Center cut strip steak with fresh crispy homemade potato chips is great for Valentine’s Day or any romantic occasion.
Hi friends,
Today’s recipe is really about the side dish. You can make these potato chips with any main course, or by themselves. I think steak goes great with fried potato dishes, so I made a center cut strip steak with these to make a full meal. I also made the steak on the stove, so you don’t have to go outside and barbecue if it’s super cold where you live right now.
Whether it’s French bistro style Steak Frites or a classic American steakhouse steak and baked potato, steak and potatoes is such an iconic date-night fancy dinner. With this recipe, you can make it at home, and hopefully have some fun in the process.
We’ve got a very short ingredient list. The main ingredients here are two center cut strip steaks and some russet potatoes. I buy center cut strip steak most often for steak dinners because I think it’s very good for the price point. You can cook any type of steak you’d like with the directions in this recipe, but since there’s no compound butter or sauce to dress it up, I recommend a fattier steak. Fattier steaks do better on their own while leaner steaks sometimes benefit from a sauce or butter. Ribeye would be great in this recipe, especially dry aged if you want to splurge a little.
I don’t peel the potatoes because I like the more rustic home-style look. You can’t taste the peel anyway once they’re fried, so save yourself time. You’ll need some type of kitchen tool to slice the potatoes. I doubt it would be possible to slice them thin enough doing it by hand. I used the thin slicer attachment on my KitchenAid stand mixer.
Don’t expect to fry 100% of the potatoes you slice up. I pick out the best slices as I go. At the end, I throw away the little bits and pieces that are too small for chips.
In the recipe, I mention using a spider to lower the potato slices into the hot oil and to pick up the finished chips. If you’re not familiar with it, a spider is a type of cooking utensil with a mesh wire basket at the end, mostly used for frying. You can see in the picture below. Don’t use a plastic slotted spoon because it might not be able to stand up to the temperature used for frying.
For the recipe time, I made the entire recipe by myself. However, frying potato chips is a lot easier if you have a helper, making it a great date night activity. Each batch will take about three minutes to fry. When you take the chips out of the oil, place them on a paper-towel lined pan/tray/plate, etc. It’s best to sprinkle salt or other seasonings on the chips immediately. It sticks the best when the chips are still very hot. So if you have your helper seasoning, you can get the next batch in the oil right away, making everything a little more streamlined.
The first time I made potato chips at home, Jonathan was helping me. While we were standing by the stove waiting for each batch to fry, we kept sampling chips from earlier bathes as soon as they got cool enough to eat. Hot, crispy, a little bit soft in the center, slightly greasy potato chips are the best. We ended up eating all the potato chips standing at the kitchen counter, before we even finished making dinner.
Look, you could go out for a fancy meal on Valentine’s Day, or you could eat greasy potato chips you just made together standing in the kitchen. I’ll let you be the judge of which is more romantic.
I managed to refrain from eating these so I could photograph the whole batch.
Sear the steaks, preferably on a cast iron skillet.
Let the steak rest, garnish with parsley, and you’re done.
I have a great Valentine’s dessert coming up. Stay tuned.
Steak with Homemade Potato Chips
Ingredients
Steak
- 2 (14 ounce) center cut strip steaks (or other thick steaks)
- 1 tablespoon canola oil
- kosher salt and pepper
- chopped parsley for garnish
Potato Chips
- 3-4 large russet potatoes (about 2 pounds)
- canola oil for frying (at least 2 quarts)
- salt
- optional seasoning: pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, dried herbs, paprika
Instructions
Steak
- Take steak out of the fridge. Pat dry with a paper towel. Rub 1 tablespoon oil all over steak. Season steak with a generous amount of kosher salt and pepper on both sides. Set aside while you make the potato chips so the steak can come to room temperature before cooking.
- Heat a cast iron skillet over medium-high heat. Cook steaks for 3 minutes without moving. Flip over and cook 3 more minutes for medium, more or less depending how you prefer your steak. Remove steaks to a plate and tent with aluminum foil. Let rest for 10 minutes before serving. Garnish with parsley.
Potato Chips
- Wash potatoes and dry with paper towels. Use a food processor or some type of kitchen appliance to slice potatoes very thinly. I used the thin slicing attachment on my KitchenAid mixer.
- Fill a large pot with 2-3 inches of oil. Heat over medium high heat until oil reaches 300 degrees. (Try to keep the oil temperature between 300 and 350 while frying chips.)
- Use a spider to lower about 10 potato slices into the oil. Swirl the spider once so they are not sticking to each other. Cook for 3-4 minutes, until potatoes are a nice golden brown. Use the spider to remove chips to a paper towel lined plate or sheet pan. Sprinkle with salt or other desired seasonings immediately. Salt sticks best when the chips are still hot from the oil.
- Continue frying potato slices in batches until you run out of potatoes or have the amount of chips you want.
- When you are done frying the potato chips, cook the steak. Serve immediately after steak is done resting.
Bon Appétit!
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