Steak was on sale, so I bought three. A little butchery and a whole lot of butter later, herb buttered steak bites hit the table to great applause. Making great use of a loaf of crusty bread to mop up all that glorious garlicky butter, this is the perfect way to spend an evening by the fire.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
This dish makes people hover in the kitchen. It’s a cold weather cure for that BIG steak craving, in bite-sized chunks, with a heart stopping amount of butter!
Sear your steak bites, hard and fast, then finish in the pan with an herb chili butter that’s fragrant, glossy, and just spicy enough to wake everything up. It’s casual and dramatic at the same time. My choice; serve straight from the pan, crusty bread on standby, and a smoked paprika mayo for dipping.
Game night snack, shared plates, or a rapid dinner that feels a little indulgent without working too hard.
Larder Check / Shopping List
• 1½ pounds steak
• cooking oil
• butter
• salt & freshly cracked black pepper
Herb Chili Butter
• more butter
• 2 to 3 garlic cloves
• 3 – 4 Thai red chilies (or dried chili flakes)
• parsley
• cilantro
• 2 – 3 stems green onion
Simple Ingredients, Big Payoff
Choose a well-marbled steak that cooks quickly—sirloin, ribeye, strip loin, or flank all work well when cut into generous bites. Ideally, you want to choose a thick-cut steak so we don’t wind up with leather. Ideal for beef trimmings if your doing some butchery for a special occasion, or you have the rarest part of a left over roast.
No matter what cut you’re using. Keep your bites chunky so even after finishing, you’re still serving medium to medium rare. That means fast work and a good, solid sear on two sides.
Compound Herb Chili Butter Is Job One
Compound butter is the EASIEST way to introduce amazing flavour to your table. So many delicious ways to craft a great compound butter.
We start with soft butter. In this case, we’re not even going to whip our butter, we’re just going with nice, soft cubed butter and pressing all the herb-y goodness straight into it until it’s all combined. I like to add all my herbs, onions and chili then set aside about 2 tablespoons to finish, the sauce, fresh – without garlic.
Then I add my garlic to the compound butter I’ll use to deglaze the pan.
Fast, Hot, and Fearless
Whenever we sear we start with well dried protein. Pat your steak bites dry and toss with, salt, and pepper. Heat a large skillet over high heat until hot. Sear steak for about 2 minutes per side, in a single layer, working in batches if needed. Sear for about 2 minutes per side until deeply browned but still juicy. Remove the steak, reserve briefly, off the heat.
Degrease your pan! Once our oil is exposed to high heat, it’s spent. We discard that, in a safe manner. I pour it off into a waiting heat proof vessel (usually in the sink, so I avoid splatters) then compost or discard that grease. Then we return the pan to the heat, and deglaze with butter!
Add the compound herb chili butter (garlic and all) to the hot, dry pan. Watch how quickly it sizzles and melts all the browning off the pan to create a sauce. swirl your butter, to get all the bits, using a wooden spoon to loosen any stubborn bits. Remove it from the heat if needed. Don’t burn your garlic.
An easy skillet steak recipe for sharing and snacking
Once your garlic is fragrant and golden—about 30 seconds to 1 minute, return the steak bites, and all their rendered juices, to the pan. Toss everything together, coating the steak in that glossy herb butter.
Bring the pan straight to the table. Finish with a pinch of flaky salt and let everyone dig in. Or get all snazzy and serve on a warm, lipped platter or plate. Add bread and a second dip if you like. (I like.) Love a great dip-fest!
Serving Notes & Variations
This dish thrives on informality. Serve it family-style, right from the skillet, with bread for mopping and smoked paprika mayo on the side. It works as a snack spread, small plate, or fast dinner with a simple green salad.
Why I Love It
Bold without being heavy, fast without feeling rushed. The herbs keep the butter fresh, the chilies bring just enough heat, and the garlic stays mellow and golden. It’s steakhouse energy with backyard confidence—and those photos don’t hurt either.
Easy enough for a weeknight mad-dash dinner with a green salad. Perfect for après-ski or famished teens.
Print
Herb Buttered Steak Bites
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Yield: serves 4
Description
Seared herb buttered steak bites finished with garlic, fresh herbs, and Thai chilies. A fast, rustic skillet recipe perfect for small plates, an easy dinner, apre ski, or famished teens. Always a massive hit.
Ingredients
- Compound Herb Chili Butter
- 1/2 cup butter, soft, cubed
- 2 to 3 large garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 3 - 4 Thai red chilies, finely minced (seeds are up to you, that's your heat)
- 1/4 cup finely chopped parsley
- 1/4 cup finely chopped cilantro
- 2 - 3 tablespoons thinly sliced green onion
- Steak Bites
- 1 1/2 pounds steak, cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces
- 1 tablespoon cooking oil
- 1 tablespoon butter
- salt & freshly cracked black pepper
Instructions
1. Mix your compound butter: in a medium bowl combine herbs, chilies, green onions & garlic with a spoon and reserve at room temperature.
2. Sear your steak: first, dry the meat very, very well with paper towel. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Using a large, heavy pan over medium-high heat, bring your pan to temperature, so that it’s hot enough to make water dance if you drop a little in. Then add enough oil to coat the pan well. Add steak bites, in a single layer leaving space between to brown. Work in batches if needed. Add a bit of butter to help to brown. I prefer to serve medium rare to rare, so I sear only two side then set aside, off the heat.
3. Degrease your pan: once your steak bites are seared, pour off spent cooking oil and discard.
4. Finish with compound butter: reduce your heat to medium, then return the same pan to the heat. It should be well covered in suc from the steak. Add waiting compound butter to deglaze your pan and create your sauce. Let butter bubble to lightly cook garlic, about 1 minute. Return steak bites and all meat drippings to the pan. Toss over the heat and serve immediately.
Notes
For Serving:
• Crusty bread, warm
• Smoked paprika mayo
- Prep Time: 15 mins
- Cook Time: 20 mins
- Category: Aptitizer
- Method: Frying
- Cuisine: North American
