French-style eye fillet with head-on tiger prawns, crispy double-fried chips and Café de Paris butter. A generous steakhouse dinner from our family kitchen.
Recipe by Daniel · Serves 4
Ingredients
Steak
- 4 eye fillet steaks, about 800 g total
- Coarse salt and black pepper
- 1–2 tsp neutral oil
- 2 tbsp butter
- 2 garlic cloves, smashed
- Fresh thyme sprigs
Tiger prawns
- 12–16 tiger prawns, head and shell on
- 1 tsp olive oil
- ½ tsp paprika
- Black pepper and a tiny pinch of salt
- 1 tbsp butter
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 1 lemon wedge
Chips
- 5 potatoes, cut into medium chips
- Oil for frying
- Fine salt
Café de Paris butter
- 180 g softened butter
- 3 garlic cloves, finely minced
- 1 heaped tbsp finely chopped parsley
- 2 tsp Dijon mustard
- 2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tsp paprika
- ½ tsp cayenne pepper
- 1 tsp lemon juice
- ½ tsp black pepper
- ½ tsp fine salt
- 1 anchovy fillet, mashed, optional
Method
- Salt the steaks. Salt generously and leave uncovered on a rack for 45–60 minutes in the refrigerator. Pat dry before cooking.
- Make the butter. Mix all the Café de Paris butter ingredients until smooth. Refrigerate, then remove 15–20 minutes before serving so it is soft and spoonable.
- Prepare the chips. Soak the cut potatoes in cold water for 20–30 minutes. Drain and dry thoroughly.
- First fry. Fry chips at 150°C for 5–6 minutes, until pale and cooked through. Remove and rest for 15 minutes.
- Cook the steaks. Lightly oil the dry steaks and sear in a very hot heavy pan. Daniel’s timing was 2 minutes 15 seconds on the first side and 2 minutes on the second. Add butter, smashed garlic and thyme, then baste for 45–60 seconds. Adjust for steak thickness and your preferred doneness; check the centre with a thermometer rather than relying on time alone. Rest for 8–10 minutes.
- Second fry. Increase the frying oil to 190°C and fry the chips again until deep golden and crisp. Salt immediately.
- Cook the prawns. Season with olive oil, paprika, pepper and a little salt. In the steak pan, melt the butter and briefly cook the minced garlic. Add prawns and cook for about 90 seconds on the first side and 60–90 seconds on the second, until the flesh is opaque and cooked through. Finish with lemon juice.
- Serve. Slice the steak over the chips. Spoon softened Café de Paris butter on top so it melts into both. Arrange the prawns alongside and spoon over the pan juices.
At the table
Keep the butter thick and spoonable before serving. The hot steak and chips do the melting. Cooking the prawns in the steak pan brings the whole plate together.
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From preparation to the table
Original photographs from our family cooking. Where the recipe is labelled as a new version, these earlier photographs record the meal and may show variations rather than every exact ingredient or step above.
