Steaks with Red Wine Sauce
These juicy steaks are simply seasoned, seared, and topped with a buttery, red wine/caramelized onion sauce. You need 5 ingredients and about 20 minutes and this dish is on the table. Easiest, most delicious weeknight meal ever.
This is a restaurant-quality dish, but it’s made in minutes with just 5 ingredients. When you partner the right ingredients, you don’t need to add a gazillion different things. In this case, the onions soften and sweeten in a skillet with butter, and then red wine reduces in the same pan until it’s thickened (and the wine picks up all the nuances of the onion and browned bits from the steak). The marriage of flavors and textures is incredible.
What type of steak should you use? Whatever you want! I chose bottom round steaks because I love the fact that they have a decent amount of marbling. Marbling (or fat) means flavor and tenderness. You can go in either direction – choose leaner sirloin steaks with less marbling, or opt for T-bone or chuck steaks with even more marbling. I’m a big fan of what’s on sale too!
What type of red wine should you use? If you like to sip it, you’ll like it in this sauce. You don’t need something super pricey, but note that the flavor of the wine is the star of the sauce, so opt for something with great flavor. You can use a Beaujolais, cabernet sauvignon, pinot noir, merlot, or red blend. The options are endless.
What type of onions should you use? I chose red onion because it’s slightly sweeter than white. That said, there’s no need to dash to the store if you already have white or yellow onions. Shallots work too.
Steaks with Red Wine Sauce
Ingredients
- 4 steaks of choice, about 1-inch thick, I used bottom round steaks
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1 tablespoon olive oil, plus more if needed
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1/4 cup chopped shallots or red onion
- 1/2 cup dry red wine
- 1/3 cup beef broth or chicken broth
- Chopped fresh parsley for serving, optional
Equipment
Instructions
- Season both sides of the steaks with salt and pepper. Let stand at room temperature for 15 minutes.
- Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the steaks and cook for 3 to 4 minutes per side for rare to medium-rare, or longer for more fully cooked meat. Transfer the steaks to a plate.
- Add the shallots to the same pan over medium heat, adding a little more oil if necessary to prevent burning. Cook for 3 to 5 minutes, until golden. Add the wine and cook for 2 to 4 minutes, until syrupy.
- Add the beef broth and simmer until the liquid reduces and thickens. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the butter.
- Pour the sauce over the steaks and top with parsley, if using.