Schwäbischer Zwiebelrostbraten

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Heavy 28cm frying pan or cast-iron skillet
• •Wide pot for Spätzle
• •Wire rack or paper towels for fried onions
• •Sharp knife or mandoline for onions

Instructions

1. 1

   Salt the beef

   Take the steaks out 30 minutes before cooking and salt them on both sides. The salt needs time to move into the surface moisture and back into the meat; salt at the last second and it sits outside, pulling water into the pan when you need browning. Pat the steaks very dry before they meet the heat.

2. 2

   Fry the onions

   Toss the sliced onions with 2 tablespoons flour and a good pinch of salt, then shake off the excess. Fry them in 3 tablespoons clarified butter over medium heat, stirring often, until deep golden and crisp at the edges, 20 to 25 minutes. Don't hurry them. High heat burns the flour before the onion water is gone, and wet onions collapse into the sauce instead of sitting proudly on the steak.

   Lift the onions out to a rack or paper towel, then season lightly. Keep the browned onion crumbs in the pan if they aren't burnt; they give the sauce its first sweet edge.
3. 3

   Cook the Spätzle

   Bring a wide pot of salted water to a lively simmer and cook the Spätzle until they float, then give them one more minute so the center sets. Drain them and toss with the butter. The butter keeps them loose and ready to take sauce, which is their job on this plate.

4. 4

   Sear the steaks

   Heat a heavy pan until hot, add the remaining tablespoon clarified butter, and sear the steaks 2 to 3 minutes per side for medium-rare to medium, depending on thickness. Brown hard, then stop. A Rostbraten should still slice like steak; leave it in the pan while you build courage and you'll braise it by accident. Rest the steaks on a warm plate and keep every drop of resting juice.

5. 5

   Build the gravy

   Lower the heat to medium and stir 1 tablespoon flour into the beef fat and browned pan juices. Cook it for a minute so the flour loses its raw taste, then stir in the mustard. Pour in the wine and scrape the pan clean, because the brown stuck bits are the sauce, not dirt. Add the beef stock and simmer until glossy and lightly thickened, 6 to 8 minutes.

6. 6

   Finish and serve

   Pour the steak resting juices into the sauce and taste it hard: salt, pepper, and a teaspoon of vinegar if the sauce needs a lift. Würzen, Fett, Salz zum Schluss. Return the steaks to the sauce for 30 seconds per side, only to warm and coat them, then set them over the buttered Spätzle and pile the fried onions high. Serve at once, before the onions soften.

Chef Tips

• •Use rump, sirloin, or rib steak with a little fat through it. A lean, thin minute steak has no time to brown before it overcooks, and no pan juice worth making sauce from.
• •Slice the onions evenly. Thick pieces stay sweet and soft while thin ones burn, and then the topping tastes confused before it ever reaches the beef.
• •Stock matters here because the sauce is small and direct. If you have beef bones or trim, roast them and make stock; if not, use a good butcher's stock. Jarred Bratensoße is not a shortcut. Nicht aus dem Glas.
• •Trollinger or Lemberger keeps the dish in Württemberg. Drink the same wine at the table if you like; it has enough acidity to cut the beef and enough fruit for the onions.
• •A green salad with vinegar dressing belongs beside it. The plate is beef, onion, butter, and Spätzle; it needs acid, not decoration.

Advance Preparation

• •Slice the onions up to one day ahead and keep them covered in the refrigerator; dry them well before flouring or they clump and fry unevenly.
• •Make the Spätzle a day ahead, rinse them briefly, drain well, and chill. Reheat them in butter in a wide pan before serving so they taste like supper, not storage.
• •The beef should be cooked just before serving. You can make stock ahead, you can slice onions ahead, but seared steak waits for no one.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 470g)