Julia Child’s Secret to the Perfect Steak Frites 

Hey man just wanted to say thank you for what you do. My 76 year old mother loved watching julia back in the day and also loved watching your attempts at replicating her recipies. She died this month and I'm glad I got to introduce her to your videos because she really loved them

If you heat the plate (just like 20-30 seconds in the microwave) before plating, it help food hold it's temp better. A ceramic plate has a lot of thermal mass and energy wants to move from hot to cold. Anytime you put hot food on a cold plate, the plate sucks lots of heat out of the food rapidly.

As the cook in my family, I try to explain to them that “food often tastes better when someone else prepares it.” 😊. Love Jamie’s honest portrayal.

Store your Béarnaise or hollandaise in a thermos. Fill it with hot water first to warm the thermos before your sauce goes in. It will hold for a couple of hours.

I made steak au poivre for dinner yesterday, but after watching this I could totally eat steak frites tonight as well.

I met her quite a few times and served her dinner with Paul Child at my Culinary School Graduation dinner....you do her proud. And bearnaise is so sublime and wonderful. You could have added a tablespoon or two of hot water and that sauce would have been more unctous and flattering to the steak. But overall, what a wonderful job and tribute. It is one of the best French chef meals!

I waited tables years ago and we served french fries with a side of bearnaise. The bearnaise was kept in a thermos/pitcher and the waitstaff had to pour it into a small ramekin to serve. It was never too thick, never split, always perfect.

Yaaay another Jamie and Julia episode!

Jamie I'm incredibly happy I found your channel. I'm disabled and watching you has brought back my desire to experiment in the kitchen again. I haven't felt that since I began to get sick 10+ years ago. Thank you!

I used to work the grill at a prime steakhouse. When you order this dish in a restaurant, except very tiny French bistros, different people handle different elements of it. Doing it all solo is extremely challenging. To avoid cold plates splash some hot water out of a kettle or put the plate in the oven for a couple of minutes, wipe it clean and dry before putting food on it obviously. Bearnaise is not something you can really make a la minute, at the last minute in non restaurant speak. Make it ahead and hold it in a pre warmed thermos. Personally, no matter how you like your steaks I prefer to cook it fast and hot on the stove top on just one side and then flip it and put it in the oven to finish for a few minutes (you can look up rough guides on how long but you should have an instant read and be checking every couple of minutes). That will give you the time to deal with things like fries or whatever else needs to be done. Paper towels hold grease. Fries sitting on paper towels are sitting in grease which defeats the purpose. Put the paper towel under the cooling rack not over it. You'll still get rid of a lot of the grease from the fries and you'll have crispier fries. This may just be my taste but bearnaise is very heavy for a good steak. If you're spending serious money on beef why cover up the flavor of the meat? I'd rather have a pan sauce that compliments the flavor of the steak rather than obscures it.

That looked amazing! Jamie, your not trying out recipes and second guessing yourself anymore to me. You are simply showing us how to make great food. Thanks for the content.

I think you’ve upped your game to the point where you have to call yourself “FORMER Anti-Chef!” Well done Jamie!

I have been making bearnaise for years and there's a simpler way to make it that i've never had the sauce separate with and it also allows you to serve it warm. Cook the base and reduce it per the recipe, then set it aside and cool it to room temperature. You can throw it in the fridge if you're pressed for time. When you are about ready to serve, combine the reduction (Don't strain it) along with the egg yolks in a blender and blend it for 30 seconds. Then slowly drizzle in the melted butter to the base/eggs while the blender is on. This keeps the eggs from scrambling while also making sure the sauce is fully emulsified. Works every time. Love your videos and keep them coming!

Watercress is a superb match for steak - its peppery taste beautifully complements the meat. I note you mention JC's lack of pre-cooking seasoning - I've always been taught NOT to season steak, especially with salt, before cooking, as this draws out the moisture and can make the meat tougher than otherwise - best to season whilst the steak is resting. I've also always been taught to make Bearnaise and Hollandaise in a bain marie, which provides gentler heat and makes the sauce less likely to scramble. It takes longer, but is worth it - I've never had a problem! Oh, and Bearnaise is also really nice with chicken, as you'd imagine with a buttery tarragon sauce! One final thing, if you're going to do another JC steak recipe, PLEASE do Tournedos Rossini......it was the first dish I ever cooked from MtAoFC.

What a beautiful meal. Bravo. I hear you on the cold meal issues. As I live alone, I have learned to only cook one half of a "normal" steak at a time. I can't eat more than one half and there really is no way to reheat a perfect medium-rare steak without overcooking the steak. Something else I have tried is to cut the leftover cold steak into a large dice and making a cold steak salad with the leftovers. Romain, slivers of red onion, quartered grape tomatoes, diced cold steak. It works.

When I want some special frites, I go the mashed sticks route. Dice russets into equal sized cubes (~inch). Boil until fork/knife tender. Rice/mash the potatoes. Finely meshing the potatoes leads to a more gummy interior. Mix in some potato/cornstarch, turning it into a biscuit like consistency. Place mash into ziplock bags and sheet them to your desired thickness. Freeze until firm. Remove from bags and slice mash sheets into sticks. Dust sticks with more starch to help with the outer crispiness. Deep fry at 375 for 4-5 minutes, pull to let the temp come back up to 375, deep fry for two minutes or until they have the color/doneness you want. The frites will take on the flavor of whatever oil/fat you use. You can throw in herbs during the 2nd fry.

Your shows are gifts that keep on giving. As an always learning, growing home cook, I love ALL your recipes. I have made every mistake you've made over the years (e.g. the hollandaise scrambled eggs 🤣 OMG 🤣) and your ability to laugh and learn from them is inspiring and reassuring. Keep them comin', Jamie. You are a master.

What a great way to start my Sunday morning! Well done as always, Jamie!

Jamie, you are so entertaining. Your dry wit is unmatched.

I make a 'cheat' bearnaise: Mix to TASTE - mayonnaise, squeeze a little lemon juice, dijon, salt, pepper, and tarragon (fresh or dried). No cooking is required. Best if rested in the fridge for a few hours. Great with fish and chicken too.

Oh, hon, I feel you on whoever's got a goofy motorcycle or abused muffler. Moved from off a main road to the boonies, and the peace is so worth it for me! Your videos never fail to delight, so stay strong despite the city distractions!

Congratulations, you killed it making that Bernaise sauce! All of those Hollandaise-type sauces thicken as they cool. All you need to do is whisk in a tablespoon (or 2) of hot water to bring it back to the proper consistency.

Nice steak. It doesn't look like you have a problem with stainless, but mine doesn't work like that. Then I got a high carbon pan and I love it. Nothing sticks, and everything gets well seared. I hope you never stop doing Julia episodes.

My dad always added a bit of chervil as well in his reduction. Gives it a bit more freshness and depth but also compliments the anisseed flavor of the tarragon. :) Edit: also, if you have trouble with your bearnaise seizing, try storing it in a ban Marie before serving.

Great job on the bernaise sauce! As others have suggested, you have to keep it warm or use it immediately. If you make it in a blender, it's easier to pour into a thermos to keep it warm until you need it. You can also keep it warm over a pan of hot water.

This was very helpful in its honesty… including the food getting cold and sauce thickening.

Bearnaise are probably the most served sauce after ketchup here in Sweden, but oftenly cold and made with oil instead of butter. It's quite a common pizza topping too.

Brought back a number of fond memories working at some very good restaurants in CLE, CHI, NYC & Santa Fe, NM.

Your confidence level on this meal created success. Good job😊

I've been sucked into a string of your videos now, and i can't work out why you don't have 10-20 times the views you gave new with the production quality you present

Love your show... I was always taught (in classical French cooking) beef was garnished with water cress and fish was always garnished with parsley.

French bistros always put some side salad just for the hell of it. It makes clients feel better about themselves when they eat big plates lol "I ate a 500g steak but with some leaves so it's good, I am still rocking the diet I want to start tomorrow"

i find making hollandaise is easier when you use the dump method. i just dump all the ingredients into a pan and whisk until combined then slowly heat the whole thing. i've made it like this dozens of times and never had one break

Another great video, and one that inspires me to try this meal in the near future. I will say, now that I don't eat steak very often, I find a whole steak to be incredibly filling. As for the watercress, it is a classic side dish to all sorts of roast meat and fowl. The astringency cuts the richness of the meat. Watercress and Saratoga chips are classically the only sides for roast game birds.

I made this, wish I could show you a picture. It’s so good. Thanks for the inspiration

This video showcases how far your skills have come! It looks amazing

Jamie, you make your French fries the only way I prepare mine - thin and crisp. Adding Bernaise sauce is my favorite method to gild a great steak. You did a fantastic job!

Watercress goes great with steak. The bright peppery freshness contrast well with the meatyness if the steak. I like a steak sandwich made with a nice crusty bread with butter, steak, salt, and watercress. Though I'd use a lit more than the few leaves you scattered on.

While I've never made Hollandaise or Bearnaise sauce, I saw Alton Brown do it on "Good Eats," and after he made it, he put it into a Thermos. This might be of help to you next time. Bon chance!

I love how honest you are about the dishes you cook.

My old roommate used to say she was a land manatee when she was super full like that. Good effort on the dish!

Jamie ... I have a recipe that uses that watercress for a "pesto guacamole" ... so I'd take the uneaten watercress and make a batch ... you can make it 2 or 3 days ahead of time and it doesn't blacken like regular guac ... it's delicious.

Thanks very much. Have always been terrified of making the bernaise but now I’m going to give it a go.

The magic of restaurants, especially good ones, is that it's not just one person making all three components. One person is on sauces, another on fries, another on steaks, so it's possible to get all three items out simultaneously, fresh, and hot. At home, as a one-man-band, way harder. Way to go on your sauce game, Jamie! And, I'm with you, I always have to eat my food while hot otherwise, meh. Thanks for the entertainment!

Beautiful sauce Jamie!!!!🎉

300K subs! Congrats, you deseve the hell out of it!

I really liked this method of making Bernaise. I don't have to stand there painstakingly whisking in cold butter, hoping and praying my sauce doesn't break. Hmmm, the next time I have to make it, I might look up Julia's version.

My absolute favorite way to eat steak! Love Bernaise sauce and of course frites! I had this once in Paris and it did not disappoint! I've never tried it at home, but now after watching you I just might! Love your show, btw.

Oh! Premier! Can't wait For this! I also love me some steak si perfect combo man!🎉🎉🎉🎉❤❤❤❤

For béarnaise it’s better to reduce your liquid herb mixture to a syrup consistency before adding the eggs and butter.

Omg you are tops ...wishing I had pucked up steaks before "paddling back to our island paradise" your JJ video is the only tech that I have watched in 7 days...mouth watering for sure...and will make this at our cabin next time ...again if you both ever need to relax up here in NL you d be more than welcome....keep up the hard work and learning to cook you re on your way to master level now for sure!!!

i love how jam jam gives us a flashback so we don’t have to dig to find it 😊

Dude, that looks so great.

Good effort! I’ve been a Chef/ Restaurant owner for 26 years, formally trained at “Johnson & Wales”. Those French custard style sauces are the most difficult of the 5 “Mother Sauces” of French cuisine. Why? Because they “Break” not “Split”. Your best bet is to prepare the sauce during the 7-10 required resting time for certain proteins. That will not only make it easier, but the steak will not be piping hot keeping your sauce from breaking! Just a friendly tip! Hope it help?

Dude, this is the first time ive seen your channel. Instant sub❤

A cool trick for keeping hollandaise/ béarnaise sauces from splitting is to keep them in a thermos. They’re so susceptible to heat that keeping them exactly where they’re at helps stop them from splitting

Watching Past You fail that previous sauce and then slay this one was really wonderful. I clapped. Hope you could hear it.

I discovered your channel in the past month and have been going through a lot of your videos. Joining now and watching your old videos makes it look like you are losing skills with each old video I watch but I love your presentation style and watching you succeed at all kinds of dishes. At 9:29 though all of your past experiences have culminated in stopping yourself from touching the hot fries right out of the fryer and pouring it into a bowl instead. cant wait for the next one

You can microwave the potatoes with a starch coating instead of double frying. Faster, less messing with oil, and I think you get a softer, fluffier, texture in the fries. Cut, wash, pat dry, toss in starch. Cover and zap in the microwave till the fries are soft and cooked through, and the starch is set. Then fry till crispy and golden brown.

Julia recommends seasoning steak right before plating. Helps to not dry it out while cooking. And most of it comes off in the pan while cooking. I think it’s a common mistake of everyone to do it before cooking. The easy way to make bearnaise is with a stick blender. Then keep it in a warm bowl, covered to keep it warm.

awesome! been looking forward to this one

You’re correct. Your sauce was too thick from sitting too long. Stir in a few drops of hot but not boiling water and and it will thin out nicely 12:55 . In the future, you can make the vinegar infusion ahead of time and make the sauce while resting the steak. The portion you gave yourself would feed two people in France. The watercress is mostly garnish, but can be eaten as the slightly spicy flavor complements beef.

It may have been cold and unpalatable but damn was that a beautiful plate of food! Good work Jamie, and you slayed the sauce ❤

I’m impressed. You broke almost every rule about making hollandaise and still ended up with a passable sauce. First, cooking the yolks over direct heat usually takes a lot of experience but you did it. Second, the idea is to cook the yolks first, then stream in the butter to form an emulsion. You cooked the yolks while adding the butter and still got an emulsion. And best way I’ve found to hold sauces at home is a gravy boat that holds hot water within the sides.

You nailed it!

Super fun! Watercress makes sense since iit's peppery

I usually use Kerrygold in my sauce and I prepare it in a bain marie, oh I love bernaise sauce!

Hello from France; agree with some of the earlier comments that in a bistro, béarnaise won't be served on top of a hot steak, but in a ramekin on the side Otherwise great work, really like your dishes from each country videos

Yes please! ❤❤❤❤

Not at all related to this recipe but I understand not reading through the recipe just not to get overwhelmed. Yesterday i tried a recipe which my husband had seen the recipe video and when I stated i am doing it, he was like are you sure. But i just made sure i had all the ingredients and started and along the way got everything done and it came out good even though it had like 3 mini recipes in it 😅😅 so, yay to just diving in head on and seeing in thru🎉

I make Hollandaise and Bearnaise sauces in the blender when at the point of adding the melted butter. Just pour the pan ingredients into the blender then stream in the melted butter and go thinner since it does thicken while sitting. Just something I picked up along the way.

i love the ending victorious flashback :)

Great job on the steak and fries, both looked delicious!

This is the first time while watching your videos I wished you can share with us some of your plate 😂 nom nom. Looks great!

Thank You.

Nice video, thank you. Yeah watercress! We all have that hanging around our kitchen, why not? Lol. I appreciate your hard work recreating these recipes. You’re awesome.

Learning something new every time 🙂

great video

You can thin out that sauce with few drops of water you can also rescue a slightly broken hollandaise with hot water or a whisked egg yolk looked great

Great seeing the old Ontario apartment again.

Add a little water to thin out your sauce ! Less is more or you will end up with a really thin bernaise. Looks really good and delicious as always.

Another hit

Watercress is great with meat. Even when it cooks a little from the residual heat of the plates food it brings a peppery freshness to everything

So, when I pan fry a steak I usually do it in cast iron. Turn your range to max heat. Set your oven to 500 degrees. Salt and pepper the steak, then coat the steak itself with oil too. Into the ripping hot pan. 60-seconds on one side, no touching, flip, 60-seconds on the other side. Then flip the steak, take the entire pan and steak, and put it into the oven. The oven is where you determine the done-ness. For a 3/4 inch thick steak to med-rare I usually go 5 minutes, turning halfway through the time. For an inch thick you could go 6 minutes maybe. whatever time you choose in the oven, flip halfway through the time, only once. At the end take out the steak and rest it covered for 5 minutes.

If you ever get the chance the relais entrecôte chain of restaurants does a nice steak frites with a green sauce.

Traditionally, in Europe, french fries were fried in olive oil (things are different today due to price - but it's rationalized by claiming that olive oil has a low burning point).

Yeah!!!!Greetings from Western Australia 🦘🐨🦘🐨😷

Very pretty meal🥰

Jaimie has made it in this episoe, so I believe I could make a bearnaise sauce successfully. The presentation of the process was excellent and super informative, while being slick and dynamic. S+ rating on that. Awesome, for the best cook job on a steak so far. So many episodes it was a fight to translate a recipe to the point it can work today, meaning, accidental overcooking. Jaimie knows what makes a good steak but the chaos of a recipe plus as he said, the logistics of filming makes a difference when he just wants to be a better cook. It's like the practical and mechanical side gets in the way of the heart. A Tough balance, for sure, one who is just a viewer rather than a creator may not fully get. The honesty of it all, gets my full respect. I'm sure Jaimie will always keep fighting to get things to the best result he can, cause he is a fighter as he has proven over and over. At the same time, these vids are always super interesting and entertaining. So we are on a good journey, I'm happy to have a ticket for, lol. As to specifics..You can't go wrong with a ribeye. They are so good. I mean, I might have had Korean BBQ today and we had a couple of them on the fire. I mean I'm a simple dude, meat is good. Meat on fire, simple but satisfying. Heck me and my friend refuse the marinated items to have that pure flavor, maybe some salt and that is about it. So a recipe like this, looks cool for a change. Sometimes, why not go for the extra fancy, extra effort for the experience. It could be the best thing you ever had. As for the fries, double frying sounds like a ton more work but the results speak for themselves. If you put in the effort to cook, you gotta go all the way. I'm sad cause a local place, one of those hamburger/breakfast/tons of random food places closed. They double fried and their fries were amazing. As to the full result, it certainly looked like a filling meal if not that restaurant experience. That is the reality of not having a room full of staff who all cook things to order so everything shows up right at the perfect moment together all at the peak of doneness. We got the jist of what it came out to. The flavors and textures. That is such a good element to making us viewers feel more a part of all this. Jaimie works hard to create this show. It's so much to juggle. Yet the episodes keep getting better and better. Other people can criticize different things, but that happens too much and too easily these days for my..um taste. We gotta celebrate the good as much as possible too.

Well done Jamie🎉

Your kitchens have certainly improved over the years as has your level of skill in said kitchens. That old clip seems sooooooooo long ago.

I'm French and your video made me want to go out this lunch and get one! I do like mine with an "œuf au cheval" on top :p

Thanks Jamie!

I suggest to cook the steak in oil first and then put the butter. Cause if you cook the steak in butter first then the butter will be burnt by the time you finished cooking the steak. Great job😋

Actually, Bearnaise and Hollandaise sauce are a part of the Mayonnaise family. An easy way to make any of the mayonnaise sauces is simply to use a stick blender in a narrow cup. The stick blender will make sure the sauce doesn't separate and you really only need the melted butter to make the sauce warm. But you should always serve it right after making it, or else you risk the sauce getting cold, separating, or becoming too thick. If it looks like the sauce is about to separate (or it's too thick) you can add some cold water to stop it from happening.

Waiting for my favorite anti chef on his premier!! Love your channel young man!

After a ten-day battle trying to get my new smart phone activated, including a marathon two-and-a-half-hour phone call that featured THREE supervisors at my carrier, we finally succeeded and I am now back at my favorite cooking show. Jamie, America's Test Kitchen has an interesting technique regarding getting all the components for steak frites done at almost at the same time so everything is hot. Also Lan Lam of 'Techniquely,' has an interesting cold-sear method for cooking steaks which she says is less messy than the traditional hot sear method you were using. You might want to check them out.

You are killing it! Perfect Bearnaise & double fried fries! 😽😽

I have never made béarnaise sauce. I guess I should try it

Your fries looked so good. I would eat them even cold. I need some fries now🍟