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Steak with Crispy Spiced Potatoes

By America's Test Kitchen

Published on October 7, 2011

Time

30 minutes

Yield

Serves 4

Steak with Crispy Spiced Potatoes

Ingredients

1 pound small red potatoes, quartered2 tablespoons vegetable oil 2 strip steaks about 1 ½ inches thick, trimmed of fat and halved crosswiseSalt and pepper 2 tablespoons unsalted butter ½ teaspoon dried oregano ½ teaspoon paprika ½ teaspoon onion powder ¼ teaspoon garlic powder ⅛ teaspoon cayenne pepper

Instructions

  1. Toss potatoes and 1 tablespoon oil in large bowl. Wrap tightly with plastic and microwave until edges of potatoes are translucent, 4 to 7 minutes, shaking bowl (without removing plastic) to redistribute potatoes halfway through cooking.
  2. Pat steaks dry with paper towels and season with salt and pepper. Heat remaining oil in large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until just smoking. Cook steaks until well browned, 4 to 6 minutes per side. Transfer to plate and tent with foil.
  3. Drain potatoes and cook in empty skillet until browned and crisp, about 5 minutes. Add butter, oregano, paprika, onion powder, garlic powder, cayenne, ½ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon pepper and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Serve.
Steak with Crispy Spiced Potatoes

Steak with Crispy Spiced Potatoes

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By America's Test Kitchen
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Time

30 minutes

Yield

Serves 4

Ingredients

1 pound small red potatoes, quartered
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 strip steaks about 1 ½ inches thick, trimmed of fat and halved crosswise
Salt and pepper
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
½ teaspoon dried oregano
½ teaspoon paprika
½ teaspoon onion powder
¼ teaspoon garlic powder
⅛ teaspoon cayenne pepper

Ingredients

1 pound small red potatoes, quartered
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 strip steaks about 1 ½ inches thick, trimmed of fat and halved crosswise
Salt and pepper
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
½ teaspoon dried oregano
½ teaspoon paprika
½ teaspoon onion powder
¼ teaspoon garlic powder
⅛ teaspoon cayenne pepper

Ingredients

1 pound small red potatoes, quartered
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 strip steaks about 1 ½ inches thick, trimmed of fat and halved crosswise
Salt and pepper
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
½ teaspoon dried oregano
½ teaspoon paprika
½ teaspoon onion powder
¼ teaspoon garlic powder
⅛ teaspoon cayenne pepper

Why This Recipe Works

We parcooked the potatoes for our Steak with Crispy Spiced Potatoes in the microwave before we finished them in the skillet. This kept them from drying out and also cut down on the cooking time.

We found that four strip steaks didn’t easily fit in a large skillet, so we used two extra-thick steaks and cut them into four portions total. We developed our recipe for Steak with Crispy Spiced Potatoes using sweet paprika (often just labeled “paprika"). When using hot paprika, we found it best to omit the cayenne.

Instructions

  1. Toss potatoes and 1 tablespoon oil in large bowl. Wrap tightly with plastic and microwave until edges of potatoes are translucent, 4 to 7 minutes, shaking bowl (without removing plastic) to redistribute potatoes halfway through cooking.
  2. Pat steaks dry with paper towels and season with salt and pepper. Heat remaining oil in large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until just smoking. Cook steaks until well browned, 4 to 6 minutes per side. Transfer to plate and tent with foil.
  3. Drain potatoes and cook in empty skillet until browned and crisp, about 5 minutes. Add butter, oregano, paprika, onion powder, garlic powder, cayenne, ½ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon pepper and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Serve.

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