Rib Eye Steak Sandwich with Bearnaise Butter

Jump to Recipe·Print Recipe

There is little in the world more impressive than a rib eye steak sandwich, complete with homemade chips, jammy tomatoes and a delicious bearnaise butter. The combination of the steak with the sweet tomatoes, the fresh herbs in the bearnaise and the crispy, salty fries makes this a perfect sandwich.

Woman holding a rib eye steak sandwich with chips, tomatoes, rocket, bearnaise butter

What do I need to make this ultimate rib eye steak sandwich?

Rib eye steak – use the best quality you can afford as the steak really is centrepiece of this sandwich
Potatoes – to make the crispiest homemade chips ever
Cherry tomatoes – cook these down in olive oil with garlic to make jammy soft tomatoes to spoon over the steak
Butter – the base of the bearnaise butter
Tarragon – a classic flavour in bearnaise, works great with the rest of the sandwich
Rocket – a nice handful in the sandwich for a bit of greenery and its peppery flavour helps cut through the rich steak and butter
Salt
Focaccia - dunked in the pan juices after cooking the steak so that it is full of flavour. Make your own if you want to go all out!

What is bearnaise butter?

Bearnaise sauce is often served with steak. This is a sauce made with butter, egg yolk, vinegar and herbs, sort of like a hollandaise sauce but the tarragon and shallot differentiate it. Making it into a butter rather than a sauce is much easier as it uses a blender rather than whisk the sauce over heat.
Using a blender is the easiest and quickest way to make this bearnaise butter. It complements this rib eye steak sandwich so well with the tarragon and shallot laced through it. This amount does make more than enough for this sandwich but it's great on roast chicken.

How to cook the perfect rib eye steak

Choose the correct pan. You want something heavy so that the heat conducts well. A stainless steel pan or a cast iron pan are both wise choices.
Prepare the steak. We like to rub the steak generously with salt and a drizzle of olive oil. Rub it into the steak. You can leave pepper out at this stage as you risk burning it in the pan but can add pepper once cooked if you like. The rib eye steak should also be at room temperature when you come to fry it. If it's fridge cold, it will seize up when it hits the hot pan so it won't be as tender as it should be.
Heat well. Heat the pan on high heat (not the highest!) and let it get nice and hot. When frying a steak, the brown crust that forms on the surface is pure flavour. The way to get this crust is to place the steak down in a very hot pan and leave it alone.
Cooking time is important. As this recipe calls for a rib eye steak (going off the idea that the steak is 1 inch thick), 5 minutes a side will reach medium-rare. This means that the steak is pink all the way through with lots of juices. If you want it less cooked (rare), try 3.5-4 minutes a side. For more cooked, cooking it well done may take up to 8 minutes a side.
Basting! Once we have flipped the steak, adding butter, garlic and rosemary to the pan adds delicious flavour. Tilt the pan towards you carefully whilst the steak is still cooking and spoon the buttery juices back over the steak. This also keeps it juicy.
Resting is important. Letting it rest lets the juices settle into the steak so that they don't run all over the board when you slice it. This results in a juicier steak and even cooking.

Woman basting the rib eye steak in rosemary garlic butter

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I have to use rib-eye?

We use rib-eye of course but if you wanted to use another cut of steak, it would also work. Try sirloin or bavette steak.

Why do you need to let meat rest?

Once the steak has cooked to your desired doneness, letting it rest makes sure you make the best steak possible because it gives time for the muscle fibres in the steak to relax. This means it stays tender and juicy. If you slice without resting, the juices run straight out.

What to look for when picking a rib eye?

A good butcher will be able to advise you on this when it comes to choosing a good rib eye steak. You want marbling through the steak (this is just the white fat/marks/dots that appear through the steak) as this means there is fat running through the steak to keep it juicy. An aged steak will also have better flavour.

Do I need to add all the extras to this rib eye steak sandwich?

The components in this recipe post are so good, we would really recommend doing it all and really making it a special sandwich. If you don't want to fry your own chips, you could use oven french fries of course. And if you don't want to make the jammy tomatoes, tomato chutney or chilli jam would also be great.

Why do I need to double fry the chips?

You don't HAVE to double-fry them but if you're going to go through the worthwhile effort of making your own chips, you might as well make them as delicious as possible. Frying them twice ensures that not only are they fully cooked through but that they are still very golden and crisp on the outside. Some people argue that the first fry creates a barrier for the moisture in the potato so that by the second fry, you can gain maximum crispiness as there is no moisture interfering. Either way, it's worth doing. Cool them between frying each time and then toss with lots of flakey salt once done.

Recipes You May Like

Stanley Tucci’s Sandwich: Mozzarella, Pesto, Prosciutto

Goat’s Cheese, Ham And Apricot Jam Focaccia Sandwich

Chicken Parm Sandwich

Caprese Sandwich With Prosciutto And Pistachio Pesto

Roast Chicken, Bacon And Pesto Sandwich

Rib Eye Steak Sandwich

Print Recipe

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star

No reviews

Author: margie
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 45 minutes
Total Time: 60 minutes
Yield: 2 1x

Ingredients

Scale

For the steak

One large, good-quality rib eye steak
Olive oil
2 knobs of butter
Salt
2-3 garlic cloves
2 sprigs of rosemary

For the fries

2 large potatoes
500ml-1L veg oil (Depends on size of your pan)

For the bearnaise butter

150g butter, softened
Small bunch of tarragon
Small bunch of parsley
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1 shallot
1 tbsp red wine vinegar

For the sandwich

4 slices of focaccia
Handful of rocket
1 punnet of cherry tomatoes
2 garlic cloves, chopped
½ cup olive oil

Cook Mode Prevent your screen from going dark

Instructions

Start by peeling the potatoes and slicing them into thin batons. Place them on a sheet of kitchen roll and pat until dry. Heat some veg oil in a saucepan over medium heat – you want the saucepan half full of oil (no more as you don’t want to risk it overflowing). Test the oil with one chip and if it bubbles, add the rest of the chips. Fry for 5 minutes then remove from the oil and allow to cool. Then heat the oil again, and fry again for a further 5 minutes. This double frying ensures maximum crispiness. Sprinkle with flakey salt when fresh out of the oil.
Halve the cherry tomatoes and add to a pan with ½ cup olive oil and the chopped garlic. Heat over medium-high and cook for 15-20 minutes with a good pinch of salt until soft and jammy.
Rub the steak with a drizzle of oil and season heavily with salt. Heat a pan on high heat and once hot, place the steak in the pan. Depending on thickness, cooking time may vary but for a 1 inch thick steak, 5 minutes a side for medium rare. Fry one side, then flip. Add butter, garlic and rosemary to the pan and spoon the juices/butter over the steak whilst the other side cooks. Remove from the pan once done and allow to rest for 10 minutes.
Make the butter. In a pan, add 1 chopped shallot and a drizzle of oil. Cook for 5 minutes over medium heat, add the red wine vinegar and cook for a further 5 minutes. In a blender, add the soft butter, cooked shallot, Dijon, tarragon, parsley and a good pinch of salt. Blend until smooth and green.
Toast the focaccia in the steak pan for best flavour, letting it soak up the juices. Then assemble. Smooth the bearnaise butter on the bottom, top with steak, jammy tomatoes, chips and rocket. Top with the other slice of focaccia.