Hanger Steak with Braised Balsamic Shallots

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Photo by me, Anna Vocino in my very own Eat Happy Kitchen

Onglet à l’éshalote.

Hanger steak with shallots.

As bistro-French as it gets, and I’ve been making my version of this dish since the ’90s. Only mine is no longer served avec pommes frites. This dish is so classic French, we’re verging on escargot atop a Croque Monsieur territory. (Mmm…snail and egg toast).

I graduated from college in 1995 with a double major in Early Modern European History and French Literature. Which means…I used to read books. In French! How could an obsession with French food not be a part of that whole journey?

I only wish someone had come along and told me that maybe I wasn’t choosing the most practical of majors. My student loan debt far outlasted my brain’s ability to retain a second language.

Luckily, my French cooking skills are etched into my central nervous system, so that’s something at least.

Sigh.

C’est la vie, n’est-ce pas?

Hanger steak used to be called the “butcher’s cut” of meat because the butcher would keep it for himself. It’s a lean, but tender and slender cut of meat that’s way less expensive than a tenderloin, and way more flavorful.