There was a very brief time (ok, really just a few days) that I hated crab. I was so mad at it, didn’t ever want to see it, hear of it, taste it, touch it, ever again. It made me want to cry. I had, just a few weeks prior to the evening in question, given birth to my beautiful, (2nd!) baby girl. In an effort to provide balance to my feed-diaper-rock ritual, I was gifted with a dinner out. Such a treat! In my sleep-deprived state, I vaguely remember ordering – “I would like the Alaskan King Salmon, please”, my mouth just watering at the thought. It was salmon season, I couldn’t wait to taste it. When our food came, a steaming crab was set in front of me. “But I ordered the king salmon!” I said. Um, no, I was told, “You ordered the Alaskan Crab.” Are you kidding me? I’d had a total of 10 hours sleep the past 4 nights combined. In my exhausted state, I could no more crack a crab and painstakingly pick out the beautiful, sweet, decadent meat than I could perform brain surgery. Dang, I hated that crab. I had it boxed up and took it home, barely eating a single bite.
But, several years later, it is crab season and the crabs are plentiful this year! So I love it! I just had to prepare one of my favorite crab preparations, the New York Strip Steak, Oscar Style! No crab-cracking and picking here, not when you can buy fresh already-shelled crab meat – you don’t need much – just look at those big chunks of crab. I dare your mouth not to water at that sight!
This is a preparation I learned working in a restaurant in college. We would “Oscar” anything – steak, prime rib roast, any fillet of fish. Oscar preparation is just asparagus, a simple Blender Bernaise Sauce and crabmeat. So impressive! So delicious! Certainly it is a bit of “gilding the lily”, but sometimes, you just need to do what is magnificent!
Bernaise sauce is a lovely variation on traditional Hollandaise Sauce. It has a bit of lemon juice, white wine vinegar and Tarragon, a lovely, earthy herb that provides a bit of depth to the flavor of the sauce. My version is made simply, in a blender, so it is practically no-fail. (A warning: if you cannot or should not eat raw eggs, you may not want this sauce.)
So gild that lily for once! And make your own steak Oscar Style! Enjoy!
New York Strip Steak Oscar Style
One of the most impressive (and easy) preparations for any type of steak. I like New York Strip, but you can use sirloin, prime rib, or even a hamburger! So delectable! A Warning: this contains raw egg yolks. Raw yolks can, in some instances, cause Illness. Please do not eat if your immunity is compromised...
Ingredients
- 3 lb 1" thick New York Strip steaks, or desired cut, at room temperature.
- 1 Bunch asparagus
- 2 tbsp. Olive oil
- 3 Egg yolks
- 1 Stick unsalted butter, melted
- 4 tsp. Lemon juice
- 1 tsp. White vinegar (white wine vinegar ok)
- 1 tsp. Dried tarragon
- 2 tbsp. Parsley, chopped
- 1/4 To 1/3 lb. fresh crab (or canned is ok)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375F. Generously season steaks with salt and pepper. In a heavy skillet, preheated over high heat, sear steaks 2 minutes/side. Move skillet to oven for 6-8 minutes, for Medium-Rare to Medium preparation. Let rest 5-10 minutes.
- Prepare the Bernaise sauce. In a blender, place the egg yolks. Season with salt and pepper. Turn blender to low. Slowly stream in the melted butter to form an emulsion. Once the butter-egg yolks are emulsified, add the lemon juice, vinegar, tarragon and parsley. Salt and pepper further if desired. Set sauce aside.
- Sauté asparagus in olive oil, until tender-crisp, about 3-5 minutes. Salt and pepper as desired.
- Plate steaks. Top with asparagus tips. Spoon be raise sauce over asparagus. Top with pieces of crab, then more Bernaise sauce.
How decadent! I love crabs, and will surely love this dish! It looks lovely, Laura 🙂
Thanks, Freda! Crab is one of my favorites, too!