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Steak is something of an umbrella form for delicious cuts of meat that are typically harvested from cows. No matter what cut you like most or how you prefer it to be cooked, steak dinner is a wonderfully juicy and delicious meal that near enough any meat eater will enjoy. That said though, if you’re not used to cooking your own, then you may wonder, what to serve with steak?
Table of Contents
- How To Cook Steak?
- What Goes With Steak?
- What To Serve With Steak?
- Answered: What To Serve With Steak?
How To Cook Steak?
Steak is one of the finest meat-based foods that you can possibly eat with there being many delicious cuts you can have and ways of cooking it. Naturally, there are some variations on how it will be cooked. However, on average the times taken for each cut will be roughly the same. Typically, when cooking steak it will be pan-seared unflavoured oils such as vegetable oil, along with some butter. Below are the expected times it should take (on each side) for the steak to cook to various degrees when cooked in this manner:
- Blue: Blue steak when cooked will still be a dark colour that is almost purple and is only slightly warm. Texture-wise it will be slightly spongey with little resistance. Fillet steak should take roughly one and a half minutes to be cooked blue, meanwhile, sirloin should take roughly a minute.
- Rare: Rare steak will be quite juicy and dark red in colour. Additionally, it will have a soft and spongy texture with slight resistance. Fillet steaks will cook in roughly two and a half minutes in this manner. Meanwhile, fillet steak will take roughly two months.
- Medium Rare: Medium rare steak will be pink in colour and slightly juicy. Texture-wise it will also be slightly soft but spongy. When cooking fillet steak in this manner it will take roughly three and a quarter minutes whilst sirloin should take two minutes.
- Medium: Medium steak will also be pink in the middle but not be juicy. Additionally, it will also be firm and springy. When cooked in this manner fillet should take four and a half minutes on each side, meanwhile, sirloins will take about two and a quarter hours.
- Well Done: There will only be a slight bit of pink but slightly dry. Additionally, it will also be spongy and soft but slightly springy. Fillet steak is typically not cooked to well done but can be in roughly six or seven minutes. Meanwhile, sirloins will take roughly four to five minutes.
What Goes With Steak?
When you’re serving steak as part of your main meal, the sides should always play more of a secondary and supplementary role. This is because the beefy, juicy, fatty and salty flavours of your steak should always play centre stage.
That isn’t to say that the sides you pair with steak should be bland. In fact, like with sides for something like beef wellington, these side dishes should be wonderfully flavourful in ways that are complementary to the tastes and textures of the steak by both contrasting and mirroring them.
What To Serve With Steak?
With the above in mind, you may already have some side dish ideas in mind. That said though, you may find the advice above somewhat limiting or be left unsure what to pick. If so, below are some excellent options for you to choose from:
- Creamy Mashed Potatoes
- Scalloped Potatoes
- French Fries
- Baked Potatoes
- Roasted Vegetables
- Roasted Brussels Sprouts
- Green Beans
- Onion Rings
- Caesar Salad
- Creamy Sauce
Creamy Mashed Potatoes
Mashed potatoes are really a dish that can be served with anything from shrimp to stroganoff. However, they are also perfect for serving with some juicy steak.
These pair well because the creamy and starchy mashed potatoes will pair perfectly with the tender and juicy steak. Additionally, when served with rarer steaks they are also great for soaking up the delicious meat juices from the steak.
If you want to make your mashed potatoes extra creamy though then using heavy cream or sour cream in combination with milk is a great way to do so. Alternatively using cream cheese garlic in the mash will add extra flavours that pair wonderfully with your steak.
Scalloped Potatoes
Potatoes just work so well with steak. As such, sticking with this theme, another wonderful option is of course scalloped potatoes
Consisting of thinly sliced potatoes in a creamy sauce that may also be slightly cheesy, scalloped potatoes are a deliciously rich option. The result, when paired with steak, is excellent thanks to the earthy, crispy and fluffy potatoes, along with the creamy and cheesy sauce, that wonderfully contrast with the texture of the steak along with the rich array of flavours.
This combination is an incredibly comforting classic that will be an instant hit with pretty much anyone who tries it. Additionally, when cooked in a crockpot it will be wonderfully low maintenance, thereby allowing you to focus your efforts primarily on cooking your steak.
French Fries
Sticking with the potato theme, an iconic side for serving alongside steak is of course a portion of potato fries. This is because they provide those wonderfully crispy and fluffy textures along with of course the delicious salty and earthy flavours that pair perfectly with the texture and tastes of your steak.
Whilst these tastes pair well with steak though, your fries can be enhanced or modified in a number of ways. First, sprinkling garlic powder and grated parmesan cheese atop them will add extra flavour. Alternatively, though, cajun seasoning can add some extra kick. Meanwhile, how you choose to cut your fries will also make a difference since thicker fries will be more fluffy whilst thinner fries will be crispier.
Additionally, another fun twist is to instead of making regular potato fries you can make some baked sweet potato fries. Naturally, due to being made with sweet potatoes instead of the regular ones, they will have more of a sweet flavour and crunchy texture. However, they will pair just as well with steak whilst providing crispy fries guilt-free.
Baked Potatoes
As mentioned before potatoes go wonderfully with steak. As such, baked potatoes and steak will also be a dream combination of dishes. This is primarily because the juicy and flavourful steak will be contrasted by the earthy flavours, along with the fluffy middle of the potato and crispy skin.
That said though, the beauty of the baked potato is that they can also act as an excellent vehicle for fillings that also pair excellently with your steak. Some classic examples of this are butter, cheese, other meats such as bacon, chicken or even seafood.
Naturally, baked potatoes will often be traditionally cooked in the oven. However, for a delicious and low maintenance way of doing them, using the air fryer is an excellent option. To do so, rub some russet potatoes in olive oil and salt and then cook for forty minutes.
Roasted Vegetables
A classic side dish option for any meal is of course some oven-roasted vegetables. Whether greens, root vegetables, or a mixture is your preference the choice is yours and is near guaranteed to work well.
Using an assortment of mixed veggies adds some wonderful crunch to your meal, that contrasts with the flavours of your steak. However, they also add a wide variety of different vegetable flavours as well to create a diverse array of tastes that add layers to your meal without dominating your steak.
Truly there is a near-infinite variety of fantastic combinations of roasted vegetables that you can pair with your steak. One example of such is a combination of beets, carrots and of course potatoes. Give these a drizzle of balsamic vinegar and olive oil and they will be bursting with flavour.
Roasted Brussels Sprouts
Some people are, to put it mildly not the biggest fans of brussels sprouts. Often this stems from childhood, especially if you were fed boiled sprouts which are incredibly bland and often mushy. If so, I don’t blame you for being hesitant, however, as one of those people, trying roasted brussels sprouts I was converted.
Roasted brussels sprouts are the opposite of the grim taste and texture I described above. This is because when roasted they are not only crunchy but also deliciously flavourful. These flavours are incredibly layered and include tastes of earthiness and nuttiness, along with smokey and sweet flavours.
These can be improved even further though by combining your brussels sprouts with some fried garlic lardons along with some garlic, salt and pepper. Each of which will add extra layers of flavour to the meal.
Green Beans
Another classic side dish for any meat dish, albeit a much healthier one than some listed above is of course green beans. Green beans are a wonderfully earthy veggie that also adds some delicious crunch to the meal.
To make them into a truly fantastic side dish for your steak though an excellent way to do so is to saute your green beans. When sauteed in a mixture of butter, fried shallots, vinegar and sugar the results are truly akin to something you’d find in a gourmet restaurant.
Onion Rings
Like french fries, a steakhouse staple side is of course a portion of deliciously crispy onion rings. These provide a deliciously crispy taste from the batter along with the wonderful crunch from the onion. Additionally, the onion provides an extra tangy taste to the meal.
When mixed with the juices from your steak, the onion rings will also become slightly soggy whilst still maintaining most of their crispiness. The result of this is a wonderful assortment of tastes and textures for you to enjoy.
Caesar Salad
If you want to enjoy a slightly lighter and sort of healthy option for your steak then slicing it up into thing pieces and eating it with some fresh green salad is an excellent option. Especially so, if the green salad in question is a caesar salad.
The mixture of crunchy romaine lettuce and croutons along with a deliciously rich dressing with flavours of lemon juice, olive oil, egg, Worcestershire sauce, anchovies, garlic and Dijon mustard. Additionally, it will also have the sharp taste of grated parmesan cheese and some black pepper to add some extra kick.
Creamy Sauce
Of course, though, no matter what other sides you choose your steak meal will not be complete without a deliciously thick and creamy sauce that is rich in flavour.
There are a wide array of sauces that you might choose for your sauce and naturally, these will primarily depend on your personal tastes. However, some of the best sauce options include peppercorn sauce, blue cheese sauce, Dianne sauce, Piri Piri sauce and bearnaise sauce.
Answered: What To Serve With Steak?
When discussing side dishes to have with steak there are really a wide array of options open for you to choose from. These range from scalloped potatoes to onion rings, caesar salads, creamy sauces and everything in between.
As such, when you’re wanting to have steak for your dinner, there is a lot of freedom to truly cater it to your desires. With that in mind, don’t be afraid to use the suggestions above as a springboard to ideas of your own. After all, you may discover your own new and delicious combination.
