# The $25 Steak Frites That Became an NYC Obsession — Most-Ordered Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IAJuRClMLKU Recap page: https://rapidrecap.app/video/IAJuRClMLKU Generated: 2025-12-20T15:33:00.713+00:00 --- ## Quick Overview Chef Sam Braverman of Lori Jayne prepares his most-ordered dish, Steak Frites, detailing the five key steps: preparing the USDA Prime Chuck Flat steak, making the steak butter with herbs, double-frying Russet Burbank potatoes, creating the complex au poivre sauce, and finally searing the steak and assembling the dish. **Key Points:** - The most-ordered dish at Lori Jayne is Steak Frites, which Sam Braverman walks through making in five steps. - Step 1 involves portioning USDA Prime Chuck Flat steak into 5-ounce pieces, reserving the excess trim for the steak butter base. - Step 2 is creating the steak butter by rendering the steak trim with large amounts of unsalted butter and herbs (thyme, rosemary) for at least an hour. - Step 3 involves preparing the fries using Russet Burbank potatoes, which are cut into 1/4-inch thick shoestring fries and soaked in an acidulated water solution (water with white vinegar) to prevent oxidation. - Step 4 details making the au poivre sauce, which includes sweating minced shallots, deglazing with Cognac, adding house-made chicken stock, cream, and then seasoning with toasted and ground green peppercorns, black peppercorns, and Szechuan peppercorns. - Step 5 is cooking the steak on a hot griddle, pressing it down to form a hard crust, basting with the steak butter, and then slicing and assembling over the fries, topped with the sauce and garnished with chives. ![Screenshot at 00:04: The chef begins assembling the final Steak Frites dish by pouring the complex au poivre sauce over slices of medium-rare steak resting on a bed of crispy fries in a paper boat.](https://ss.rapidrecap.app/screens/IAJuRClMLKU/00-00-04.jpg) **Context:** Chef Sam Braverman, Chef-Owner of Lori Jayne in New York City, demonstrates the meticulous process behind making his restaurant's most popular dish: Steak Frites. The preparation emphasizes high-quality ingredients, such as USDA Prime Chuck Flat steak, and detailed techniques for both the steak and the accompanying fries and sauce, highlighting the effort put into even the most popular, seemingly simple menu items. ## Detailed Analysis Chef Sam Braverman of Lori Jayne outlines the five steps to creating his most popular dish, Steak Frites. Step 1 is steak preparation: using USDA Prime Chuck Flat steak, he portions 5-ounce cuts for service and reserves the excess trim. Step 2 is making the steak butter, which uses the reserved trim, massive amounts of unsalted butter, thyme, and rosemary, cooked slowly for 1-2 hours to infuse flavor. Step 3 covers the fries, which use Russet Burbank potatoes, cut into 1/4-inch shoestring fries, rinsed, and then soaked in cold, acidulated water (water with white vinegar) for at least an hour to control starch content and ensure proper crispness upon frying. Step 4 is the au poivre sauce preparation: minced shallots are sweated in a large pot, then deglazed with a generous pour of Cognac, followed by stock, cream, and aromatics like garlic and hard herbs. The sauce is seasoned with toasted and ground peppercorns (green, black, and Szechuan) to build layers of flavor. Step 5 is cooking and assembly: the seasoned steaks are seared on a hot griddle, pressed to create a crust, and basted with the steak butter. Once rested, the steak is sliced and served over the fries, generously topped with the rich au poivre sauce and garnished with chives. ### Steak & Steak Butter Preparation - USDA Prime Chuck Flat steak is portioned into 5 oz pieces; excess trim is used to create steak butter by rendering it down with large amounts of unsalted butter and herbs (thyme, rosemary) for 1-2 hours. ### Fries Preparation - Russet Burbank potatoes are cut into 1/4-inch shoestring fries and soaked in cold, acidulated water (water + white vinegar) for at least an hour to remove excess starch and prevent oxidation. ### Au Poivre Sauce Creation - Minced shallots are sweated, deglazed with Cognac, and combined with chicken stock and cream. Flavor is built by adding toasted and ground green peppercorns, black peppercorns, and Szechuan peppercorns, then reduced until dark brown. ### Cooking the Steak - Seasoned steak portions are seared on a hot griddle for about 3 minutes per side to form a hard crust, then basted with the steak butter. ### Final Assembly - The rested, medium-rare steak is sliced and arranged over the double-fried fries in paper boats, topped with the au poivre sauce and a garnish of chives. ![Screenshot at 00:00: Steaks searing on a flat-top griddle, being pressed down to ensure good contact and crust development.](https://ss.rapidrecap.app/screens/IAJuRClMLKU/00-00-00.jpg) ![Screenshot at 00:20: The final plated dish, Steak Frites, served in red and white checkered paper boats, showing medium-rare steak topped with creamy sauce and chives.](https://ss.rapidrecap.app/screens/IAJuRClMLKU/00-00-20.jpg) ![Screenshot at 00:42: A vacuum-sealed package of USDA Prime steak sits on a red cutting board next to a sharp knife, ready for butchering.](https://ss.rapidrecap.app/screens/IAJuRClMLKU/00-00-42.jpg) ![Screenshot at 01:47: Several large sticks of Cabot unsalted butter are stacked in a pot over the rendered steak trim and herbs, ready to be melted down to create the steak butter.](https://ss.rapidrecap.app/screens/IAJuRClMLKU/00-01-47.jpg) ![Screenshot at 04:58: The chef ladles the finished, creamy brown au poivre sauce over the sliced steak resting on the fries.](https://ss.rapidrecap.app/screens/IAJuRClMLKU/00-04-58.jpg)