Surf & Turf Mermaid
Red meat on top, white fish below. The only surf and turf that comes in one animal.
- Prep
- 30 min
- Cook
- 40 min
- Total
- 1 hr 10 min
- Serves
- 4 (1 platter, two cuisines)
- Difficulty
- Hard
- Cuisine
- Steakhouse Nautical
- Course
- Main
The story
Steakhouses have spent decades putting a lobster tail next to a steak and charging extra. Nature, or at least folklore, did it first.
The top half cooks like a lean red meat, the bottom half like a firm white fish. The trick is to treat them as two different dinners that happen to share a platter.
Ingredients
Turf (upper half)
- 1 lb mythical upper-half steak, lean, dark red
- 2 tbsp butter
- 3 sprigs thyme
- coarse salt, to taste
Surf (lower half)
- 1 lb tail fillet, firm and white
- 1 lemon, halved
- 2 tbsp olive oil
Shared
- 1 cup béarnaise, a neutral sauce both halves can agree on
Equipment
- Cast-iron pan (for the turf)
- Fish spatula (for the surf)
- Two thermometers, labelled "TOP" and "BOTTOM"
- Earplugs
Method
Turf
- Bring the steak to room temperature and salt it generously. ⏱ 20 min
- Sear in a very hot cast-iron pan with butter and thyme until well browned. Rest. ⏱ 8 min
Surf
- Pan-fry the tail fillet in olive oil until opaque and flaky. Squeeze lemon over. ⏱ 6 min
Serve
- Plate side by side, steak on the left, fillet on the right, sauce in the middle as a peacekeeper.
Substitutions
- Turf: any steak.
- Surf: any firm white fish. At that point it is just surf and turf, which is fine. We won't tell anyone.
Storage and leftovers
Store the halves in separate containers. Labelled. They do not get along in the fridge either.
Nutrition (per serving, allegedly)
| Protein | twice |
|---|---|
| Identity crisis | 1 serving |
Tags: Classic Dinner Party Surf and Turf