Steak Diane

Dish of steak with sauce Steak DianeTypeMain coursePlace of originUnited KingdomCreated byPossibly Bartolomeo Calderoni or Beniamino Schiavon and Luigi QuaglinoMain ingredientsbeefsteak Part of a series onSteak Main articles Steak Beefsteak Fish steak Pork steak Steakhouse

List of steak dishes Asado Beef Manhattan Beef Wellington Bife a cavalo Bistecca alla fiorentina Boiled beef Bulgogi Carpetbag steak Carne asada Chateaubriand steak Cheesesteak Chicken-fried steak Bistek Tagalog Bollito misto Delmonico steak Fajita Finger steaks Hamburg steak London broil Mongolian beef Pepper steak Pot roast Roast beef Italian beef Prawn cocktail, steak and Black Forest gateau Salisbury steak Sha cha beef Shawarma Standing rib roast Steak and eggs Steak and kidney pie Steak and kidney pudding Steak and oyster pie Steak au poivre Steak burger Steak de Burgo Steak Diane Steak frites Steak sandwich Steak tartare Suadero Surf and turf Swiss steak

Cuts of beef Forequarter cuts Hindquarter cuts 7-bone Blade Chuck Fillet Flank Flap Flat iron Hanger Plate Popseye Ranch Rib eye Rib Round Rump Silverside Sirloin Skirt Strip T-bone Tenderloin Top sirloin Tri-tip

Preparation Aged Barbecued Braised Char grilled Chopped Cured Fried Marinaded Pickled Poached Roasted Salt-cured Seared Smoked

Related topics List of beef dishes Doneness Meat on the bone Restructured steak Steak knife Steak sauce vte Steak Diane is a dish of pan-fried beefsteak with a sauce made from the seasoned pan juices. It was originally cooked tableside and sometimes flambéed. It was most likely invented in London in the 1930s. From the 1940s through the 1960s it was a standard dish in "Continental cuisine ", and is now considered retro.

[edit] "Steak Diane" does not appear in the classics of French cuisine; it was most likely invented in London in around 1936. The name Diana, the Roman goddess of the hunt, has been used for various game-related foods, such as Escoffier's sauce à la Diane, based on sauce poivrade and served with venison chops and filets; and a Pittsburgh chef's venison steak Diane (1914) which is sautéed, flambéed with rum, sherry, and currant jelly, then garnished with cherries and candied fruit. There is no evidence that they are connected to steak Diane as it is known today. Steak Diane is attested in 1936 on Jermyn Street in London, as a flattened fillet steak cooked tableside and seasoned with Worcestershire sauce. A London newspaper of 1938 reported "a midnight order for champagne and steak Diane" at the Palace Hotel, St Moritz. Bartolomeo Calderoni, the head chef of Quaglino's restaurant off Jermyn Street, was reported in 1955 to have popularised "the then rarely encountered Steak Diane, which he used personally to cook for the Duke of Windsor, then the Prince of Wales [until 1936], with whom the dish was a great favourite". Indeed, Calderoni claimed in 1988 to have invented it. According to a 1957 article, Lord Louis Mountbatten was a regular diner at the Café de Paris in London in the 1930s and "nearly always had the same dinner – a dozen and a half oysters and steak Diane". The dish was known in Australia by 1940, when it was mentioned in an article about the Sydney restaurant Romano's as its signature dish. Romano's maître d'hôtel, Tony Clerici, said he invented it in London at his Mayfair restaurant Tony's Grill in 1938 and named it in honour of Lady Diana Cooper. Clerici may have learned the dish from Charles Gallo-Selva, who had previously worked at Quaglino's in London. The dish had also appeared in the US by 1940, although it was not widely known. Later in the 1940s, steak Diane featured frequently on the menus of restaurants popular with New York café society, perhaps as part of the fad for tableside-flambéed dishes. It was served by the restaurants at the Drake and Sherry-Netherland hotels and at The Colony, the 21 Club, and Le Pavillon. In New York it is often attributed to Beniamino Schiavon, "Nino of the Drake", the maître d'hôtel of the Drake Hotel. Schiavon was said in 1968 to have created the dish with Luigi Quaglino at the Plage Restaurant in Ostend, Belgium, and named it after a "beauty of the nineteen-twenties" or perhaps "a reigning lady of the European demimonde in the nineteen twenties". At the Drake, it was called "Steak Nino".

[edit] Steak Diane is similar to steak au poivre, but has less pepper. Early recipes had few ingredients: steak, butter, Worcestershire sauce, pepper, salt and chopped parsley, and possibly garlic. Older recipes generally specify sirloin steak; more recent ones use tenderloin. The steak is cut or pounded thin so that it will cook rapidly, sautéed in the seasoned butter and Worcestershire sauce, and served garnished with the parsley. It was not flambéed. Later American versions were more elaborate: the three New York City recipes from 1953 add some or all of brandy, sherry, chives, dry mustard, and lemon juice. Only one recipe explicitly calls for flambéing: the sauce is flambéed with brandy, dry sherry, or Madeira, and poured over the steak. Some more recent recipes add cream or mushrooms or both to the sauce. Others are more similar to the older recipes. Flambéing is now rare.

Although not a traditional festive fare, Steak Diane fits the holiday spirit of indulgence and theatricality. The dish is cooked table‑side, a quick flambé that adds a splash of drama to any Christmas dinner, especially when the main roast is already on the table. Its rich, buttery sauce, often finished with a splash of brandy, complements the season’s love of warm, comforting flavours without the heaviness of a full roast. Because the steak is cooked to order, you can cater to varied preferences – rare for the steak‑lover, medium for the traditionalist – while the rest of the family enjoys the classic trimmings. This flexibility makes it a savvy backup when guests arrive unexpectedly or when you need a show‑stopper for a smaller, more intimate gathering.

For a classic Steak Diane, choose a tender, quick‑cooking cut that will hold up to the high heat of the pan. Sirloin, rib‑eye, or fillet are the top choices – sirloin offers a beefy flavour at a sensible price, rib‑eye brings marbling and juiciness, while fillet guarantees melt‑in‑the‑mouth texture. Look for a steak about 1½‑2 cm thick; thinner cuts risk overcooking during the flambé, thicker ones won’t develop the crisp sear needed for a good fond. Check the colour – a deep ruby with fine marbling indicates freshness. If you’re buying frozen, allow ample time to thaw in the fridge and pat dry before seasoning, as excess moisture will steam the steak rather than sear it.

Many home cooks stumble on the sauce’s texture, ending up with a greasy, separated glaze. The trick is to deglaze the pan while it’s still hot, using a splash of cognac or dry sherry, then whisk in cold butter in a slow, steady stream; the cold butter emulsifies the sauce, giving it that silky sheen. Another mistake is over‑flambéing – a brief flame adds aroma, but prolonged burning can scorch the butter and impart a bitter taste. Keep a fire extinguisher or a lid nearby, and let the alcohol flame subside naturally. Finally, resist the urge to over‑season the steak before searing; a simple salt‑pepper coating lets the pan‑juices shine, and you can always finish with a pinch of fresh herbs like parsley at the table.