Save Those Steak Drippings For The Tastiest Side Dish You've Ever Had

In the kitchen, a lot of answers can be found at the bottom of a pan. The sticky bits of fond that you deglaze from the depths of a cast iron are key to superb sauces and plenty of other preparations. Steak drippings usually include more than just that precious fond. Because they also contain liquids released from the meat, any added fat like oil, and a flavor from alliums and aromatics like garlic and herbs, they can also enhance side dishes like potatoes. As protein runoff goes, those drably titled drippings actually combine to create a valuable ingredient in and of itself; one that you must certainly make the most of.

There is, of course, an easy formula for making a perfect pan steak sauce that seizes those prized drippings, but why not repurpose them to improve your dinner's supporting characters, too? Roasting your potatoes in those steak drippings will make for some extra fine spuds. You just need to tweak the timing of it all a little bit, or pair your upgraded tubers with a different dish after steak night proper has passed.

The shortest time you're probably going to be able to roast baby potatoes is about twenty minutes. A steak that calls for that long in the oven after the meat has cooked for long enough to produce any drippings would be atypical. But plenty of steaks start on the stovetop and finish in the oven for around ten minutes, so you just need to split the difference. This will work best for thicker steaks that require a longer cooking time. A thinner skirt or flank steak just won't be able to take the extra heat. The chef-favorite Denver steak should be hefty without the higher price tag of something like a hearty ribeye. So you can pop your halved and oiled potatoes in the oven while your steak sears for a few minutes on each side on the range, and drizzle the veggies with the drippings, giving it all a good stir when it's time to remove the protein to the oven. Should your potatoes need a little more time once the steak reaches its ideal internal temperature, that's totally fine: plenty of cooks swear by a resting period in any case. 

You can also save the drippings and toss them with potatoes later to serve with whatever's on the menu that night. Cooled steak drippings removed to an airtight container will last in the refrigerator for a few days. They should also stay just as tasty in the freezer for around three months.