Steak Diane: The Flambéed Showstopper
It’s hard to talk about classic steak dishes without bringing up steak Diane. This dish is a post-war invention that became a staple in New York City’s food scene. Steak Diane became popular in New York in the 1950s and ’60s, where it was enjoyed in upscale restaurants like The Colony, which was a popular gathering spot for the rich and famous. In its heyday, steak Diane was typically associated with tableside flambéing at fine dining establishments.
The dish was pure theater on a plate, with waiters wheeling out rolling carts to perform the dramatic flambéing ritual right in front of mesmerized diners. Jean Anderson described this showstopping performance in her “American Century Cookbook”: “The beef, sizzling in a large copper pan with brandy flaming and cause bubbling, makes a wonderful show.” Today’s focus on simple, high-quality cuts has pushed this elaborate spectacle into near extinction on modern restaurant menus.
Steak Oscar: The Original Surf and Turf
The original veal Oscar starts with veal cutlets, which are sprinkled with flour and sautéed in butter until browned on both sides. These cutlets are then topped with a combination of wine, onion, and crabmeat, which come together to create a flavorful, umami-packed mélange. A pair of asparagus stalks are placed on top as a finishing touch. Steak Oscar simply swaps out veal for beef, in a move that was likely taken to make it more appealing to the masses, and it quickly became a staple on fancy menus.
We’d make an argument, though, that you could call this dish the original Surf & Turf, what with its combo of seafood and beef. In recent times, however, you’re unlikely to see it in many restaurants, and it feels like a dish from a bygone era. The elaborate preparation and high-end ingredients required make it impractical for many modern restaurants focused on efficiency and speed.
London Broil: The American Creation with a British Name
London broil sounds like a hot, sultry summer in the UK’s capital city, but it’s actually a pretty delectable steak dish. If you were thinking that it refers to the cut of the meat itself, though, you’d be mistaken. Oh, and it’s not really British, either. London broil is instead an American creation, and started to pop up in cookbooks in the 1930s.
It soon made the leap to become a restaurant dish, before it fell out of favor and became a retro classic. London broil is made using flank steak, which is marinated for several hours or overnight. The idea is that by marinating these chewier cuts, you can achieve a tender result without having to pay for a piece of beef with loads of marbling. Modern diners’ preference for premium cuts has made this budget-friendly alternative largely obsolete on restaurant menus.
Swiss Steak: The World War I Survivor
Swiss steak appears to have originated during the First World War, but it began gaining traction in the United States a few decades later. Interestingly, it was Reynold’s aluminum foil that made it popular as a home-cooked dish, as the company advertised its product by suggesting that you cook Swiss steak on it in a pan. Switzerland has nothing to do with this once-common preparation of braised tenderized steak, found more often at diners and coffee shops than in refined environments. It takes its name from the British term “swissing,” a means of stretching and rolling fabric, referring here to the tenderizing of the meat before it’s cooked.
We’re not sure if the restaurants that served it did that too, but it was a staple of menus for a while there, before other dishes came along and swept it away. The lengthy braising process required for Swiss steak doesn’t align with today’s fast-paced restaurant operations.
Salisbury Steak: The Civil War Doctor’s Prescription
These days, Salisbury steak is one of those dishes you only see on menus in seriously old-fashioned restaurants – and in places that are keeping with the times, it’s been banished. We can understand this, given that it’s a menu item that was invented during the Civil War. The early form of Salisbury steak was created by James Henry Salisbury, a doctor who proposed that a diet rich in beef was a potential cure for digestive ailments.
Unlike traditional steaks cut from whole cow muscles, Salisbury steak is made from ground beef mixed with binders like breadcrumbs, eggs, seasoning, and flour. This means that the final dish is more like a burger patty or meatloaf than an actual steak. Popularized by frozen TV dinners, Salisbury steak was once a go-to comfort food in countless American households, only to fade from the limelight as tastes shifted towards fresher, less processed meal options.
Chicken-Fried Steak: The Southern Comfort Classic
Chicken-fried steak, also known as country-fried steak, is an American Southern breaded cutlet dish consisting of a piece of beefsteak (most often tenderized cube steak) coated with seasoned flour and either deep-fried or pan-fried. It is associated with the Southern cuisine of the United States. It is breaded and fried with a technique similar to the more common fried chicken, hence “chicken-fried”. The Oxford English Dictionary’s earliest attestation of the term “chicken-fried steak” is from a restaurant advertisement in the 19 June 1914 edition of the Colorado Springs Gazette newspaper.
The precise origins of the dish are unclear, but many sources attribute its development to German and Austrian immigrants to Texas in the 19th century. Chicken-fried steak is usually served for lunch or dinner topped with cream gravy and with mashed potatoes, vegetables, and biscuits or Texas toast served on the side. While still found in some Southern establishments, the labor-intensive preparation has made it less common on modern restaurant menus.
Steak Tartare: The Raw Controversy
Steak tartare, or tartar steak, is a French dish of raw ground (minced) beef. It is usually served with onions, capers, parsley or chive, salt, pepper, Worcestershire sauce, and other seasonings, often presented separately, to be added to taste. It is commonly served topped with a raw egg yolk. In the early 20th century, what is now generally known as “steak tartare” was called steak à l’Americaine in Europe.
Steak tartare is served at many high-end restaurants in the United States. In Wisconsin, a variation of a steak tartare sandwich called a “cannibal sandwich” is popular among those of German descent; it uses sirloin, rye bread, salt, pepper, and chopped onions. Despite its continued presence in upscale dining, concerns about food safety and changing dietary preferences have significantly reduced its prevalence on mainstream restaurant menus.
Steak au Poivre: The French Peppercorn Classic
While steak au poivre can still be found on the menus of some classic French restaurants in the U.S., you would be hard-pressed to find it at a typical American steakhouse. However, this wasn’t always the case – old-school steak au poivre was once popular at fine dining establishments across the country. In fact, the first published recipe for the French dish in the U.S. appeared in Julia Child’s 1961 cookbook “Mastering the Art of French Cooking.”
Aside from beef (traditionally filet mignon), the centerpiece of steak au poivre is crushed peppercorns, which are pressed into the raw meat. The dish’s elaborate sauce preparation and the dominance of simpler steakhouse offerings have pushed this French classic to the margins of American dining.
Minute Steak: The Quick-Cook Champion
The minute steak – pounded to within an inch of its life – didn’t come rare, medium or well-done. This thin, tenderized cut was designed for speed, living up to its name by cooking in about a minute per side. The technique involved mechanically tenderizing tougher cuts of beef by pounding them until they were thin enough for rapid cooking, making it a popular choice for busy diners and short-order cooks.
Cube steaks can appear textured or pockmarked across their surface. The mechanical tenderization process also makes cube steaks mushier in texture than minute steaks. As such, unlike minute steaks, cube steaks are usually not eaten on their own. Instead, they are used in dishes like tacos and country-fried or chicken-fried steak. The rise of faster cooking methods and better cuts has made minute steak largely unnecessary in modern restaurants.
Emergency Steak: The Wartime Innovation
Emergency steak was a product of wartime necessity. As staples like sugar, coffee, and butter started disappearing from grocery store shelves during World War II, the government was forced to implement rationing. It wasn’t long before home chefs started getting creative in the kitchen to make any difficult-to-obtain products go further.
Emergency steak is made from ground beef, milk, seasoning, and dry breading shaped into a thick patty that resembles a prime quality steak. Apparently, many chose to mold the beefy concoction into the shape of a T-bone to give it the illusion of a high-end cut. This ingenious wartime creation disappeared from restaurant menus as rationing ended and real steaks became readily available again. Its deceptive nature would hardly appeal to today’s transparency-focused dining culture.
These classic steak preparations tell the story of American dining evolution, from elaborate tableside theater to wartime ingenuity. While modern restaurants focus on highlighting the natural quality of premium cuts, these forgotten dishes remind us of an era when creativity and showmanship were just as important as the meat itself. Each disappeared for its own reasons – changing tastes, food safety concerns, labor costs, or simply the march of culinary fashion – but they remain fascinating glimpses into dining’s colorful past.
