In most of these “30 Minutes or Less” posts, I show you how to make fairly basic homecooked dishes. Today, we are going to do something a little different. Today, we are going to take a look at how to make a relatively high-end meal, but while still hitting that 30-minute mark.

Okay, what we’re making today is a steak dinner, I’m using both beef tenderloin, and ribeye because I like one and my wife likes the other. Along with the steak we are making smashed red potatoes, as well as roasted carrots and asparagus. I actually made a meal very similar to this for a dinner I did this weekend and got a craving that just needed to be satisfied.

So, here we go. This is…

5:15 pm – Getting Started

Things got cooking at 5:15 pm. To get started I got the potatoes cooking, cranked the oven up to 450°F, and turned a castiron pan on over medium heat.

For the potatoes, I rinsed them, covered them in hot salted water and turned them on high.

5:16 pm Carrots

Next up I got to work on some carrots. I peeled them and cut off the two ends. I cut the carrots using a technique called the “roll cut” or “oblong cut”. To do this keep your knife at a 45° angle to the carrot. Cut the carrot about 1 inch thick. Roll the carrot 1/4 turn forward and cut once again on that same 45° angle. Continue to do this until the entire carrot is cut.

This technique takes a little practice to get the hang of but it is worth the effort. This style of cut works really well for stew, soup or roasted carrots. Give it a shot.

Once the carrots were cut, toss them with olive oil, salt and pepper, and rosemary. Then I put them in the oven. I didn’t wait for the oven to come up to full temperature here because it just would have taken too long. If you have the time, wait. If not, the carrots should still be cooked at the end of the 30 minutes.

5:20 – Steak on

At this point, the cast iron pan for the steak was hot and ready to go. I seasoned the steak with homemade steak spice. I would give you the recipe but I can’t actually remember what’s in it. You can use salt and pepper or your favourite steak spice instead. With the steak seasoned, into the pan it went.

5:22 pm – Asparagus

While the steak was cooking I prepared the asparagus. The trick with this is to grab the asparagus on the top and bottom and gently bend until it breaks. This breaking point is where the asparagus goes from the woody stem to the tender steam. Break all the asparagus spears and discard the bottoms. Set aside the usable asparagus until ready to use.

5:24 pm – Steaks in the oven.

The steaks are seared on one side. Flip them, and put the pan in the oven.

5:25 pm Onion and Garlic

Now, its time to mince half an onion and two cloves of garlic. This will be used to make the sauce once the steak comes out of the oven.

5:27 pm – Hurry up and wait.

With everything cooking, there really isn’t much to do other than just wait. So, crack a cider, a beer or pour a glass of wine.

5:30 pm – Check the steak

At 5:30 the ribeye was cooked through (135°F) but the tenderloin which was thicker still needed more time. I took the ribeye out of the pan, wrapped it loosely in foil and put the tenderloin back in the oven.

I also put the asparagus in the oven in the same dish as the carrots.

5:37 pm – Tenderloin Done

7 minutes later the tenderloin was done. It got wrapped right along with the ribeye.

At this point, it was time to get going on the sauce. I added 2 tbsp of butter into the pan the steak was cooked in. Along with the butter I added in both the onion and garlic. This got cooked for 1-2 minutes. Then, I added in 1/2 cup of Whiskey, and let that cook for another 2 minutes. After that, I added in 1 cup of beef stock along with 1 sprig of rosemary.

5:40 pm – Drain and Smash Potatoes

Once I got the sauce cooking, my potatoes were cooked. I drained them, let them dry out for a few seconds. Then I heated up about 1/4 cup of cream and 2 tbsp butter. I mashed the potatoes and seasoned with salt and pepper.

5:43 Finish the sauce

The beef stock has cooked way down and now it’s time to add a bit of cream, about 1/4 cup, and about 2 tbsp of butter. Stir it up, it should get thicker. Give it a taste and adjust with salt and pepper as needed.

5:44 pm Plate it up

Take the carrots and asparagus out of the oven and get it on the plate. Potatoes down first, the vegetables next, followed by the steak and the sauce. Good to go.

Conclusion

This meal likely isn’t going to be an everyday kind of meal. That’s fine, it shouldn’t be. But the next time you have a special occasion, your partner’s birthday, or an anniversary, maybe instead of going out and spending a bunch of money, stay in, spend a little money and little time, and enjoy.

Beef Tenderloin with Bourbon Cream sauce in 30 minutes or less

A delicious steak dinner that can be made in under 30 minutes.

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Total Time: 30 minutes minutes

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: American

Keyword: 30 minute meals, 30 Minutes or less, asparagus, roasted carrots, smashed potatoes, steak, steak dinner, steak sauce

Ingredients

• 2 5-6oz Beef Tenderloin
• 8-12 Baby Red Potatoes
• 12 Spears of Asparagus
• 2 lg Carrots
• 1/2 cup Whiskey
• 1/2 cup Whipping cream
• 1/2 cup Beef Stock
• 1/2 An Onion, minced
• 2 cloves Garlic, minced
• 2-3 tbsp butter
• 2 sprigs Rosemary
• 1 tbsp Olive Oil
• Salt and Pepper to taste

Instructions

• Put the potatoes in a pot, rinse, and cover with hot salted water. Place on a burner over high heat and cook until tender.
• Turn the oven on to 450°F and turn a cast iron pan on medium for the steaks.
• Peel and cut the carrots, toss with olive oil, salt, pepper, and fresh rosemary.
• Put the carrots in a roasting pan and pop in the oven.
• Put the steaks in the hot skillet and cook for four minutes before flipping and putting in the oven.
• While everything is cooking prep the asparagus by breaking the bottom ends off of each stalk.
• Once the steaks are cooked to 135°F, remove them from the oven and loosely wrap them in foil.
• Put the pan back over medium heat and add 2 tbsp of butter along with the onion and garlic to the pan.
• Add the asparagus to the roasting pan with the carrots and return to the oven.
• Sauté the onions and garlic for 1-2 minutes then add in the Whiskey.
• 2 minutes after adding in the whiskey add in the stock and simmer.
• Once the potatoes are cooked drain them, add half the cream and the butter and mash the potatoes. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Put a lid on the pot and set aside.
• Finish the sauce with 1-2 more tbsp of butter, and the remaining cream. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
• Remove the carrots and asparagus from the oven and serve.

Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!