Name: Zwiebelrostbraten
Prep time: 25 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 55 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: Austria
Ingredients: 4 beef sirloin or rib-eye steaks, about 200g each; salt and black pepper, to taste; 2 tbsp plain flour, for the gravy; 400 ml beef stock; 3 onions, thinly sliced; 3 tbsp plain flour, for dredging the onions; neutral oil, for frying the onions and steak; 800 g potatoes, cooked and sliced, for frying

Zwiebelrostbraten is Austria's steak-and-crispy-onions dish, a seared beef steak topped with a generous pile of onions fried crisp in a light flour coating, with a simple pan gravy alongside.

Frying the onions separately and keeping them crisp until the last moment is really the whole technique here; everything else is a straightforward steak.

Part of our 20 best Austrian recipes list.

method

Toss the sliced onions in the 3 tbsp flour, shaking off the excess.

Heat a generous amount of oil in a pan, and fry the onions in batches over medium-high heat until deeply golden and crisp. Drain on paper towels and set aside.

Season the steaks with salt and pepper. Heat a little oil in a hot pan, and sear the steaks for 2 to 3 minutes per side for medium-rare, adjusting for your preferred doneness. Remove and rest.

In the same pan, stir in the 2 tbsp flour and cook for 1 minute, then whisk in the beef stock, scraping up the browned bits. Simmer for 4 to 5 minutes, until thickened into a gravy. Season to taste.

Fry the sliced cooked potatoes in a separate pan with a little oil until golden and crisp on the edges.

Serve the steaks topped with the crisp fried onions, with the gravy poured over or alongside, and the fried potatoes on the side.

chef's tips

Frying the onions separately and setting them aside, rather than leaving them in the pan with the steak, is what keeps them properly crisp rather than soggy by the time they're served.
Tossing the onions in flour before frying is the traditional trick for a crisp, lacy coating without a thick batter.
Rest the steak for a few minutes after searing before you make the gravy in the same pan; it lets the meat relax and keeps the pan's browned bits ready for the sauce.
This is a steakhouse classic in Vienna and across eastern Austria, and the crisp onion topping is really the whole point of the dish.