Dry Aged NY Strip with Deep Fried Hon Shimeji Mushroom and Pickled Pearl Onion Salad

When I finished grad school, I managed to sneak a reservation at The French Laundry - While the price was obviously absurd, I feel like if I only do that sort of thing every time I 'master' something then it's kinda okay.

The above picture was something like course number five and was a sunchoke terrine with black truffles, an avocado puree, an egg emulsion, mushrooms and pickled pearl onion petals. The dish was great, but the real highlight was the inclusion of pickled pearl onion petals which were so unbelievably crisp and sharp. These pungent little bites got me ready for more terrine and the rest of the treasure map that was this dish.

Based on those petals (and a little help from modernist cuisine's pickling tables on 3:349) I devised this relatively simple but delicious dish. I wanted to find an excuse to make these petals (which I do frequently) and so I thought, huh, deep fried mushroom salad. Earthy as hell and the petals should really work. Then I thought, steak, duh. Now I need a sauce - I love black garlic and that totally makes sense here; throw some colorful leaves on the plate just like real chefs do and I'm all set.

Medium Rare Steak
0.75lb dry aged new york strip steak
30g butter
salt

After you buy the steak, put it on a cooling rack and let it dry out a little more in your fridge overnight. The color should go from a light pinkish-red to a deep red/ reddish-black in some spots. Take it out of the fridge and salt liberally.

 

Vacuum pack with the butter and cook sous vide at 136F for 45 minutes. Once complete, chill in an ice bath for at least 30 minutes. Reserve.

Now the part that I'm really looking forward to: the pickles!

Pickled Pearl Onion Petals
125g red wine vinegar
50g pearl onion petals
40g water
25g sugar
4g smoked garlic (optional; use regular garlic otherwise)
4g salt
2g lightly crushed cumin
1g calcium lactate (optional; to crisp)
2 birds eye chilies
1 kaffir lime leaf

Combine and warm all of the ingredients together except for the onions just enough to dissolve the sugar. Add the onion petals and let it sit in the fridge for at least an hour. This will keep for at least a week.

Now to make the fermented black garlic sauce!

Fermented Black Garlic Coulis:
5g fermented black garlic
0.4g ginger juice
0.2g palm sugar
0.2g sesame oil
1 swath of lemon

Combine and blend together using a mortar and pestle until it is a fine paste. Twist the lemon peel to let the oils spray over the  the top of a mixture. Discard the lemon peel, pass the paste through a fine sieve, and reserve.

To Complete:
100g hon shimeji mushrooms
canola oil
fleur de sel
pepper
parsley leaves
celery leaves

Heat the oil in a small saucepan to 400F. In a separate pan, heat a thin film of oil until lightly smoking. Add the steak to the thin film of oil and sear on each side for 90 seconds. Let the steak rest for 4-5 minutes. While the steak is resting, deep fry the hon shimeji mushrooms until golden and crisp. Assemble the plate by adding the black garlic coulis, steak, mushrooms, petals and leaves. Top the steak and mushrooms with a few grains of black pepper and fleur de sel.

 

 

This dish allows every ingredient to express itself; however, in my opinion, every combination works together. The steak is rich, beefy, and tender. The pearl onions are sweet, spicy, acidic, crisp, and palate cleansing. The celery and parsley leaves are bright and add real contrast to the dish while the mushrooms arrive at the scene crispy and earthy. Just as soon as you dive into your first bite, a grain of salt explodes in your mouth and you feel like your eyes are about to roll into the back of your head... or you catch a bit of the garlic coulis and you begin to taste truffle, garlic, balsamic vinegar, ginger, more mushroom, and nuttiness.