Steak and Eggs with Crispy Potatoes and Cowboy Butter
Steak and eggs is cooked start-to-finish in one skillet. Crisp potatoes crowd into the pan too. Build the steak and potatoes first because they need the high heat, and add the eggs when there’s room. The cowboy butter gets used twice, once as a baste, and once drizzled on the plate.
The Sequence of the Pan
Put things in the pan in a specific order because each step needs to happen at maximum intensity. Steak needs the pan hottest, followed by potatoes, and eggs last of all. Rest the steak in the middle so it comes back into play just as the potatoes are ready for eggs.
Precook the Potatoes
Parboil the potatoes because they won’t get enough stove time to cook through from raw. Dry them really well too. A drop of water in hot oil doesn’t crisp, it steams.
Ingredients
| Ingredient | Notes |
|---|---|
| Steak | Ribeye or New York strip. One 8 oz cut serves one person. |
| Steak seasoning | Salt, pepper, garlic powder, or whatever you normally grab. |
| Neutral oil | A dash, just enough that the steak doesn’t touch dry metal. |
| Yukon Gold potatoes | Quartered. Yukon potatoes hold together better during the parboil than russets. |
| Eggs | Three whole ones. |
| Unsalted butter | Cowboy butter starts here. Use unsalted because you’re adding salt later. |
| Garlic | Minced and fresh. |
| Dijon mustard | Adds flavor, but also prevents the melted butter from separating. |
| Fresh parsley and chives | Fresh only. Dried herbs turn grey in warm butter. |
| Lemon juice | Brightens the fat. |
| Smoked paprika | For color and smoky flavor. |
| Crushed red pepper flakes | For heat. |
| Kosher salt | To finish. |
If you want measurements see the recipe card at the bottom.
How I Made Steak and Eggs
Season the Steak
Made the cowboy butter and set it aside. Seasoned the steak and got it aside while everything else prepped.
Cook the Potatoes
Salted a pot of water, brought it to a boil, and dropped in the potatoes. Boiled until fork tender, drained, shocked in ice water, then patted bone dry.
Finish the Butter
Put the cowboy butter ingredients in a saucepan over low heat. Added the garlic and let it cook briefly just until fragrant, then stirred in everything else. Didn’t want anything cooking too long in there.
Preheat the Pan
Heated the carbon steel skillet over high heat for five minutes. It’s wicked-hot right from the start. Swirled in a splash of neutral oil and added the steak.
Sear the Steak
Let it sear untouched until it was time to flip, then flipped and basted with butter for the rest of the cook.
Add the Potatoes
Removed steak to a board to rest. Added the potatoes to the empty pan and let them alone to brown, flipping with tongs to get all sides.
Add the Eggs
Cracked three eggs around the potatoes. Kept a wrist-to-mouth eye on them while the potatoes finished and cooked the eggs sunny side up.
Plate and Serve
Cut the steak into slices, plated it all together, and drizzled warm cowboy butter over top.
Steak temps and times in the recipe card below.
Use the Butter Twice
Uses the cowboy butter twice. Once to baste and once as sauce at the end. Looks cool because the residual heat keeps it thick on the plate rather than thin and runny like it is in the pan.
Make It as a Butter
Cowboy butter can also be made several days in advance, rolled into a log, and refrigerated until needed. It makes enough to baste the steak twice if you want to do it that way. Directions for both in the recipe card.
Bring It Together
It’s also what brings all three components together at the end. Grill steak, roast potatoes, scramble eggs…they’re each totally capable of being their own dish. Carry the same butter across all three plus some cracked pepper from the plate and they become one.
Storage
Cowboy butter lasts and gets better if it sits overnight in the fridge. Reheat it til pourable before you cook. Potatoes can be parboiled and dried a day in advance too if you want to save time in the morning. Will last a few days in sealed containers. Reheat in a skillet to crisp the potatoes back up. Skip the microwave. Eggs should be cooked fresh.
Miguel’s Tips
- Pat potatoes ultra dry or they won’t crisp. Towel will come away clean.
- Baste with butter at the end of the cook, not right away. Butter burns.
- Rest the steak while potatoes finish. They’ll both be ready around the same time.
- Medium-rare steak is about 130 to 135 degrees F. It’s lower than USDA recommends whole cuts be cooked to (145) but that temperature equals dry. Use a thermometer and cook to your comfort zone.
Steak and Eggs FAQ
What steak is best for steak and eggs?
Ribeye and New York strip are both great. Ribeye is fattier and has more forgiveness if you overcook it by a minute. Strip is leaner with a chewier texture. Slices easier too which some people prefer for a plate like this. Whatever cut you like.
What temperature is steak medium rare?
Ranges from 130 to 135 degrees F. Compare that to the USDA recommended 145 for whole cuts of beef. Be careful of what you read because the government recommends temperatures that equal dried out meat. Lookin’ at you Medium.
Can I make cowboy butter ahead?
Yes! Make it a day or two ahead. Keep it in the fridge and warm it up to pourable before using.
Related Recipes
More from the steak side of the site: the Stingray Style Grilled Tomahawk Steak runs cowboy butter on a much bigger cut, the Cowboy Steak with Truffle Honey Butter swaps in a sweeter compound butter, and the Cowboy Butter Scallops take the same sauce to seafood.
Steak and Eggs with Crispy Potatoes and Cowboy Butter
Ingredients
Equipment
Method
- Make the cowboy butter while you prep everything else. Add the butter, garlic, Dijon, parsley, chives, lemon juice, smoked paprika, and red pepper flakes to a small saucepan over low heat. Let the garlic go just until fragrant, then stir in everything else. Do not let it cook long.
- Season the steak on both sides. No need to let it rest while you prep everything else.
- Slice the Yukon potatoes into quarters, no smaller. Drop them into salted water and bring to a boil. Leave them alone until a fork inserts easily into the center. Drain, shock in ice water, then pat bone dry.
- Heat a carbon steel skillet over high heat for five minutes. Add a splash of neutral cooking oil and add the steak. Do not move it for three minutes.
- Flip the steak, spoon on some cowboy butter, and continue to cook until you reach your desired doneness. Baste for the last few minutes only. Medium-rare runs about 130 to 135°F, below the USDA recommendation of 145°F for whole cuts, so use a thermometer and cook to your comfort zone.
- Remove the steak to a cutting board to rest. It climbs a few degrees as it rests, so pull it just under your target.
- Add the dry potatoes to the pan and let them alone until crisp, turning with tongs to brown all sides.
- When the potatoes are browned, crack the eggs into the pan around them. Finish the potatoes while the eggs cook sunny side up.
- Slice the steak against the grain and plate it with the potatoes and eggs. Spoon over more warm cowboy butter, finish with kosher salt, and serve.
