Talk about a SEGGSy breakfast! A cast iron skillet is steak’s best friend, so what better way to make use of it than cooking an ENTIRE breakfast in that single skillet? This steak and eggs with caramelized onions all comes together in the skillet so you get allll the flavor but with minimal dish-washing.
A good steak and eggs is one of the most satisfying breakfasts around (next to Filipino breakfast of course). There’s just something about having a perfectly seared steak with juicy and tender pieces that you can dunk into slightly runny, velvety egg yolks and eat with sourdough toast or other accompaniments. So when I received a delivery of a beautiful wagyu bavette and Japanese Taiyouran eggs with bright orange yolks from Waves Pacific, I immediately knew I wanted to make steak and eggs! The ingredients were actually part of an at-home bundle from Waves Pacific that delivers the exact ingredients used at Cornerstone Hong Kong, a restaurant helmed by Michelin-starred Chef Shane Osborn who you may have seen on Netflix’s The Final Table (which despite the talent of the chefs, as a TV show was sadly not nearly as good in quality as these ingredients 🙈)
When you have ingredients this good on their own, you don’t need much more than salt, pepper, and good technique. The wagyu bavette, or flap steak, is a cut of beef from the abdomen area of the cow that is generally tender and flavorful with great marbling. If you can’t find this, you can use your preferred cut of steak (ribeye, sirloin, New York strip would all be great). The key to making your steak shine regardless of what cut you use is to season it generously all over with salt at least 30 minutes before you cook your steak. Salting the steak, which you can even do 1-3 days beforehand if you leave the steak uncovered in the fridge, allows the seasoning to penetrate into the fibers. This process produces more flavor since it seasons deep inside the steak, dries out the surface so you can develop a better crust (just make sure to pat that baby dry before you cook it), and helps tenderize the meat by breaking down proteins. My steak was so tender it was practically already falling apart at its grains as I sliced it 🤤
So what are you going to do with 30 minutes of waiting time before cooking the steak? The answer is make caramelized onions (or not-quite-caramelized-but-slow sautéed onions if you’re a little impatient like I was when cooking this 😅). The onions benefit from being cooked slowly on low heat and pair brilliantly with steak and eggs (you’re of course welcome to use this time to cook your preferred vegetable accompaniments instead if you’re not a fan of onions, or you can just make sauteed onions if you’re impatient like me). This is the first thing that goes in your skillet before you sear your steak, which will then need to rest for 5-10 minutes (depending on the thickness of your steak) under foil after cooking so that the juices can be reabsorbed into the meat for the juiciest steak possible. We’ll maximize THAT time too by finishing our dish with sunny side up eggs that cook right in the rendered beef fat in the skillet, which will be done cooking right in time for you to slice your steak against the grain and serve the whole thing in your beautiful cast iron skillet or whatever skillet you’re making this in.
Breakfast Steak and Eggs in a Single Skillet
Ingredients
- 10 oz. well-marbled steak (bavette, ribeye, sirloin, etc)
- 1 yellow onion, sliced
- 3 tbsp olive oil, divided
- 1/2 tbsp butter
- 2 eggs
- 2 slices sourdough toast (optional)
- Salt and fresh ground pepper
Instructions
- Preheat your cast iron skillet by heating it on the stove over medium low heat for 4-5 minutes.
- Season all sides of the steak generously with salt, pressing it into the surface, at least 30 minutes before cooking your steak, but up to 1-3 days uncovered in the refrigerator.
- Add 1 tbsp. olive oil and 1/2 tbsp butter to your cast iron skillet. Once butter is foaming, add the onions and cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Season with salt and cook for another 10-20 minutes, stirring occasionally, until onions have browned and softened. Add a splash of water if onions dry out during cooking.
- Set onions aside on one end of a cutting board large enough to fit your onions and steak, covering with foil. Wipe off any excess residue in the skillet (be careful not to burn yourself!)
- Reheat your skillet over high heat while you pat the surface of your steak dry with paper towels and brush with 1 tbsp. olive oil on both sides.
- Place steak into one end of the heated skillet and press down to sear one side. Wait 1-2 minutes until the steak is easy to lift off the pan, then flip and press the other side into the other end of the skillet (where the pan is hotter), cooking for another minute.
- Continue to flip the steak every 30 seconds, moving it to different parts of the skillet to retain heat, until both sides have developed a dark brown crust and the internal temperature when measured with an instant-read thermometer has reached 115 degrees F for rare, 125 degrees F for medium rare, or 135 degrees for medium (the steak temperature will continue to rise while the steak rests). It takes 4-6 total minutes to get to medium rare depending on the thickness of your steak.
- Set the steak aside on your cutting board next to your onions and cover with foil to rest 5-8 minutes depending on the thickness of your steak while you cook your eggs.
- Reheat the pan over medium heat, adding last tbsp of olive oil if there isn’t enough rendered beef fat in the skillet. Wait a few seconds before adding your eggs, then reduce heat to low and cook uncovered for 5-7 minutes until egg whites have set but yolks are still soft and runny.
- While the eggs are cooking, add the onions back into the pan around the eggs to reheat.
- Slice your steak against the grain and lay the pieces around your eggs. Season your entire skillet with salt and pepper to taste and serve immediately with sourdough toast on the side. Enjoy!
Notes
If you make this recipe, I’d love to see the final product. Tag your stories and posts on Instagram with #IndulgentRecipes and @IndulgentEats so I can see them!
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[…] secret to making this steak sandwich exceptional is using quality ingredients. If you recall my skillet steak and eggs, I’ve once again sourced my steak from Waves Pacific, which delivers restaurant-quality […]