Authentic Steak French Style?
 

Ok, so ever since seeing Anthony Bourdain eat this steak in a Parisian restaurant, I have been having a craving for a nice, well done, steak with a good hunk of real french bread. And maybe a glass of nice red wine.

Why am I mesmerized by this steak? It was good in a wood burning fire and served on a wooden platter...unline anything I have ever seen. Sigh.....

I am not willing to spend 20 bucks on steak though....so hopefully I can find this in Paris, but still quite cheap.

Can it be done?

I think that you'll have a very hard time in Paris trying to find a good cut of meat for less than $20. YOu might find something smothered in sauce to mask the lesser grade of meat for less money.

Do not forget to order it 'au point' for a nice bloody rare experience. My fave.

I am soo....how do you say? declasse?

i like my meat well done....the bloody thing is just not too appealing to me.

i know, i know...i can hear chefs everywhere throwing their arms up in horror.

ici, I thought "a point" was medium? That's how I order steak & I get it medium.

If it is "authentic" then think THIN because if you think you're going to get one of those hunks of Nebraska-like cornfed beef you're in for a big disappointment.

Prettyfatgirl, you wouldn't happen to remember the name of the restaurant Anthony had his steak in?? Going to Paris in a couple of weeks so would love a heads up!!

For steak, you can request:

Bleu (really rare, in fact practically raw..)

Saignant (medium rare) - this is the one I always go for as the French do medium rare a bit "drippier" than the English

à Point (Medium)

Bien Cuit (Well done)

By the way, there is a fantastic French restaurant near me in London which serves meat just like this, on a wooden platter. It is divine!

There are a couple of places which only do steak frites (plus puddings), & we tried 2 on our last trip. Both serve almost exactly the same dish - steak c.1.25" thick & carved into slices, on a wooden board, with a green, mustardy/herby sauce; frites & green salad. All the waiter/ress asks is how you want it cooked & what you want to drink. Both places were about €60 for 2 including a bottle of house red and we enjoyed them. You get quite a lot - they offer seconds - & we couldn't have eaten pudding. First we went to Le Relais d'Entrecote on rue St Benoit (St Germain) which was more central; then to Le Relais de Venise on bd. Péreire which we thought marginally better (& has no-smoking upper floor) but a bit of a trek out. Neither take reservations & you have to queue, but we only queued about 20 minutes at each & got to overtake larger groups.

Dear Pretty:

For an excellent and inexpensive entrecote steak try: Cafe Rousillon in the 7th arrondisement @ corner of Rue de Grenelle and Rue Cler. Great steak for about $30 for 2!.. Carafe of wine for about 9 Euros.. fantastic.. I was there about one month ago. It is a locals hangout about 10 min walk from Eiffel Tower..

Regards..
Luis

I always order my steak "au point" in Paris and it has never been bloody rare (thank goodness, as it's not supposed to be).

I like faux filet and well-cooked steak, sometimes au poivre and occasionally with bearnaise sauce. Any decent restaurant is going to ask you how you want a steak, so that's not unusual. I don't honestly know how they cook them as I don't go into the kitchen, so I don't know about the woodburning fire thing, but I've never been served a steak on a wooden platter (nor do I want one, I like plates).

20 bucks on steak is pretty cheap and I always spend more than that. I don't like cheap meat, it's usually too fatty and tough, which is why I won't usually even order the ubiquitous specials of the day which have "entrecote", a less expensive cut and would never get that thick tough cut (often called romsteak or pave of romsteak).

I don't spend that much money dining, but I think a decent steak is usually around 20 euro for the main course where I dine. I would not eat French bread with steak, either. They serve a good steak at the Grand Cafe near the Opera, but it's probably around 20-25 euro.

bad wording that was confusing -- when I said I liked well-cooked steak, I didn't mean welldone which don't care for, but I mean prepared and cooked nicely and not overcooked or tough.

I have never seen the use of ordering steak in France. The beef is just not as good as ours and there are so many more things that are wonderful and unavailable in the US.

I've enjoyed many a steak in France.
I wouldn't say at all that their beef is not as good, but there are differences in the butchering, yielding different cuts of meat in some cases.
Hanger steak for example, a little chewier than some American cuts, but very very flavorful.

You may find that a well done French steak is quite tough; the cuts of meat are different and thus usually cooked rare.

This is a very interesting article on how the French cut their meat differently and, therefore, have different tasting beef.

http://partners.nytimes.com/library/...nch-steak.html

Enjoy!

I've had absolutely delicious steak in France (in Bourges at d'Antan Sancerrois). The cut was called the "poire" of beef from Limousin cattle. Excellent, as good a steak as I've had anywhere.
French steak may seem tougher because it's more likely to be grass fed, rather than stuffed with corn,ground up by-products, hormones, anti-biotics and who knows what else (after reading This Cow's Life, I stick to grass-fed, hormone free steak in the U.S.)
But if you're not willing to spend 20 bucks, you're probably not going to find you're dream steak in Paris.

BTilke you're right "la poire" is excellent as well as "le merlan" another part of beef. à point! yum!3:O

Hanger steak isn't a product of the French butchering technique - it's a separate muscle that "hangs" inside the body cavity when the animal is slaughtered. Hanger is commonly available at butchers in our area (Boston), though not in the supermarkets. I'd happily trade the best tenderloin for hanger, even though it's a fraction of the cost. For real beef lovers, who like big beef flavor and a bit of "chew," it's the best cut there is (but don't tell anyone, or the price will go up).

But it is a much more commonly served beef dish in restaurants in France than in the US. I believe that is more to the point. And yes, it is delicious, if and when you can get it. It is called colloquially "butcher's cut" since the butcher took it home to his family, knowing how good it is.

BTilke,

You reminded me that the best steak I've ever had anywhere was in the Limousin--fabulous! But steaks from Charolais cattle are pretty tasty too.