New York Strip Steaks with Red Wine Sauce

When hunting for a red meat recipe this week, this one from Martha Stewart Living jumped out at me.  Then, after buying the meat and looking at it in the refrigerator, I was nearly salivating.  Not shockingly, I was advised by my obstetrician today to eat more iron because it's slightly low.  So that explains my sudden foray into carnivorousness.

In the same old song and dance I incessantly complain about, you might need to ask your meat department (or your butcher if you have one...flah, flah, flah, you fancy person you) what a New York Strip Steak actually is.  I couldn't find one, but good ol' Martha suggests ordering some from Emeril's Red Marble Steaks website.  That right there tells me it's not going to be in a Styrofoam container next to the cube steak.  I couldn't find anyone to help me and ended up with a New York Sirloin.  I don't know how much of a faux pas it was to just go with a "New York" something-or-other, but that's what I fed my family.  (The recipe says you might also find it as a shell steak.)

New York Strip Steaks with Red Wine Sauce

3 tablespoons vegetable oil
4 New York strip steaks (10 to 11 oz. each; about 1 inch thick)
coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
3/4 cup full-bodied red wine such as Syrah or Cabernet Sauvignon
1/2 cup beef stock
3 tbsp cold butter, cut into pieces
1 tbsp plus 1 tsp Dijon mustard

1.  Heat half the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.  Season 2 steaks with 3/43 tsp salt and some pepper.  Cook until deep golden brown and an instant-read thermometer inserted into the center reaches 130 degrees, about 4 minutes per side (for medium-rare).  Transfer to a platter, and tent with foil.  Repeat with remaining oil and steaks.  Let steaks rest in a 250 degree F oven.

2.  Reduce heat to medium, and add wine to skillet.  Cook until almost completely reduced, about five minutes.  Add beef stock, and cook until reduced to 1/4 cup, about 2 1/2 minutes.  Reduce heat to low, and whisk in butter (1 piece at a time) and mustard.  Stir in any juices from the platter, and season with salt and pepper.  Spoon sauce over steaks.

The Verdict:  Score one for Martha Stewart.  This steak is amazing.

I only cooked two small steaks.  While I'm all about meat at the moment, I can't imagine ten thousand pounds of leftover beef.  It was plenty for two adults, one meat-loving boy, and lunch leftovers.  I cooked the same amount of sauce, however, as I am a girl who loves her sauce.

Speaking of which, I think that in a panic that a 1/4 cup of sauce seemed too scant, I didn't let my wine reduce enough.  Don't be stingy like me; let it cook down.  The longer you let it cook, the thicker the sauce gets.  It still tasted great though--the heavy wine taste cooked out and you're left with a slightly sweet, mellow brown sauce that makes the steaks even juicier.

If you aren't into bloody steak, don't add too much cooking time.  It takes time to make the sauce, and the steak continues to cook in the oven.  I gave my steaks an additional two minutes per side and thought the thinner of the two came out of the oven a bit on the overcooked side.  If you're looking for medium or even medium-well, go with six minutes per side and no more.  

Steak, stock, butter, mustard.  Just enough to make a piece of red meat into something this side of gourmet.  Oh, and serve these babies with mashed potatoes.  All that juice gets sopped up like nobody's business.