How to Cook an Elegant Steak Oscar

My husband’s birthday was recently and considering we weren’t able to go to a restaurant to celebrate, I asked him what he would like that was special for a dinner at home. He told me he wanted something that was surf and turf with a little meat and some seafood. I went scouting and found this recipe for Steak Oscar and let me tell you, it was MIND BLOWINGLY GOOD!

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How to Cook an Elegant Steak Oscar by autumnbecomes.me

This is not a recipe for beginners. I’m just being honest. I was really surprised I was able to pull it off. The original recipe was a bit confusing and had things cooking in orders that wouldn’t allow all the food to come out warm, so I’m re-writing this recipe in a way that suited me best. I’ll try my best to explain how to do things like temper butter so you don’t scald the hollandaise sauce and time everything. This involves 4 main components that will be cooked at the same time, so you will need at least four working burners on your stove.

I like to think that “where there’s a will there’s a way” and if you really want to make this, I completely believe you can. Just break it down into small meals. If you’ve made steak before, then you’ve got that. If you’ve made shrimp and blanched asparagus before then you’re three fourths down for this recipe which is exactly where I was when I made it! So, my first bit of advice is to not let the recipe overwhelm you and remind yourself that you already really know how to make all of this. This recipe is for 2 servings.

How to Cook an Elegant Steak Oscar by autumnbecomes.me

For the Meat and Asparagus:

1. 2 steaks of your choice (ribeye, strip or filet mignon): I used filet mignons

2. About 10 thin spears of asparagus: 5 for each serving

For the Shrimp:

1. 1 lb of wild caught shrimp, peeled and deveined: I actually ALWAYS have some frozen shrimp in my freezer so that’s what I used, just make sure you thaw them out.

2. 3 cloves of garlic, chopped

3. 1 shallot, sliced thin

4. 1 1/2 cups white wine: I used a small 750ml bottle of Sutter Home’s Chardonnay

5. 1 TB butter

6. 1 tsp Dill (can be fresh or dried)

7. Salt and Pepper to taste

For the Hollandaise Sauce:

1. 3 egg yolks

2. Juice of 1 1/2 lemons

3. 1 1/2 sticks of butter (you will need to melt this butter in a microwave and have it cooled slightly)

4. A pinch of sugar

5. A dash of cayenne (be careful, you don’t want to overwhelm your sauce, I actually omitted this completely)

6. Salt and Pepper to taste

How to Cook an Elegant Steak Oscar by autumnbecomes.me

1.) I HIGHLY suggest you get everything together, measured, and waiting ahead of time and separated into quadrants (steak things with steak, hollandaise things together ready and waiting). Things will move fairly fast once you start cooking and you’re going to want to know what goes into things at a glance.

2.) Pull your pans, you’ll need a small saucepan for the Hollandaise sauce, you’ll need a deep pot of boiling water for your asparagus, you’ll need a non-stick pan for your fillets and another pan for your shrimp. Have them all clean and ready to go ahead of time.

3.) Take a DEEP BREATH and here we go! Get the water in your big pan boiling.

4.) Season and drop your fillets onto your nonstick plan, These will probably take the longest out of everything to cook so you want to get them started first.

How to Cook an Elegant Steak Oscar by autumnbecomes.me

5.) While you’re waiting for your steaks to get done add butter and shallots into a medium skillet and cook until your shallots are soft. Add your garlic and cook for just 30 seconds. Be sure to NOT burn the garlic or you’ll have to start over. Add your wine and reduce it by half.

6.) While you’re waiting for your wine to reduce, drop your asparagus into the boiling water and set a timer for seven minutes. Also, check on your steaks. Flip them if you haven’t already, test to make sure that they are the right temperature for you, and turn the heat off if they’ve reached an appropriate temperature. They need to rest for 5-8 minutes.

7.) Go back to your garlic, shallot and wine mixture and add your shrimp. Cook them until they just start to turn pink because you’ll be letting this sit while you bring everything else together. It’s better to have the shrimp slightly under than end up with chewy overcooked shrimp. 

How to Cook an Elegant Steak Oscar by autumnbecomes.me

8.) In your saucepan, you’re going to want to add your egg yolks and lemon juice and start whisking them together. While you’re whisking take your melted butter and slowly drizzle it through the air into your saucepan. The air should cool it slightly and adding it so slowly while whisking will not cause it to scald your eggs. Wisk until the sauce coats the back of a spoon. Add in your sugar, salt, pepper, and cayenne pepper. I actually omitted the cayenne pepper completely and the sauce was DELICIOUS!!! Wisk it further just to mix the newly added ingredients.

9.) To assemble this classic plate, place the steak on the plate. Then divide and take your cooked asparagus and put that on top of your steak. After that, take your shrimp and pile those on top of your steak and asparagus. Lastly, pour as much or as little of your Hollandaise sauce on top of everything. Top with a sprinkle of dill over the top and pour yourself a glass of chardonnay! YOU DID IT!!!!!

Congratulations! I’ll be honest, this is a major meal and if you managed to pull it all together, you deserve to feel proud of your accomplishment. I hope you really enjoy this meal. I hope you feel proud at this culinary feat and you are now able to make that for your friends and family on special occasions. If you have any questions please feel free to ask me in the comments and I’ll try to help you out. If you want to just talk about how good what you cooked is, please let me know too! I hope this made a bonding moment in your home and kitchen with your loved ones. It’s really special and empowering to make something that you normally see in restaurants in your own kitchen. I wish you a wonderful day and a delicious meal. -Heather Astaneh

How to Cook an Elegant Steak Oscar by autumnbecomes.me