Onglet à l’échalote with Beaujolais sauce recipe

Onglet is one of my favourite cuts of meat, it has such great flavour. The sauce is the one my grandma, Joséphine, used to make me.

Timings

Prep time: 15 minutes plus 20 minutes to rest

Cook time: 50 minutes

Serves

4

Ingredients

For the Beaujolais sauce

• 1 litre veal or beef stock
• 20ml vegetable oil
• 250g finely sliced shallots (approx 10)
• 3 garlic cloves, unpeeled, lightly crushed with the palm of your hand
• 1 thyme sprig
• 1 bay leaf
• 250ml port
• 500ml Beaujolais or similar light red wine (not too tannic)
• 50-80g salted butter

For the steaks

• 4 onglet steaks, each weighing approx 280g
• 40ml rapeseed oil
• knob of butter
• 4 small-medium banana shallots, sliced finely lengthways
• 5 thyme sprigs
• 1 rosemary sprig
• 1 garlic clove, unpeeled, lightly crushed

Method

1. To make the sauce, put the stock in a pan. Heat to reduce it to 200-300ml (8-10 minutes).
2. Meanwhile, heat the oil in a pan over a high heat, then add the shallot, garlic and herbs. Season and put the lid on, letting them sweat slowly until soft (about 20 minutes).
3. Add the port and wine, continuing to heat until the liquid has reduced to a glaze (about 5-10 minutes), then add this to the pan of simmering reduced stock. 
4. Continue to reduce it a bit if necessary (so you can’t taste the alcohol) then pass through a fine sieve, pressing down well with a ladle, into a bowl or jug. Set aside.
5. Bring the steaks out of the fridge to come to room temperature before cooking. Season them well. 
6. Heat the oil in a frying pan over a high heat and add the steaks (cook them in batches if you need to). Sear them well for a couple of minutes on each side.
7. Add a knob of butter along with the shallot, thyme, rosemary and garlic. Cook for a further 5 minutes, basting the steaks in the butter. Place on a plate to rest for 20 minutes.
8. Meanwhile, bring the sauce back to a simmer and whisk in a generous knob of butter and more seasoning if needed.
9. To serve, slice the rested steaks against the grain, top with the sliced shallot they cooked with, and pour over the sauce.