Pan-Seared Tenderloin Steaks with Mushrooms and Yuzu-Butter Pan Sauce (Super Frienji Bonus Recipe) (Patreon)

Hello Super Frienjis!

Today’s recipe is one that teaches a couple technique every cook should have in their back pocket (or front pocket, so you don’t accidentally sit on it): pan-searing, and making a butter-emulsified pan sauce.

The technique is very simple and works for a variety of proteins, including steak, pork chops, or lamb chops. If it’s the kind of chop that a server would ask you: “and how would you like that cooked?” to request a doneness level, this technique will work. (Chicken and other poultry can also be cooked via this method, but require different pan temperatures and gentler finishing techniques to ensure that they are cooked 

For today’s recipe, I’m using tenderloin steak. It’s a cut of meat cut from inside the ribs along the spine of the steer from a muscle that is barely used during the animal’s lifetime, which leaves it almost completely devoid of tough connective tissue or fat. Because of this, it tends to dry out when cooked much beyond rare, so I like cooking it to 115°F in the pan and allowing carryover cooking (the continued cooking the interior of a piece of meat experiences as it rests off-heat) to take it to a rosy rare 120- to 125°F. (For fattier cuts like NY strips, ribeyes, pork, or lamb chops, I take it about 5°F further to encourage fat to render).

How to Pan-Sear Steak:

You’ve probably heard me advocate for fancy modern methods like the reverse sear or sous vide, which are absolutely wonderful at producing extremely tender steaks with perfectly cooked interiors from edge to edge. But if your goal is getting the meat from the fridge to the table as fast and as simply as possible, a classic pan-sear is the way to go (and the reason why most restaurants stick with it).

Pan-Searing Step 1: Dry and Salt the Meat

The technique involves cooking a protein in fat over high heat in order to deeply brown the surface for flavor and texture, then allowing it to finish cooking until the interior hits your desired final temperature. The key here is ensuring that your pan is hot and the surface of the protein is dry enough before adding it to the pan that we can rapidly trigger the Maillard reaction, the cascade of chemical reactions that cause proteins and carbohydrates to brown and produce a host of complex, roasty and savory aromas. At the very least, this means carefully blotting the surface of the meat dry with paper towels before seasoning and adding it to the pan.

But when you salt the meat can also have an effect. Salt is hygroscopic, meaning that it attracts water. When you first add salt to a piece of meat, osmotic pressure forces juices out of the meat cells and onto the salty surface of the meat within a few minutes, dissolving the salt into a concentrated brine. This brine then breaks down muscle proteins (like myosin) which loosens the structure of the meat and allows it to then reabsorb that brine, seasoning the meat more deeply and allowing it to stay more tender and juicy as it cooks. This process is called dry-brining (a name coined because it mimics the effects of a traditional wet brine, but without the added liquid).

Because water can greatly reduce the crust formation on a steak, I strongly advocate for searing meat either immediately after seasoning it and before the salt has had a chance to draw out juices to the surface, or waiting until the brine is re-absorbed. This typically takes about 45 minutes to an hour.

If you want to go a step further for the absolute best sear and the juiciest steak, salting it and letting it rest overnight uncovered in the fridge will give the salt time to work its way even more deeply into the meat, while the cool, dry air of the fridge will encourage the evaporation of moisture from the surface, leading to better browning and crust formation when it hits the pan.

Pan-Searing Step 2: Sear Hot

The next step is forming the crust. The simplest and most classic way of doing this is getting a skillet searing hot (in the past I used clad stainless steel with an aluminum or copper core; these days I use my own titanium-clad Titanium Pro Pan), adding a fat, then placing the steak in the pan and cooking them on the first side until a deep crust forms.

Some folks recommend using only oil for this phase as butter has a tendency to burn at those high temperatures used for searing. Personally, I don’t mind the flavor of darkly browned butter and find that it adds to the flavor and browning rate of the steak, so I use butter. Once that first side is seared, flip the steaks and sear the second side. Depending on the power of your burner and the thickness of the steak, you may find that the core temperature of the steak will hit 115°F for rare or 125°F for medium just as the second side reaches optimal crustage. If you’re monitoring the temperature (and you should be! My colleague Chris Young’s Predictive Thermometer makes this very simple) and it seems like the steak is going to brown too much before it finishes cooking through, lower the heat a bit. If it still seems pale on the outside when the center is ticking up towards finished, increase it.

If you want more evenly-cooked results, you can also flip the steak repeatedly—as often as once every 15 to 30 seconds or so—which will allow the interior to cook more gradually and lead to a rare core that reaches closer to the edges of the steak. The only problem with this method is that it precludes basting—adding aromatics like shallots, garlic, or herbs to fat in the pan and using a spoon to spoon the aromatic fat over the meat as it cook. Although Chris Young has done some tests that show basting does not affect the flavor of meat beyond the surface, I still love doing it in order to even out browning and to really add to that surface flavor.

As soon as it hits that target temperature, take the steaks out of the pan then pour that hot, aromatic butter over them.

Pan-Searing Step 3: Rest and Make a Pan Sauce

The final step in traditional pan-searing is to set the meat aside for a few moments while you make a pan sauce. There are a huge variety of pan sauces in the classic repertoire, but the basic process of each is the same:

Add and cook primary sauce ingredient to accompany the meat. Not all sauces contain an extra primary ingredient, but today I’m starting with mushrooms. As soon as I add them to the hot pan, they start to release moisture, which I can then use to scrape up any fond—the dark browned bits that have stuck to the bottom of the pan. This is flavor you don’t want to miss. I continue cooking the mushrooms until they are well-browned.

Add aromatics. Think: things like onion, shallot, ginger, herbs, spices—anything whose primary role is to add intense aroma and flavor to the finished sauce. For today I’m using thyme and shallots—Classic accompaniments to steak and mushrooms.

Add liquid. This liquid is typically stock, water, or perhaps an alcohol like red wine or beer. You can also add optional flavorings to the liquid at this point, such as soy sauce (to improve umami depth) or mustard (to give it just a touch of heat). It’s best to leave acidic ingredients (like vinegar or citrus juice) to the end, where it will have the brightest flavor. 

Reduce and emulsify with butter. Add some fresh butter to the skillet, bring the contents to a simmer, and allow the whole sauce to simmer down until the butter has emulsified and the sauce is creamy and rich. At this point, if the sauce begins to break (I.E. the sauce looks oily or greasy), it can easily be rescued with a few extra splashes of water or stock.

Add optional finishing touches. Finish off the sauce with an acid (the element most commonly missing from a home cook’s flavor bag; in this case I’m going with yuzu juice from the Asian market), any herbs you may be using, and seasoning with salt and pepper to taste. You can also add any juices the meat has exuded onto its placte right back into the pan sauce to add even more flavor.

Pan-Searing Step 4: Serve

Transfer the steaks to a serving platter, pour the sauce all round them, and go to town. (No, not literally—stick around and finish eating before you go to town).

What I really love about this method is how versatile it is. Once you get the basic steps out, you can swap out meats, aromatics, liquids, flavors, acids, herbs—there are more possible combinations than there are opinions in the world. What are some of your favorite pan sauces?

Recipe: Pan-Seared Tenderloin Steaks with Mushrooms and Yuzu-Butter Pan Sauce

Every recipe I publish here is personally tested, tasted, and approved.

What I love about this recipe:

Classic pan-searing technique produces good results fast.

Optionally salting and resting the steak overnight improves browning and juiciness.

Yuzu, soy, butter, and mushrooms are a natural pairing in this simple pan sauce.

Yield: Serves 2 (Can be doubled with a larger pan)

Active Time: 20 minutes

Total Time: 20 minutes (plus time to prep ingredients and optional overnight rest

Notes: The steak will come out juicier and better-seasoned with a deeper sear if you follow the optional overnight resting and drying step.This recipe will work with any kind of mushroom (I used beech and hen of the woods). Homemade chicken stock is best, but store bought chicken stock or bouillon (such as Better than Bouillon) will work. You can find yuzu juice in jars in any Asian supermarket or from online retailers. You can use lemon juice in place of the yuzu juice and dijon mustard in place of the whole grain.

Ingredients

For the Steak:

2 thick-cut tenderloin steaks, about 5 ounces (150g) each

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 tablespoons (15g) butter

1 small shallot, roughly sliced

a few sprigs of thyme

For the Pan Sauce:

2 tablespoons (30g) butter

2 teaspoons (10ml) extra-virgin olive oil

6 ounces (180g) mixed mushrooms, trimmed and cut into bite-sized pieces

1 small shallot, finely minced

1 sprig of thyme

2 teaspoons (10ml) soy sauce

1 tablespoon (15ml) whole grain mustard

1 cup (240ml) chicken stock (see note)

1 tablespoon (15ml) yuzu juice (see note)

Method

Season and rest the steaks: Press the steaks on a paper towel or clean kitchen towel to remove excess surface moisture. Season the steaks generously on all sides with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper. Place on a rack set in a rimmed baking sheet and refrigerate, uncovered, overnight (see note). Do not exceed 24 hours or the steaks can start to get a ham-like texture.

Cook the steaks: Heat half the butter in a heavy skillet over high heat, swirling, until it is melted, the foaming has subsided, and it is starting to brown slightly. Reduce heat to medium-high, then add the steaks. Cook, using a spatula or tongs to move them around the pan until well-seared on the first side, about 90 seconds, turning down the heat if the butter begins to verge towards black. Flip the steaks, add the remaining butter, sliced shallot, and thyme sprigs and continue cooking, tilting the pan and using a spoon to pick up the shallots, butter, and thyme, and pour it over the top of the steaks. Continue cooking until the second side is browned and steaks register around 115°F for rare or 125°F for medium, about 90 seconds longer.

Rest the steaks: Transfer the steaks to a plate and pour the melted butter, thyme, and shallots directly on top of them. Set aside to rest while you make the pan sauce.

Sauté the mushrooms: Return the pan to medium-high heat and add half the butter, the oil, and the mushrooms. Cook, stirring frequently, until the mushrooms are well-browned, 4 to 5 minutes. Add the minced shallot and thyme sprig and cook, stirring and tossing constantly, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the soy sauce, mustard, chicken stock, and butter. Increase heat to high and cook until the sauce reduces into a creamy, emulsified liquid, about 2 minutes. Stir in the yuzu juice and any drippings from the meat’s resting platter. Remove from heat. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Note: If the sauce breaks (I.E. the fat separates out and it looks greasy), add water or stock a few tablespoons at a time, stirring and rapidly simmering between additions until it emulsifies again.

Plate and serve: Transfer the steaks to individual plates or a serving platter. Pour the pan sauce all around them. Serve immediately.