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The Flavorful Butter Technique Daniel Boulud Swears By When Cooking Steak
By JESS JEZIOROWSKI
There are several techniques for cooking juicy and tender steak, from the reverse sear to dry aging to sous vide, but for added richness, French-born Michelin-starred chef Daniel Boulud recommends cooking steak with a butter baste. According to Boulud, butter "nourishes" the beef and makes it delectable.
Butter basting cooks both sides of the steak — while the underside is getting direct heat from your cast iron pan, the top side gets a hot butter bath, which speeds up the cooking. Plus, the browned butter has nutty elements from the caramelized dairy proteins that improve the crust of the steak.
This method also coats the meat in a layer of fat, which carries the flavor of your chosen aromatics, like sprigs of thyme, rosemary, cloves of garlic, or shallot. A word of caution: butter burns easily, so make sure to add it closer to the end of the cooking and lower the heat to medium.