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Notes
Le Mauzac is a lively lunchtime café/wine bar tucked along a romantic tree-lined street in the busy Latin Quarter. Their onglet—flank, or hanger, steak—is one of the best I’ve ever sampled. Following tradition, the quickly pan-seared meat is served with a mound of golden, delicious French fried potatoes. Although restaurants do not usually offer lemon with steak, I prefer it this way and always ask for a few wedges to squeeze over the beef. Note that in cooking the meat, I do not salt it in the beginning—only at the end. I feel that salting in the beginning draws out too many of the delicious juices we want to save. But salt at the end helps give the meat a fine, seasoned flavor.
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1½ pounds beef hanger or flank steak, butterflied, about ½ inch thick
- Freshly ground black pepper to taste
- Fine sea salt
- Lemon wedges, for garnish (optional)
Directions
Massage a little bit of the oil into the steak, and lightly season both sides with black pepper. If your skillet is not large enough to hold the steak, cut it crosswise into two pieces and cook them one at a time.
Heat a large, dry, nonstick skillet over high heat for about 1 minute. When the pan is very hot, sear the steak quickly on both sides, 1 to 2 minutes a side for medium-rare, longer for medium.
Remove the steak to a platter. Pour any pan juices over the meat. Season the meat generously with fine sea salt, and let it rest for 5 minutes (to allow the juices to retreat back into the beef). Carve the steak across the grain. Serve immediately, with a lemon wedge if desired.
An unusual wine worth sampling at Le Mauzac is a little-known Gaillac from France’s southwest: Domaine Robert Plageoles’s syrah, a young delight that goes well with the wine bar’s meaty fare.