This air fryer steak recipe by Instant Brands is perfect for enjoying a romantic or special meal at home. It's so quick and easy, but the results are juicy and delicious.

Big Flavours, Small Budgets – A series of tips and recipes from leading chefs, brands and foodies that show how to create delicious food on a budget.

How to perfectly cook a fillet steak in an air fryer?

Packet instructions and your usual cooking times can’t be applied to air fryer recipes because air fryers cook so much quicker. Plus, the length of time it will take for your air fryer steak to reach your desired doneness will depend on how cold the steak is and how thick it is.

The easiest way to ensure it's spot on is to test the temperature using a Thermapen instant-read thermometer. A fast and accurate cooking thermometer is essential for all your air fryer meals, from roasts and steaks to baked goods. Cook your steak to 52 °C for rare, 60 °C for medium or 71 °C for well done.

Ingredients

Equipment

• Vortex Plus Dual Drawer Air Fryer
• Thermapen Digital Food Thermometer

For the steak

• 400g fillet steak at room temperature
• 3 large potatoes
• Vegetable oil, salt and pepper as needed
• 120g bag rocket
• Lemon or balsamic optional - for your rocket leaves

For the blender béarnaise sauce

• 3 egg yolks
• Dash of hot sauce
• 1 tsp vinegar
• 115g butter
• 2g tarragon
• Salt, pepper and cooking oil as needed

Directions

• Wash the potatoes, then slice into batons just over 1cm thick. There’s no need to peel them. Place into a large bowl and cover them with cold water, then set aside for 1 hour.
• Once ready to cook, drain the chips and pat dry with paper towel. Toss them in a little vegetable oil, salt and pepper then place them into Drawer 1 of your Instant Vortex.
• Drizzle a little oil over your fillet steak, then season it generously with salt and pepper and place into Drawer 2.
• Select Drawer 1, and select Air Fry. Set the temperature to 190 °C and set the timer for 25 minutes. Select Drawer 2, and select Grill. Set the temperature to 205 °C and set the timer to 10 minutes (rare to medium rare). Press SyncFinish to ensure both drawers finish at the same time. Test the temperature with your Thermapen to ensure it is done to your preference (temperatures above).

• Once the cooking cycle has finished, remove the steak. Cover it with foil, then a tea towel and rest for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, make the sauce and finish the chips.
• Select Air Fry again on drawer 1, set the temp to 205 °C and the time to 10 minutes, and let the chips cook for a further 10 minutes.
• Meanwhile, make the béarnaise by adding the egg yolks, hot sauce, vinegar and salt to a jug, then use a stick blender to blend until smooth. Slowly drizzle the hot butter over the yolks, blending well as you go. Keep steaming in the butter until the sauce emulsifies and thickens, then stir in the chopped tarragon. Season to taste.
• When the chips have finished, slice the rested steak into medallions, and plate up alongside the chips, rocket and a drizzle of the béarnaise on top.