Steak Diane -- Saturday Night Simple, the Way the Ranch Demands It

The grass going gold by August. Standard. Three days of farrier work. Two ranches in the county. Eleven horses. The body is tired in the right way.

Patrick on the porch in the afternoon. Coffee in the good cup. The cottonwoods.

Grilled ribeye Saturday. Charcoal in the kettle. Three minutes per side. Rest. Eat.

The sky was the sky. It held everything.

The wood pile is half what it was at Thanksgiving. I will split another cord on Saturday. The cord will be ready by next winter. The wood always is.

Mended the chute hinge Wednesday. Welder was finicky. Got it on the third try. Patrick used to do this. I do it now.

Mr. Whelan from down the road came over Saturday with a story about a horse he sold in 1979. The story took an hour. I listened. He needed someone to tell it to.

Listened to the cattle market report on AM radio while I worked the shop. Beef is up. Feed is up. The math is the math.

The barn cats are doing their job. Down to one mouse this week, in the feed shed. The cats brought it to the porch as proof. They are professionals.

A reader emailed about the elk chili recipe. Asked what beer to use if non-alcoholic was not available. I wrote back: any beer is wrong if you don't drink. Use stock.

Wrote a blog post Friday night. The first one in two months. About making chili in a snowstorm. Short. Practical. Posted it. Forgot about it.

Took a walk to the river before supper Tuesday. The cottonwoods were silver. The water was running. I did not think much. I just walked.

Drove to Billings for parts Friday. Stopped at the cemetery on the way home. Stood for ten minutes. Came home.

Three days of horses this week. The work is meditative. The horses know. The owners pay. The cycle holds.

The Musselshell was clear Sunday. Could see trout in the deeper pools. Did not fish. Just watched.

Drove the back fence line Saturday. Two posts down from elk. Replaced them in the morning. The fence held the rest of the week.

Hank, the dog, herded the chickens by accident. He apologized in the way dogs apologize — eyes down, tail low. The chickens were unimpressed.

A neighbor's heifer was choking on a corn cob. I drove over with my emergency kit. Cleared the cob with a length of garden hose. The heifer recovered. The neighbor brought a pie the next day.

Storm came through Friday night. Thunder. The dog hid under the bed. The kids slept through it. The cattle bunched up by the windbreak. Standard.

The Tuesday Roundup AA meeting was eleven this week — three new guys from a referral. The room was full. The coffee was strong.

Truck started cold Tuesday. Twelve below. Battery is the original. I will replace it before next winter. I always say I will replace it before next winter. I never have.

Worked on the truck Saturday afternoon. Plugs and wires. Two hours. Hands black with grease. Came in. Showered. Ate.

Hauled three bull calves to the auction yard Wednesday. Got a fair price. Came home. Counted the cash. Put it in the ranch account.

Saturday’s ribeye on the charcoal kettle is its own kind of prayer — three minutes a side, rest, eat, done. But when the week has been long enough that you drove to Billings, stopped at a cemetery, came home, and still managed to weld a chute hinge and haul calves to auction, sometimes the stove calls instead of the grill. Steak Diane is what happens when you want that same honest beef, but with a pan sauce that does the talking while you sit quiet. It’s the kind of meal Patrick would have appreciated. It holds up to a full week.

Steak Diane

Prep Time: 10 min | Cook Time: 15 min | Total Time: 25 min | Servings: 2

Ingredients

• 2 beef tenderloin steaks or ribeye steaks (6–8 oz each), about 3/4 inch thick
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 shallots, finely minced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 cup beef stock or beef broth
• 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• 2 tablespoons heavy cream
• 1 tablespoon fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped
• 1 teaspoon fresh chives, chopped (optional)

Instructions

1. Pound and season. Place steaks between two sheets of plastic wrap and pound gently to an even 1/2-inch thickness. Pat dry, then season both sides with salt and pepper.
2. Sear the steaks. Heat a heavy skillet or cast iron pan over high heat. Add 1 tablespoon butter and the olive oil. When the butter foams and subsides, add the steaks. Sear 2–3 minutes per side for medium-rare. Remove to a plate and tent loosely with foil.
3. Build the sauce base. Reduce heat to medium. Add remaining 1 tablespoon butter to the same pan. Add the shallots and cook, stirring, until softened, about 2 minutes. Add the garlic and cook 30 seconds more.
4. Deglaze and reduce. Pour in the beef stock, scraping up any browned bits from the pan bottom. Stir in the Worcestershire sauce and Dijon mustard. Simmer until the sauce reduces by about half, 3–4 minutes.
5. Finish with cream. Stir in the heavy cream and cook another minute until the sauce coats the back of a spoon. Taste and adjust salt and pepper.
6. Plate and serve. Return the steaks to the pan for 30 seconds to warm through. Spoon the sauce generously over the top. Garnish with parsley and chives if using. Serve immediately.

Nutrition (per serving)

Calories: 520 | Protein: 42g | Fat: 36g | Carbs: 7g | Fiber: 0g | Sodium: 680mg