Recipe - Steak & Shrimp Bearnaise

There are certain things that I would never pay full price for, and steak is one of them.  It isn't an everyday food and is therefore an excellent choice for a special occasion, such as a birthday or anniversary, (and can be found for up to half of the usual price if you know what to look for, as I'll explain later).  It's even better when topped with delicious extras, like grilled jumbo shrimp and Bearnaise sauce.  I am not a gourmet cook, but I like to try to duplicate fancy foods I've had in restaurants.  A few months ago I made Steak & Shrimp Bearnaise, which may sound difficult but was actually extremely easy by relying on this secret ingredient:
I had planned to make my own Bearnaise sauce, but when I found a recipe and discovered I would need to purchase shallots, fresh tarragon, and champagne vinegar, uncommon (for me at least) ingredients, not to mention somewhat pricey, I opted for the sauce packet, and it was perfect.  You add milk and butter, simmer a bit, then spoon over the grilled steak and shrimp.  Your dinner guests will think they've died and gone to heaven, and you will be proud that you served everyone a very fancy dinner for a fraction of the restaurant price.  See more about this after the grocery listings.

Steak & Shrimp Bearnaise

I promised in the introduction that I would share my strategy for savings lots of money in the meat department.  The following is specifically in reference to shopping at Maceys, which I consider to have the highest quality meat of any of our local stores. There are two simple steps.  Step 1:  Look for these yellow stickers:

The reason they have the UPC code scribbled out is that they are normally removed by the checkers and kept by the store.  When I asked my checker if I could save these two to show you, her supervisor said that was only possible if she crossed out the code, which is understandable. 

These stickers are often placed on close-dated meat (and most likely to be found first thing in the morning).  I've found that at Maceys the close-dated meat is indistinguishable in appearance and quality from the meat freshly cut that day.  It is never discolored or questionable looking, and if taken straight home and either used that day or frozen, I promise you will not be unhappy with it.  Here are some beautiful Boneless Rib Eye steaks I purchased just this morning.  Each of these had a yellow sticker like shown below, which was peeled off by the checker.

Which brings me to Step 2.  In order to achieve the greatest value from the yellow stickers (which appear in various dollar amounts and sometimes with multiple stickers on one package of meat) you need to select the smallest weights.  The reason for this is that the lower price the package is to begin with, the greater your percentage of savings.  The packages you see above were all right around $5.00 and each had a $2.00 sticker.  This means that when I use these steaks for a recipe such as my Steak Bearnaise, I will have a superior cut of meat for around $3.00 per 8 oz portion.  Here are some other packages that had the $2.00 off stickers today.

This chicken, even with the stickers, is not priced lower per pound than we sometimes see when boneless breasts go on sale.  But what makes them valuable to me at this price is that the meat is packaged in small portions, already trimmed and cut, and recipe ready.  These are all about 1 lb packages, which is perfect for dinner for a small family and cost me only about $2.50 a package.  (Again, these all had the yellow stickers, but they were removed at the store).

These are some really nice looking Beef Short Ribs.  This isn't something I typically buy, but at this price I can afford to use them in a recipe I've been wanting to try.  Which brings me to another reason I look for the yellow stickers--it encourages me to take a chance on something new, because even if it doesn't turn out, I haven't lost much.  Here they are ready for the freezer:

And now for my favorite . . . Salmon!

I pulled this Salmon from my freezer (which is why it looks frozen) to show you that when I bought this it had double stickers on, so that each package I bought, which is enough for three 6 oz portions, was only around $3.25, which means that we can have really nice Atlantic Salmon for a little over $1.00 a person.  I buy salmon whenever I can get it for this price--who could pass it up?  But remember that you must choose the very smallest packages for the greatest savings.

But let's get back to the Steak and Shrimp Bearnaise.  

1.  For the steak, you can either marinate it in your favorite marinade, season it with a steak seasoning, or just sprinkle with Worcestershire and salt and pepper (and a little garlic salt) on both sides.  Whether to marinate or just season depends on the cut of steak.  There is really no need to marinate a tender steak like the rib eyes I showed you above, but if you are using sirloin or London broil like shown below, a marinade will tenderize and add flavor. 

For my Steak Marinade recipe, go HERE.  You can grill the steak, broil it in the oven, or pan cook, but I encourage you to not overcook and serve it no more done than medium for best taste.

2.  For the shrimp, purchase raw frozen shrimp, thaw under running cold water, peel, remove the vein (if there is one) with a sharp knife, pop off the tails, and push onto wood skewers.  Brush with olive oil and season with salt and pepper, or cover with a store-bought herb and garlic or lemon-herb marinade like shown in the photo below (or any brand of Italian style salad dressing).

If you choose to marinate the shrimp, cover with the marinade and leave in fridge an hour or more before grilling.

Or if desired, you can also just saute the shrimp in a skillet in butter or oil until it turns pink--do not overcook.  It doesn't take long.

3.  Mix up the Bearnaise sauce mix and have ready to spoon over the steak and shrimp.  That's it!