MoB | Ultimate Steak Side Dishes

Eric Yang

Next to a steak, anything is a side dish. Serve a beautifully roasted capon on the same table as a steak and you’ve got a side of capon. Traditional accompaniments for steak like garlic mashed potatoes, creamed spinach and sauteed mushrooms are altogether nothing to scoff at. But this being the Month of Beef, and given that we were cooking three beautiful ribeyes three different ways, we wanted to make some side dishes that could hold their own at the dinner table.

Chef Wes Whitsell, the man behind the charred steak tartare and the braised Wagyu brisket, guided us through four ultimate side dishes.

Scope the recipes, after the jump.

Home Fry Hash

Ingredients

4 medium potatoes, chopped
1 small onion, chopped
olive oil, for cooking
salt and pepper, to taste

Preparation

Heat a pan over high heat. Add oil. Add potatoes and cook for 10 minutes. Add onions, salt and pepper. Stir to incorporate.

Continue cooking until potatoes char on the bottom (if burning, lower heat to medium-high). Stir only occasionally once the potatoes have crisped. The total cooking time should be about 30 minutes. “The main thing is time”, Whitsell says. “If you think you’re overcooking them, you’re not.”

Arugula Salad

Ingredients

1 container of baby arugula
1 lemon, zested and juiced
1/2 teaspoon dijon mustard
1 container cherry tomatoes
Pecorino Romano, for shaving
3 tablespoons olive oil

Preparation

Make dressing by combining lemon zest, lemon juice and mustard in a small bowl. Slowly add olive oil, whisking to emulsify.

Cut cherry tomatoes in half and add to arugula. Add dressing and toss well. Shave pecorino over the top before serving. “It’s simple, light and a really good balance for a thick, hearty steak”, Whitsell says.

Roasted Broccoli

Ingredients

1 head of broccoli
2 lemons, zested and juiced
1 teaspoon chili flakes
olive oil
salt and pepper, to taste

Preparation

Cut broccoli florets into uniform pieces. In a bowl, toss with enough olive oil to coat broccoli. Season with chili flakes, salt, pepper and lemon zest.

Put broccoli on a baking sheet or aluminum foil in the oven at 425 degrees for 15 minutes. Remove, toss with lemon juice, serve.

Brussels Sprouts

Ingredients

1 bag of brussels sprouts (about two cups)
olive oil, for cooking
salt, pepper and garlic powder, for seasoning

Preparation

Trim the stems of the brussels sprouts and cut them in half vertically.

Cover the bottom of a stainless steel pan in olive oil. Season the entire pan with salt, pepper and garlic powder. Place the sprouts, cut side down, in the oil. Remember that the pan and oil should be cold at this point.

Put the pan over a burner on medium-high heat and cover it. “You’re going to steam them”, Whitsell says. “But it’s going to char the bottom with that garlic powder, salt and pepper. It’s f*cking awesome”. Cook for eight minutes.

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