Juicy grilled roast beef on a creamy risotto with chanterelles

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Juicy grilled roast beef on a creamy porcini mushroom risotto—a restaurant masterpiece combining a perfectly seared steak and a silky wild mushroom risotto —is the absolute pinnacle of contemporary gourmet cuisine. This prestigious dish (often served in the style of the famous Italian tagliata) combines two culinary arts: the precise cooking of aged beef sirloin (roast beef) with a seductively smoky crust and a pink, incredibly tender center, and a traditional creamy risotto with autumn chanterelles, prepared according to the mantecatura technique. The secret to recreating this dish at home exactly as it is served in a top-tier restaurant lies in two professional steps: letting the roasted meat rest—a must—so that the precious meat juices don’t water down the risotto, and folding ice-cold butter and Parmesan into the rice off the heat to achieve the perfect “wavy” (all’onda) texture.

• Prep time: 20 minutes (+ 45 minutes to bring the meat to room temperature)
• Heat treatment time: 25 minutes
• Serves: 2 to 3 people
• Difficulty: Moderately difficult (requires precision when roasting the meat and cooking the rice)

Ingredients for Grilled Roast Beef with Porcini Mushroom Risotto

For Roast Beef (Steak)

• 500–600 g of aged beef roast in one piece (boneless top round / sirloin / striploin)
• 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
• coarsely ground sea salt or fleur de sel
• freshly ground black pepper
• a few sprigs of fresh thyme or rosemary for flavor

For a Creamy Risotto with Chanterelles

• 250 g risotto rice (preferably Carnaroli or Vialone Nano, or Arborio)
• 300 g fresh chanterelles (cleaned and sliced; when out of season, you can use 30 g dried chanterelles, soaked in warm water)
• 1 small shallot or tender yellow onion (finely chopped)
• 1 clove of garlic (lightly crushed)
• 100 ml of dry white wine (e.g., Pinot Gris or Chardonnay at room temperature)
• 800 ml to 1 liter of hot beef or clear vegetable broth
• 40 g ice-cold butter, cut into cubes (to bind the mixture)
• 50 g freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano or Grana Padano cheese
• 2 tablespoons of olive oil (for sautéing the rice)
• For garnish: fresh microgreens (watercress or pea shoots) or finely chopped parsley

Step-by-Step Preparation Process

1. Bringing the roast beef to room temperature and preparing it: Remove the piece of beef roast from the refrigerator at least 45 to 60 minutes before cooking. If you place cold meat on a hot grill, the center will remain raw while the outside will dry out. Pat the meat dry on all sides with a paper towel, brush it with a tablespoon of olive oil, and just before cooking, generously season it with coarse sea salt.

2Preparing the chanterelles: Clean the fresh chanterelles thoroughly with a brush and a damp cloth, then slice them into thin strips. In a small skillet, heat a teaspoon of olive oil with a crushed clove of garlic. Add the chanterelles and sauté them over high heat for 3 to 4 minutes until they are lightly browned and release a forest-like aroma. Remove the garlic, season the mushrooms with salt and pepper, and set aside.

3Cooking the risotto (toasting and adding liquid): In a wide, heavy-bottomed pot, heat a tablespoon of olive oil and gently sauté the finely chopped shallot until translucent. Add the dry rice and, stirring constantly, “toast” it for about 2 minutes, until the grains become translucent with a white dot in the center and are hot to the touch. Pour white wine over the rice and stir until the alcohol has completely evaporated. Then begin gradually adding the boiling broth, one ladleful at a time. Stir the rice gently and continuously; add another ladleful of broth only after the rice has absorbed the previous one (about 14 to 16 minutes of cooking time to keep it al dente —firm to the bite). After 10 minutes of cooking, stir the sautéed mushrooms into the risotto.

4Grilling Roast Beef: While the risotto is simmering, preheat the grill (or a cast-iron grill pan) to a high temperature (220–250 °C). Place the roast beef on the hot grill grates. Grill it for about 3 to 4 minutes on one side without moving it, to create attractive sear marks (the Maillard reaction). Flip it over and cook for another 3 to 4 minutes on the other side, then briefly sear the sides with the fat. If using a meat thermometer, aim for a core temperature of 52–54 °C for medium-rare or 56–58 °C for medium.

5Resting the meat (an essential step!): Immediately transfer the roasted roast beef to a warm wooden board or a warmed plate, place a sprig of thyme on top, and loosely cover it with aluminum foil. Let it rest for exactly 8 to 10 minutes. During this time, the muscle fibers will relax, the internal temperature will rise by about 2 °C, and the precious meat juices will distribute evenly throughout the entire cut.

6The Secret to a Silky Risotto (Mantecatura): Once the rice is cookedal dente, remove the pot from the heat. Let it stand for 1 minute, then stir in cubes of ice-cold butter and grated Parmesan cheese. Stir vigorously with a wooden spoon or by giving the pot quick jerks for 1 minute, so that the released rice starch, fat, and cheese combine into a velvety, creamy emulsion without the addition of cream. The risotto should be succulent and, when the plate is tilted, gently flow in waves.

7Serving: Using a sharp meat knife, slice the rested roast beef into juicy slices about 0.5 cm thick (always across the grain). Using a serving spoon, place a generous bed of creamy porcini mushroom risotto on a warm, flat black plate. Arrange the slices of pink roast beef in a fan shape on top. Sprinkle the meat with fleur de sel and freshly ground black pepper, and garnish with fresh microgreens or thyme leaves.

Cooking Tips for Perfect Results

• Why is meat rest essential? If you sliced hot roast beef immediately after taking it off the grill, all the red juices would run out onto the cutting board in a second, the meat would turn gray and dry, and the risotto would get soggy. Letting it rest for 8 to 10 minutes locks every drop of juiciness into the meat fibers.
• Choosing the Right Rice (Carnaroli Is King): For the best risotto, choose Carnaroli rice. It contains a high percentage of amylose (a type of starch), which is slowly released into the liquid as you stir, creating a natural creaminess, while the center of the grain remains perfectly firm and never becomes mushy.
• Ice-cold butter for mantecatura: The butter that is stirred into the risotto at the end of cooking must come straight from the refrigerator. The temperature difference between the hot rice and the ice-cold butter accelerates the physical process of emulsifying the starch and fat, which creates that distinctive restaurant-style sheen.
• Cutting Across the Grain: When slicing roast beef, always position the knife across the grain (at a 90-degree angle) relative to the length of the muscle fibers. This breaks the long protein bonds and ensures that every bite is as tender as butter.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

How can you achieve the perfect level of doneness for roast beef without a thermometer?

A digital meat thermometer is the most reliable option, but if you don’t have one, use the palm test: when you press your finger into the meat, it should offer the same springy resistance as the pad under your thumb when you lightly touch your ring finger (medium) or middle finger (medium-rare). It should feel firm on the outside but still pleasantly soft and springy in the center.

Can I use dried or frozen chanterelles instead of fresh ones?

Absolutely! Outside of mushroom season, take 30 g of dried chanterelles and soak them in 2 dl of warm water for 20 minutes. Drain the chanterelles, chop them, and sauté them; strain the soaking water through cheesecloth and pour it over the risotto—you’ll get an even more intense forest aroma than with fresh mushrooms.

What wine should I serve with this dish?

A mature, full-bodied red wine with rounded tannins—such as Pinot Noir, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, or a high-quality Refošk—pairs exceptionally well with this combination. For white wine lovers, a rich, buttery risotto with porcini mushrooms will pair perfectly with a mature Chardonnay aged in oak barrels.