Entrecôte

Cut from between the ribs of the beef forequarter, the entrecôte is the French name for a boneless rib steak, the same muscle an English butcher sells as rib-eye and an Argentine as bife ancho or ojo de bife. The word means between the ribs. It is a cut defined by its marbling: a central eye of longissimus muscle, a cap of spinalis along one edge and seams of fat between them that melt during cooking and keep the meat juicy where a leaner steak would dry out. In a French bistro it comes grilled or pan-seared with frites and a sauce, béarnaise, au poivre or a shallot and red-wine reduction, and the Café de Paris butter made famous by a Geneva restaurant in the 1940s has become a dish in its own right, entrecôte Café de Paris, served in slices with a second helping kept warm. Weight is usually 250 to 350 grams for one person.