This pan-fried rib eye steak with herbed butter and skinny potato chips is meant to be eaten with as much gusto as you can muster. And between creamy butter, tender meat, and crisp fries, that really shouldn’t be a challenge.
Pan-fried rib eye steak with herbed butter and skinny potato chips
Ingredients
Herbed butter
- 110g butter, softened + 30ml (2 tbsp) extra, to fry
- 15g mixture of sage leaves, thyme
- leaves and rosemary leaves, finely chopped
- 1 garlic clove, peeled and minced
- salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Potato chips
- 3 medium (about 700g) potatoes, unpeeled
- canola/sunflower oil, to deep-fry
- salt, to taste
Steak
- fresh leaves of 2 rosemary sprigs, roughly chopped
- olive oil, to fry
- 2 medium rib eye steaks
Instructions
For the herb butter, add the 30ml (2 tbsp) softened butter to a frying pan, along with the mixture of chopped herbs and garlic. Fry the mixture gently over low heat, about 3 – 5 minutes, to take the raw “stinging” flavour out of the garlic and herbs. Allow to cool a little, about 10 minutes, before combining with the 110g softened butter and seasoning well to taste. Spread a piece of cling film on the kitchen counter, place the herb butter in the centre and shape into a log enclosed by the cling film. Refrigerate to firm up, about 30 minutes.
For the potato chips, cut the unpeeled potatoes into skinny chips and add to a pot of salted cold water. Once all of the chips have been added, bring the water to a boil, 5 minutes (the chips shouldn’t be too soft, as they are still going to be fried, which will cook them further). Drain the chips and allow to cool completely on a clean kitchen towel to absorb excess water.
Heat the oil in a deep-fat fryer to 180°C. Alternatively, use a medium pot and check the temperature with a sugar thermometer. Fry the chips, in batches if necessary, until golden brown. Carefully remove the chips from the oil, drain on paper towel and season with salt to taste.
For the steak, place a frying pan over high heat. Add the rosemary leaves and a drizzle olive oil to the pan and place 1 steak at a time in the pan while the pan is at about medium heat (it will heat up gradually as the steak cooks). Fry each steak, about 6 minutes in total for medium-rare (or longer as per your preference), turning occasionally. Once the steaks are cooked, allow them to rest, 10 minutes, before seasoning well to taste and slicing to serve.
Serve the steak slices warm, topped with slices of the herb butter and the crunchy skinny potato chips.
