When I decided to do a Harry Potter menu, I knew I wanted to feature at least one recipe from the Unofficial Harry Potter Cookbook. It has the most iconic Harry Potter foods (pumpkin juice, cauldron cakes, etc.), but it also has some lesser-known Potter recipes. I’ve spent ages drooling over the recipes in this book, and now is the perfect time to break one out! The scotch collops (aka pan-seared steak with mushrooms and onions) stood out to me from the rest. This is the dish that Harry, Hermione, and Ron are eating at the start-of-term feast when they find out all the food is made by Hogwarts house-elves. As you may recall, Hermione stops eating in protest, but the boys have no problem finishing their steak. After tasting it myself, I have to say, I’m on Harry and Ron’s side. 😉
NOTE: The recipe for scotch collops is really basic. The technique I use here is a little different from the one in the book, mostly because I wanted to do more than just cook a steak–I wanted to show you how to take steak to the next level! If you’d like to learn the science behind the technique I use, Serious Eats has a great slideshow breakdown of each step (there’s also a Complete Guide for hardcore carnivores).
Pan-Seared Steak with Mushrooms and Onions
“‘We keeps their secrets and our silence, sir. We upholds the family honor, and we never speaks ill of them—though Professor Dumbledore told Dobby he does not insist upon this. Professor Dumbledore said we is free to—to—’ Dobby looked suddenly nervous and beckoned Harry closer. Harry bent forward. Dobby whispered, ‘He said we is free to call him a—barmy old codger if we likes, sir!'”
— Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
INGREDIENTS:
- 1 steak (you’ll want a 1 1/2 – 2 inch thick cut, either USDA Choice or Prime. I used a 1 lb USDA Choice ribeye steak)
- 1/2 medium sweet onion
- 1 good fistful of shiitake mushrooms
- 1 tsp thyme
- salt and pepper to taste
- you’ll also need 1/3 cup olive oil and 2 tbsp butter, for preparation
- Makes 2 servings…or 1 giant man serving
INSTRUCTIONS:
- To start, pour 1/3 cup of olive oil into a cast iron skillet. Set the burner on high, so the oil will get smoking hot. While this heats up, you can slice your onions.
For this recipe, cutting the onions into rings is infinitely preferable to dicing. It’s much easier to keep them on your fork, and they get a lovely amber sear on the outside. - Season your steak with salt and pepper right before adding it to the oil (no more than two minutes early!). Be sure to season REALLY well!
You can use pretty much any kind of seasoning you want. I stuck with the basics (salt and pepper) so I could really showcase the steak’s natural flavor. - Using tongs, lay your steak slowly on the hot oil. It should sizzle violently, so watch out for oil splatter!
- Rule of thumb is to flip your steak once, but for thick steaks like this, it’s actually better to flip it several times. This ensures more even cooking.
- Once your steak starts to develop a brown crust, add 2 tbsp of butter to the oil. This will enhance the color and add some great flavor.
Gettin’ some lovely color already! - After the butter, add your onions and mushrooms. I sprinkled a little thyme over the onions and mushrooms (but not the meat) for an extra flavor boost.
Sizzle, sizzle, my pretties! - For the final few minutes of cooking, you can baste the steak between flips. I didn’t, but that’s mostly because taking pictures adds to the overall cook time (after my onions browned, the meat was pretty close to being done).
- When the meat has reached desired “doneness,” remove the steak to a warm plate and allow it to rest for 5 minutes or half its cooking time (whichever is longer). Place the thymed-up onions and mushrooms on top while it rests, to trap heat and infuse a little more flavor.
Try not to drool too terribly much. - Enjoy this sizzling, succulent miracle while debating house-elf rights with your friends! 🙂
For those who are interested in the cooking time: I flipped my steak 4-5 times over a span of 7 minutes, which came out to medium. You can adjust the number of flips and minutes in the pan to achieve a rarer or more well done steak.
Here’s the Yummly Printable!
Ingredients
- 1 steak (you'll want a 1 1/2 - 2 inch thick cut, either USDA Choice or Prime. I used a 1 lb USDA Choice ribeye steak)
- 1/2 medium sweet onion
- 1 good fistful of shiitake mushrooms
- 1 tsp thyme
- salt and pepper to taste
- you'll also need 1/3 cup olive oil and 2 tbsp butter, for preparation
Instructions
- To start, pour 1/3 cup of olive oil into a cast iron skillet. Set the burner on high, so the oil will get smoking hot. While this heats up, you can slice your onions.
- Season your steak with salt and pepper right before adding it to the oil (no more than two minutes early!). Be sure to season REALLY well!
- Using tongs, lay your steak slowly on the hot oil. It should sizzle violently, so watch out for oil splatter!
- Once your steak starts to develop a brown crust, add 2 tbsp of butter to the oil. This will enhance the color and add some great flavor.
- After the butter, add your onions and mushrooms. I sprinkled a little thyme over the onions and mushrooms (but not the meat) for an extra flavor boost.
- For the final few minutes of cooking, you can baste the steak between flips.
- When the meat has reached desired "doneness," remove the steak to a warm plate and allow it to rest for 5 minutes or half its cooking time (whichever is longer). Place the thymed-up onions and mushrooms on top while it rests, to trap heat and infuse a little more flavor.
- Enjoy this sizzling, succulent miracle while debating house-elf rights with your friends!
[…] fact, this is more of a preparation technique than a recipe.We showed you how to prepare a superior pan-seared steak when we made our Harry Potter menu…now try your hand at gourmet […]