Beer Braised Onion & Steak Galette
The beer braised onion and smoked gorgonzola filling in this galette is so darn delicious, that I think the recipe title should be “Beer Braised Onion Galette – Steak Optional!”
Using a combination of four different fresh local onions, cooking them slowly with garlic & thyme, then bathing them in a local craft beer with a lovely citrus note brought out all things good about onions.
Amazing taste, incredible aroma, richness, sweetness, tenderness… then baked with this soft, flakey, buttery pastry, with the smoked gorgonzola and bam! The magic happens!
Steak and onions are a classic combination, and do not get me wrong, they work in perfect harmony here, but if you wanted the onions to perform solo, they are up to the task!
In Ontario, large, sweet Spanish and red onions are harvested from early September until the latter part of December. Popular varieties of cooking onions (yellow skins) are available all year round, thanks to modern storage methods and small bunching onions (green onions or scallions) run through to mid-November.
So, it is a perfect time to support local and add Ontario onions to your next meal!
Disclosure: I have participated in a paid partnership with The Ontario Produce Marketing Association. Opinions in this post are my own.
Beer Braised Onion & Steak Galette
Ingredients
Beer Braised Onion Filling
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 2 pounds 907 g – 4 medium onions (2-4 different varieties), thinly sliced * I used Spanish, Red, Dutch cooking & Yellow cooking – once peeled & sliced, yields about 5.5 cups
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- ½ teaspoon ground pepper
- 5 sprigs thyme leaves removed
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- 1 cup beer
- 80 g smoked gorgonzola cheese crumbled
Galette Pastry Ingredients
- 1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ tablespoon fresh thyme leaves finely chopped
- ½ cup cold unsalted butter cubed (cube and place in freezer for 5-10 minutes before using)
- 4 teaspoon ice water
- 1 egg beaten
Steak
- 2 8 oz striploin steaks fat removed (about ¾” to 1 inch thick)
- Salt
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
Instructions
Braised Onions
- Heat oil and butter in a large sauté pan (with a lid) over medium-high heat until the butter melts. Add the onions, salt & pepper and cook covered, stirring occasionally, until onions are soft and slightly browned in spots, 6-8 minutes. Add thyme and garlic and cook for 2 minutes. Sprinkle with brown sugar and stir to combine. Add in beer; bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to maintain a simmer, cover and cook for 15 minutes.
- Uncover and gently stir the onions. Increase the heat to medium-high and cook at a gentle boil, stirring frequently, until the sauce has thickened to a light syrup, 8 to10 minutes.
- Remove from heat and let cool slightly while you prepare the pastry.
Galette Pastry
- Position rack in bottom of oven. Preheat to 375F.
- Add flour, sugar, 1/4 tsp salt and thyme into a food processor and blend to combine. Add butter. Pulse until crumbs form. With motor running, add ice water through spout. Continue blending just until dough comes together. It should not be too sticky.
- Lay a large piece of parchment on counter. Sprinkle lightly with flour. Pour pastry dough from food processor onto the parchment and form into a ball. Dust rolling pin with flour. Roll pastry on parchment into a circle, about 12 to 13 inches wide. Pastry will be quite thin, and edges will be uneven, but this is a rustic pie, so do not fret. Transfer parchment and pastry onto a baking sheet.
- Spread cooled onion mixture onto centre of pastry, forming a 10-to-11-inch circle. Fold pastry over, just to cover edge of the onions (about 1.5 to 2 inches). Centre of pie will not be covered with pastry, and edge will be uneven. Lightly brush pastry with egg mixture. Then dot the onions with the crumbled gorgonzola.
- Bake until pastry is golden brown, and mixture is bubbly, 35 to 40 min.
Seared Steak
- While the galette bakes, let the steaks rest at room temperature for 20 minutes.
- Heat oil in a 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat (let the pan heat for about 2 minutes).
- Pat both sides of steak dry with paper towels then season both sides with salt.
- Place steaks in skillet and press down to ensure the entire bottom surface is making direct contact with skillet. Let cook until browned on bottom, about 1.5 minutes.
- Flip and press down on the steak to ensure good contact, then cook 1.5 minutes more.
- (Note – 3 minutes total was a nice medium rare for my steaks that were ¾ inch thick – adjust cooking time based on thickness and preferred doneness)
- Let steak rest for 5 minutes then thinly slice across the grain.
Serving
- Once the galette is done, let it rest for 3 to 4 minutes, then top with the all the slices of just one steak. Sprinkle with thyme, cut the galette into quarters and serve with the second steak on the side, more cheese (optional), finishing salt and thinly sliced green onions (also optional).
Hope you enjoy this recipe! We would love to hear from you, please leave us your feedback in the comment box below.
Have a delicious day! James (aka Zimmy)