Butler’s steak or flat iron steak is not often seen on menus. It’s taken from the shoulder, has an intense flavour but also has a tough membrane running through it that has to be removed, hopefully by an obliging butcher.
As with all steak, bring it to room temperature before cooking. Your frying pan has to be hot enough for a small amount of olive oil to sizzle upon contact. Some people rub their steak with a little oil before showing it to the pan, some also season with salt. I wait until just before the end of cooking to grind a little sea salt onto both sides.
In my experience most people like their steak to be medium rare, so depending on the thickness, six minutes in total should do the trick. Let the meat form a crust for a minute on each side, then turn the heat down to medium. Fry for a further 2 minutes on each side, let the steak rest whilst you make a quick red wine and shallot reduction in the pan juices.
Finely slice the shallot. Turn the heat up to maximum, after 20 seconds pour in a glass of a meaty wine, Primitivo for example. Reduce by two thirds, add a large knob of butter, melt and fry the shallots on a medium heat for 2 minutes. Add a little sea salt.
Slice the steak thinly, pour over the shallot reduction and find a giant glass for the rest of the wine.
Mop the juices up with a superior baguette.
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