Steak Bordelaise

Pairing Suggestion 
A young red Bordeaux has enough tannin to cut through the fattiness of the steak and enough rich Cabernet-Merlot flavor to blend with the shallots.

Ingredients 
1 cup plus 1 tablespoon grapeseed oil 
4 large shallots, unpeeled, plus 1 small shallot, chopped 
3 cups dry red wine 
3 cups red wine vinegar 
3 cups veal stock (see Note) 
1 tablespoon cold unsalted butter 
Salt and freshly ground pepper 
Four 10-ounce boneless strip steaks, about 1/2 inch thick 
2 tablespoons coarsely chopped flat-leaf parsley 
Fleur de sel (French sea salt; see Note)

Directions 
1. In a small saucepan, combine 1 cup of the grapeseed oil with the unpeeled shallots and bring to a boil. Simmer over low heat until the shallots are very tender, about 1 hour. 
2. Meanwhile, in a medium saucepan, combine the red wine, vinegar and chopped shallot and bring to a boil. Simmer over moderately high heat until reduced to 3 tablespoons, about 1 hour. Add the veal stock and simmer over moderate heat until reduced to 1 1/2 cups, 30 minutes. Strain through a fine sieve set over a small saucepan. Whisk in the butter over low heat and season with salt and pepper. Keep warm. 
3. In a large skillet, heat the remaining 1 tablespoon of grapeseed oil until almost smoking. Season the steaks with salt and pepper and add them to the skillet. Cook over high heat until richly browned on the bottom, about 3 minutes. Turn and cook the steaks for about 2 minutes for medium rare. While the steaks cook, reheat the shallots in their oil until hot, then drain and, using a serrated knife, cut the shallots in half. Transfer the steaks to plates. Spoon 1/4 cup of the sauce over each steak and place the shallots alongside the steaks. Sprinkle with the parsley and fleur de sel and serve. 

Make Ahead 
The sauce can be refrigerated for 1 week. Reheat gently. The cooked shallots can be removed from the oil and kept for 6 hours, then reheated; save the shallot oil for frying. 
Notes. Veal stock and fleur de sel are available at specialty food stores and some supermarkets. Fleur de sel can be mail-ordered from dartagnan.com.