Name: Loetje Amsterdam aan 't IJ
Address: Werfkade 14, Amsterdam, 1033 RA, NL
Telephone: 020 208 8000
Price range: €€
Rating: 4.6

Netherlands

Amsterdam

Loetje Amsterdam aan 't IJ

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.

A good entrecôte starts with a well-aged piece of beef, two to four weeks dry or wet aged, cut at least two and a half centimetres thick so the outside can brown before the centre overcooks. It is brought towards room temperature, dried, salted and put onto a very hot pan or grill without crowding; the first side is left alone until it releases, then turned, and butter, thyme and garlic are added to baste if it is pan-cooked. Three to four minutes a side gives saignant, around 50 to 52°C at the centre; à point, the French medium-rare, is 55 to 57°C. The steak rests for five minutes on a warm plate so the juices settle, and it is sliced across the grain if it is to be shared. The sauce is made in the same pan from the fond, or brought separately; it should sit beside the meat, not drown it.

Judge the cut first: look for a dark, even crust, visible marbling in the cross-section and a cap of spinalis that is soft and rendered, not chewy. The centre should be the colour that was ordered, with a gradient of no more than a few millimetres from crust to pink, which means the pan was hot and the steak rested. Mark down a grey band under the crust, a pale surface from a cool pan or a wet steak, gristle that could have been trimmed, a steak cut thin enough that it cannot be served rare, and a sauce so heavy that it hides the meat. Fries should be hot and crisp, and salt should be present on the steak itself. An entrecôte ordered saignant and served à point, or sliced before it rested so the juice has run across the plate, loses points regardless of how good the beef was.

Entrecôte

The steak was so delicious. Specially butter sauce was awesome. I would definitely go and eat again. The bread could be better 👍

Loetje Amsterdam aan 't IJ

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