Pan-Seared Steak Oscar
Tender pan-seared steak topped with creamy crab and hollandaise sauce in 25 minutes. A restaurant-quality classic that feels fancy but uses a simple stovetop technique.
- Total time
- 25 min
- Servings
- 2
- Calories
- 650
- Protein
- 48g
Ingredients
- 2 steaks beef strip steaks (New York or ribeye), 1.5 inches thick
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 5 tablespoons butter, divided
- 6 ounces fresh lump crab meat
- 3 yolks large egg yolks
Instructions
- 1
Remove the steaks from the refrigerator and let them sit on the countertop for 10 minutes so they warm slightly and cook more evenly.
- 2
Pat the steaks dry with paper towels, pressing gently on both sides until no moisture remains — this helps them brown deeply.
- 3
Sprinkle 0.5 teaspoon salt and 0.25 teaspoon pepper evenly over both sides of each steak.
- 4
Place a 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat and wait 2 minutes until it is very hot — a drop of water should sizzle and evaporate instantly.
- 5
Add 1 tablespoon of butter to the hot skillet and swirl it around to coat the bottom.
- 6
Lay both steaks in the skillet and do not move them for 4 minutes until the bottoms turn deep golden brown, like caramel.
- 7
Flip the steaks over using tongs and cook for another 3 to 4 minutes on the second side until a meat thermometer inserted into the thickest part reads 130°F for medium-rare.
- 8
Slide the steaks onto a warm plate, tent loosely with foil, and let them rest for 5 minutes so the juices stay inside.
- 9
While the steaks rest, fill a small bowl with 2 inches of hot (not boiling) water from the kettle — this is your water bath for the sauce.
- 10
Place a heatproof mixing bowl on top of the water bowl so the bowl bottom does not touch the water; add the 3 egg yolks and whisk constantly.
- 11
Continue whisking the yolks over the gentle heat for 2 minutes until they look pale and airy, then remove the bowl from the water bath.
- 12
Cut 3 tablespoons of cold butter into 6 small cubes and add one cube to the warm yolks while whisking constantly.
- 13
Once the first cube is fully mixed in and the sauce looks creamy, add the second cube and keep whisking — repeat until all 6 cubes are incorporated and the sauce is thick and glossy.
- 14
Remove any shells or cartilage from the 6 ounces of crab meat by gently picking through it with your fingers, keeping the lumps as large as possible.
- 15
Gently warm the crab meat in a small pan over low heat for 1 minute, stirring once, just until it is warm — do not cook it.
- 16
Place each steak on a warm dinner plate and spoon the crab meat in a small mound on top of each steak.
- 17
Pour the hollandaise sauce over the crab and steak in a thin ribbon, covering most of the surface, and serve immediately.
Tools you’ll need
- 12-inch skillet (cast iron or stainless steel preferred)
- meat thermometer
- tongs
- paper towels
- kettle or pot for hot water
- heatproof mixing bowl
- small saucepan
- whisk
- cutting board
- warm dinner plates (2)
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