Seared Hanger Steak and Foie Gras

One of our favourite winter holiday season meals is French style steak topped with our homemade foie gras. Get your butcher to butterfly some hanger steak (the cut is called onglet in French and cut following the grain, not across it like rump or fillet) so it is fairly thin. This is a very popular cut in France, considered tasty but requiring some care to cook well.

Ingredients:
2 pieces of hanger steak
Olive oil
Salt and pepper
2 slices of foie gras

Method:

1. Pat the steak dry with paper towel.
2. Massage a little oil into the steak so it is lightly coated.
3. Season the steak with salt and pepper, then set aside to cure for a bit (until it is room temperature).
4. Heat a cast iron pan until smoking.
5. Place the steak in the pan and sear for one minute.
6. Turn the steak and top with the foie gras. Cook for one minute further. Serves 2.

Hanger must be cooked very rapidly at a high temperature. It overcooks easily and dries out because it does not have a high fat content. Cooked this way it retains all its flavour, tenderness and juiciness. Overcooked it becomes tough, stringy and flavourless.

Yum

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