This is the kind of recipe that doubles as a fantastic holiday appetizer or honestly a personal delicious toast. This is my steak and cheese toasts with a confit herb butter.
The Deets:
One of my all-time favorite ideas for a holiday appetizer has to be these steak and cheese toasts with confit herb butter. They’re a perfect balance of richness, flavor, and elegance, ideal for impressing guests at any festive gathering. This herb butter is generously smeared on toasted sourdough slices, creating the perfect base for the star of the dish: a perfectly cooked, bone-in European Irish cowboy steak. The steak is pan-seared to perfection, basted with the herb butter, and sliced into tender, melt-in-your-mouth pieces. I used a cast iron pan and it works so well to cook the steak.
Each piece of toast gets topped with a slice of sharp cheddar that melts beautifully, adding a savory, tangy bite to the richness of the steak and butter. The combination of crisp sourdough, buttery steak, and melted cheese creates the ultimate holiday crostini—simple yet undeniably impressive. This makes for an amazing appetizer or a personal treat! Whether you’re hosting a cozy family gathering or a lively holiday party, these steak and cheese toasts are sure to steal the show and have everyone reaching for seconds. Let me know what you think in the comments! Check out more appetizer ideas here.
Steak & cheese toasties
Ingredients
- 1 Bone In European Irish Cowboy Steak
- 8 Slices of sourdough bread
- 1 cup Irish cheddar cheese
- A few sprigs of thyme
- A few sprigs of rosemary
The garlic confit for the herb butter:
- 1 Head of garlic
- Enough oil to cover all the garlic cloves (I like to use olive oil)
- 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
- A few sprigs of rosemary
The confit herb butter:
- Garlic confit cloves
- 4 oz Butter
- 1/4 cup Loose leaf parsley
- 1 tbsp Chives
- 1 tbsp Thyme leaves
- 1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
- A squeeze of lemon
- 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 250 and peel the garlic cloves. Add to a cocotte with a few sprigs of rosemary, enough oil to cover all the garlic. Add red pepper flakes, salt and pepper. Cook for about 2 hours or until garlic is soft and browned. Let cool slightly. Raise your oven heat to 275.
- Add confit and other herb butter ingredients to a food processor and blend until smooth and combined. Season to taste. Spoon into parchment paper or plastic wrap and twist into a log shape. Transfer to the fridge to harden while you prep everything else.
- Let the steak rest about 45 min before cooking by setting them out and drizzling both sides with olive oil, salt and pepper. After 45 min, add steak to oven for about 20 min (depending on steak thickness) flipping halfway through. The internal temperature should be about 115 degrees for a medium rare steak.
- Get a deep skillet extremely hot and then drop steak into the pan. Let cook on high heat for about a minute to give it a nice brown crust. Flip, and add the rosemary to the pan along with a nice slab of the herb confit butter. Reduce the heat to medium, and using a spoon, baste the steak in the butter until the internal temperature is around 125/130 for medium rare, and 135/140 for medium. Transfer to a baking sheet and let rest for about 10 minutes.
- Meanwhile, grate your cheese and slice sourdough. Spread confit herb butter onto the sourdough, along with a few slices of the steak. Add grated cheese overtop and broil for about 3 min or until cheese is melted and bubbly. Serve with a little balsamic glaze (optional) and a few sprigs of thyme for garnish. Enjoy!
