Sometime I just crave beef. I know, but sometimes I just do. When this is the case I generally look for the best and serve it rare as possible. On this day I was flipping through the October 2011 edition of Bon Appetit magazine looking for something easy to make and came across this recipe and had to test it. I made Hanger Steak, Whipped Garlic Potatoes, Mushrooms and Red Zinfandel Reduction.

Of course I tweaked the recipe some from the magazine but mostly just added the mashed potatoes and used less butter. Over all I really liked this dish. I think you need to be carefully with the fresh tarragon. If you are like my better half and don’t like licorice then I would omit this and replace with thyme (for a mild lemony flavor) or oregano (for a bold woodsy flavor).

The steak was local grass feed organic beef from Whole Foods. For the mushrooms I used a mixture of Shitake, Oyster and Cremini.

INGREDIENTS

• Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 8-12 oz mushrooms
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 1/2 pounds hanger steak
• 5 garlic cloves – smashed
• 4 russet potatoes
• 1 6″ sprig rosemary
• 1 cup dry red wine
• 3/4 cup low-sodium chicken stock
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh tarragon
• heavy whipping cream (or half and half)
• Kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper

DIRECTIONS

1. Peel and cut potatoes into uniform chunks. Place in pot of cool water with two smashed garlic cloves. Bring to boil and let them go until fork tender. Stain potatoes and using a ricer, food mill or food processor “mash” until you achieve the consistency that you like. I mash the garlic right in with the potatoes for extra garlicky goodness. Add two tablespoons of the butter and as much cream as you like. Return potatoes to the pot, cover and keep warm.
2. In the meantime, heat a large skillet over medium high heat add two tablespoons of olive oil and the mushrooms. Toss until just cooked through. Remove from the pan and set aside.
3. In the same skillet add two more tablespoons of olive oil the remaining garlic cloves and the rosemary sprig. Season the hanger steak with salt and pepper. Add the steak to the skillet and cook depending on your taste (I like it rare) and its thickness about 3 minutes per side. Remove and tent with aluminum foil.
4. Discard the garlic and rosemary and add red wine. Cook while whisking to get all the bits from the bottom of the pan. Reduce the wine to about 3/4 cup. Strain the liquid and return to the pan. Add the chicken stock, bring the mixture to a boil and reduce to a simmer. Continue simmering until reduced to 1/2 cup. Remove from heat and whisk in remaining 2 tablespoons of butter. Toss the mushrooms back into the pan with 1 tablespoon of the chopped tarragon.
5. Garnish with the remaining tarragon.