Pan-Seared Ribeye with Cracked Pepper & Mahon-Menorca Cheese Sauce
Pan-Seared Ribeye with Cracked Pepper & Mahon-Menorca Cheese Sauce is a super easy and quick idea for any Holiday dinner. It just takes 15 minutes, from start to finish. You cant beat that!
Pan-Seared Ribeye with Cracked Pepper & Mahon-Menorca Cheese Sauce is a super easy and quick idea for any Holiday dinner. It just takes 15 minutes, from start to finish. You cant beat that!
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 cup whole milk
- 1 lbs ribeye steak
- 2 tbsp butter (unsalted)
- 2 tbsp olive oil (cooking type)
- 1 spring rosemary (fresh)
- 1 tbsp butter (unsalted)
- 1 tbsp flour (all purpose)
- 1 cup mahon-menroca cheese (raw, shredded)
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper (cracked up to 1 teaspoon, depending on how spicy you like it)
- Carbohydrate 0.702068749989206 g
- Cholesterol 47.2796874613213 mg
- Fat 17.7568468604082 g
- Fiber 0 g
- Protein 0.671940624847084 g
- Saturated Fat 11.2161649907588 g
- Serving Size 1 1 Serving (263g)
- Sodium 45.2812239563545 mg
- Sugar 0.702068749989206 g
- Trans Fat 1.26599437397853 g
- Calories 162 calories
Step-by-step
- Remove the steak from the fridge a half hour before cooking to bring it a room temperature
- Preheat the oven to 415F
- Season the steak with salt and pepper on both sides
- In a cast iron skillet melt butter and olive oil on high heat
- Once the skillet is sizzling, add steak and cook undisturbed for two minutes
- Flip the steak onto the other side and cook for another two minutes
- At this time add rosemary to the pan and using spoon baste the hot rosemary oil over the top of the steak; (for extra flavor)
- Transfer the skillet into your preheated oven and cook 4 minutes for rare, 5 minutes for medium rare, 6 minutes for medium
- Using oven safe mittens remove the skillet from the oven and transfer the steak to a cutting board (the skillet will be VERY HOT so BE CAREFUL)
- Cover steak with the foil and let it rest for 10 minutes
- While steak is in the oven start working on the sauce
- Melt 1 tablespoon of butter in a pan, add flour and mix well
- Gradually start adding milk and mixing to achieve a smooth consistency
- Cook for about 2 minutes to thicken up
- Add cracked paper and again mix well
- Turn off the heat and add cheese
- Once the cheese is incorporated into the sauce check for seasoning and add salt if needed
- Pour the sauce over steak and enjoy!
The ingredient list leaves out how temperature differentials affect the final sear. Taking a 1-pound ribeye out of the refrigerator thirty minutes before cooking prevents the cold interior from dropping the cast iron skillet temperature below the threshold needed for Maillard browning. High heat melts the surface fats while leaving the center ready for the 415 degree Fahrenheit oven finish.
Scaling and Roux Ratios
Multiplying this recipe requires adjusting the stovetop pans rather than just the math. Doubling the cheese sauce demands a wider saucepan so the 1 cup of whole milk evaporates efficiently during the two-minute thickening window. When building the roux with 1 tablespoon of butter and 1 tablespoon of flour, maintain a strict 1-to-1 ratio by weight. Raw shredded Mahon-Menorca cheese melts smoothly off the heat at the very end, whereas adding aged variants under direct flame causes protein separation and an oily break.
- Greasy sauce texture usually means the cheese was added while the burner remained active.
- Overcooked steak occurs when resting time falls short of the ten-minute mark required for internal juices to redistribute.
- Thin sauce requires an extra minute of simmering before dairy integration.
