In France, morel mushrooms are a favorite of home cooks and restaurant chefs alike. I’m an avid mushroom hunter, and I found my first morels not in France, but on the way to Soldier Creek in Modoc County in the far northeastern corner of California. Their distinctive cone-like shape covered with craters makes them hard to miss. You can also make this sauce with dried morels and any steak, or even ground sirloin, though beef tenderloin is the classic choice. I like to use rib eye, either boneless or bone in.
Ingredients
- ½ pound (250 grams) fresh morels or ½ ounce (15 grams) dried morels
- 1 cup (8 fluid ounces/250 milliliters) boiling water, if using dried morels
- 4 boneless rib eye steaks, ½ inch (12 millimeters) thick, about 1½ pounds (750 grams) total
- 1¼ teaspoons sea salt
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground pepper
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil
- ½ cup (3 ounces/90 grams) minced shallot
- ¾ cup plus 2 tablespoons (7 fluid ounces/220 milliliters) crème fraîche or heavy cream
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, at room temperature, mixed with 1 teaspoon all-purpose flour to make a paste
Preparation
If using fresh morels, trim the tip of the stem end. Slice any large ones lengthwise in halves or quarters; leave smaller ones whole. Set aside. If using dried morels, rehydrate them in boiling water, letting them stand for 30 minutes before draining through cheesecloth.
Pat the steaks dry and season them all over with ¾ teaspoon of the salt and ¼ teaspoon of the pepper. In a frying pan, heat 1 tablespoon of the butter and the oil over medium-high heat.
When the pan is hot, sear the steaks for 1–2 minutes on each side for medium-rare. Transfer to a plate and cover loosely with aluminum foil to keep warm.
Pour off all but 1 tablespoon of the pan juices. Add the remaining 1 tablespoon butter to the pan and set over medium heat. Add the shallot, mushrooms and the remaining salt and pepper and cook, stirring, until the mushrooms are soft, 6–8 minutes if fresh or 8–11 minutes if dried. Add the crème fraîche and stir, without boiling, for 1–2 minutes. Continue to simmer, stirring, until a thin sauce forms, about 4 minutes. Gradually add the butter-flour mixture and stir until the sauce thickens.
Place the steaks on warmed plates, spoon the sauce and mushrooms over them, and serve at once. Serves 4.
