Beef, mushrooms, white wine, cream and a bit of dijon mustard. Steak with mushroom cream sauce is a classic restaurant dish. Shallots lend a hint of sweetness countered by the bite of dijon. Nicely balanced against the earthiness of the mushrooms and steak.
There’s a few things to keep in mind. Cook the mushrooms before you cook the steak. Do it the other way around and you’re eating cold steak for dinner. Veal stock adds a nice complexity to the sauce. A richness. Chicken stock work but veal stock is better.
Be ready with your ingredients. You don’t have to move fast but you can’t move slow. Don’t crowd your pan. If you want to do 4 steaks use 2 pans. If you want to do 6 steaks find another recipe. Seriously. You will have problems. But for two (or 4) portions this recipe works. Well.
steak with mushroom cream sauce
Ingredients
- 2 steaks - striploin, boneless rib, top sirloin or tenderloin all work
- 3 cups mushrooms sliced
- 1/2 cup shallots minced
- 1/4 cup white wine
- 3/4 chicken (good) or veal stock (awesome)
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 3 sprigs thyme leaves removed from stalks
- 1 tsp dijon mustard
- 3 Tbsp vegetable oil
- salt to taste
Instructions
The Mushrooms
- Heat 2 Tbsp oil in a large frying pan oven medium low heat.
- Add the minced shallots and sweat until the shallots are translucent.
- Turn up the heat to medium high and add the mushrooms. Fry the mushrooms, stirring constantly, until cooked. Pay attention - you don’t want your shallots to burn.
- Season with salt.
- Remove mushroom mixture from pan and wipe away any residual bits of shallot.
The steaks
- Season the steaks generously with salt and pepper.
- Return the pan to the stove and turn the heat to medium high, Add the remaining Tbsp oil.
- Fry the steaks until cooked to your liking - around 2-3 minutes per side for medium-rare. You are looking for an internal temperature of 120-130F.
- Remove steaks from pan. Tent with foil. Return pan to medium heat.
- Add white wine and boil, stirring to dissolve any bits in the pan. Now add the stock and thyme leaves and boil until reduced by half.
- Add the cream and dijon mustard and stir to combine.
- Return the mushrooms to the pan along with any juices that have accumulated.
- Add any juices that have accumulated from the steaks.
- Cook until warmed through. If your steaks have cooled too much you can warm them quickly in the sauce.
- Serve mushroom sauce under steaks.
Notes
steak with mushroom cream sauce
Ingredients
- 2 steaks - striploin, boneless rib, top sirloin or tenderloin all work
- 3 cups mushrooms sliced
- 1/2 cup shallots minced
- 1/4 cup white wine
- 3/4 chicken (good) or veal stock (awesome)
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 3 sprigs thyme leaves removed from stalks
- 1 tsp dijon mustard
- 3 Tbsp vegetable oil
- salt to taste
Instructions
The Mushrooms
- Heat 2 Tbsp oil in a large frying pan oven medium low heat.
- Add the minced shallots and sweat until the shallots are translucent.
- Turn up the heat to medium high and add the mushrooms. Fry the mushrooms, stirring constantly, until cooked. Pay attention - you don’t want your shallots to burn.
- Season with salt.
- Remove mushroom mixture from pan and wipe away any residual bits of shallot.
The steaks
- Season the steaks generously with salt and pepper.
- Return the pan to the stove and turn the heat to medium high, Add the remaining Tbsp oil.
- Fry the steaks until cooked to your liking - around 2-3 minutes per side for medium-rare. You are looking for an internal temperature of 120-130F.
- Remove steaks from pan. Tent with foil. Return pan to medium heat.
- Add white wine and boil, stirring to dissolve any bits in the pan. Now add the stock and thyme leaves and boil until reduced by half.
- Add the cream and dijon mustard and stir to combine.
- Return the mushrooms to the pan along with any juices that have accumulated.
- Add any juices that have accumulated from the steaks.
- Cook until warmed through. If your steaks have cooled too much you can warm them quickly in the sauce.
- Serve mushroom sauce under steaks.
Notes
Cornish hen with mustard cream sauce is long on style and short on work. Roast the hens. Maybe baste them once along the way. Whip up a quick reduction sauce and you’re done. It pairs beautifully with potatoes of any sort. Mashed, roasted, or along side a potato galette .
I am a fan of the cornish hen. We don’t get poussin where I live so cornish hen is my go to stand-in. One bird is enough for two moderate portions so even a dinner for eight isn’t that hard to do.
Dijon mustard and cream work well together. There’s a trick to make them come together though. Add a bit of stock or water to the mustard to thin it. Stir it up before you add it to the sauce. That way you won’t get clumps of mustard floating around in your sauce. Unless you like clumps of mustard, I guess.
cornish hen with mustard cream sauce
Ingredients
- 2 cornish hens or small chickens
- 1/2 cup white wine
- 1 cup chicken stock
- 2 tsp dijon mustard
- 1/2 cup whipping cream 35%
- salt
- pepper
- olive oil
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 400F. Place a roasting pan in the oven to heat.
- Rub the cornish hens with olive oil and season generously with salt and pepper.
- Roast the hens for 20 minutes, then baste with the rendered fat in the roasting pan.
- Roast the hens to an internal temperature of 165F in the breast, another 15-20 minutes.
- Remove roasting pan from the oven. Place the hens on a cutting board.
- Spoon the fat from the pan, leaving any browned bits.
- Place the pan over medium heat.
- Deglaze with the white wine then reduce to a syrupy glaze - about 3-5 minutes.
- Add the stock and reduce by half.
- While the stock reduces, mix the mustard with a couple teaspoons of additional stock or water.
- Add the mustard mixture and stir to combine.
- Add the cream and bring to a simmer. Reduce slightly.
- Adjust seasoning.
- Quarter the cornish hens. Add any accumulated juices to the sauce and stir to combine.
- Serve 1/2 hen per person.
