There is nothing like a perfectly cooked steak. With that said, the simple addition of searing the meat in duck fat takes any steak to the next level… add in a hit of fish sauce and spicy dijon mustard to the marinade, and it is a steak like no other. The rich roasted meat, and sweet, umami caramelized fish sauce perfectly juxtaposes a fresh salad of herbs, sharp shallot and pickled fresno chiles. This steak is sure to please and leave you feeling energized to take on the day or night.
Roasted hanger steak with pickled chile, apple and herb salad
Serves 4
Ingredients
Steak
Hanger Steak - 1 1/2 lbs
Fish Sauce - 1 1/2 tbsp
Dijon Mustard - 1 tbsp
Black Pepper - 2 tsp
Epic Duck Fat - 1 1/2 tbsp
Garlic - 2 cloves
Thyme - 4 sprigs
Butter - 2 tbsp
Salad
Apple (granny smith preferred) - 1 each sliced into matchstick sized pieces
Parsley - 1 cup picked
Cilantro - 1 cup picke
Mint - 1/2 cup picked
Shallot - 1/2 cup sliced and soaked in cold water for 15 min
Lemon Juice - 1 each
Honey - 1/2 tsp
Olive Oil - 1 tbsp
Salt - to taste
Pickled Chile
Fresno Chile - 1/2 cup sliced into thin rounds
Rice Wine Vinegar 1/2 cup
Water - 1/8 cup
Sugar - 1 tsp
Salt - 1 tsp
Thyme - 2 sprigs
Method
Steak - Lightly score the steak with a sharp knife, making hatches approx 1/2’’ by 1/2’’. Take hanger steak and rub with fish sauce, mustard and black pepper. Let sit for at least 15 min.
Heat a cast iron pan over high heat and add duck fat to pan. Place steak in the pan and do not touch until meat is dark golden brown, about 5 min. Flip, add butter, thyme and smashed garlic and baste the meat until medium rare (or your desired temperature). Take off the heat and let it rest.
Salad - Slice apple into thin sheets (1/8’’) and then slice into long matchstick pieces, toss with a small bit of lemon juice to ensure they don’t brown. Slice shallot as thin as possible and place in cold water. Wash and pick herbs, if any herbs are extra large, run your knife through it once to ensure they are a nice size to eat. When ready to serve, remove the shallots from water, and toss all ingredients together, including fresno chile, with lemon juice, olive oil and salt. The dressing should just barely coat the salad, not too much, not too little.
Picked Fresno - Heat vinegar, sugar, salt and thyme over high heat. Once it reaches a simmer, pour over the sliced chile and place in the cooler. These can be made up to 1 week in advance.
Assembly
Slice the meat after letting rest for 5 min, and season with corse salt. Place salad on top of the meat and drizzle with pan juices, duck fat from pan and drippings. Serve immediately.