’s right don’t wash your pan, the next step is build flavor by adding shallots and red wine then using a handy wooden spoon and scrapping all of that umami goodness. It’s that easy! And don’t forget to throw in the juices that seeped out while your steaks are resting.

Now that you have all the basics down, give this a recipe a try and let me know in the comments below!

Steak and Mushrooms with Red Wine Sauce

Prep time: 5 min     
Cook time: 10 h   
Total time: 15 min   
Servings: 4

Ingredients

• 2 New York strip steaks
• 1/3 cup red wine
• 1 lb cremini mushrooms
• 2 tbsp butter
• 1 tsp dried thyme
• 1 shallot minced
• 2 tsp flour
• 1 tsp sugar
• 2 tsp oil
• black pepper
• salt

Instructions

1. Pat dry the steaks with a paper towel and season both sides aggressively with salt and pepper. Allow the steaks to come to room temperature before cooking.
2. Bring a saucepan to medium high heat and melt in 1 tbsp of butter. Add in the quartered cremini mushrooms, thyme, and season with salt. Cook for 4-5 min until golden brown and set aside.
3. Bring a pan large enough to fit the 2 steaks to highest heat then drizzle in the oil and carefully place in the steaks. Let them cook on one side for 3-4 min for medium doneness (or cook for 1.5-3 min per side for rare to medium raredoneness).
4. Flip the steaks and cook for another 3-4 min or desired timing for doneness. After both sides are caramelized, render the fat on the side by holding that side down against the pan. Cook until the fat is also well caramelized.
5. Place the cooked steaks on a plate and allow them to rest for at least 5 min.
6. To make the red wine sauce, in the same steak pan add in the minced shallots and cook on medium heat until translucent for about 2 min. Stir in the flour and add in the red wine, juice from the resting steaks, and sugar and reduce the mixture until thick and syrupy. Stir in 1 tbsp of butter and adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper.
7. Serve the steaks with shallot red wine reduction and sauteed mushrooms. Enjoy!