Grilled Steak with an Egg on Horseback

This Grilled Steak with Egg recipe comes straight from my mom’s kitchen, and it is one of those dishes I will never forget watching her make. Adding a fried egg on top of a steak was a practical idea — an inexpensive way to add protein and make a meal go further — but the result is something far more than practical. The red wine marinade, the cream sauce built from the drippings, the egg on top, and that strip of pickled red pepper to finish it off. It is bold, satisfying, and completely Portuguese. You can also find this recipe in my cookbook.

What Is Grilled Steak with Egg?

Grilled Steak with Egg — known in Portuguese as Bife com Ovo a Cavalo, meaning steak with an egg on horseback — is a classic Portuguese meat dish found in homes and tascas across the country. A sirloin steak is marinated in red wine, garlic, and crushed red pepper, then pan-fried in butter and olive oil and finished with a sauce made from the reserved marinade and heavy cream. A fried egg goes on top, and a strip of pickled roasted red pepper crowns the whole thing. It is hearty, deeply flavored, and deceptively simple to make.

How to Make This Recipe

The marinade is where this dish starts, and it needs time — at least three hours in the refrigerator, overnight if you can manage it. The combination of red wine, garlic, bay leaf, and crushed red pepper penetrates the meat and gives it most of its flavor. When you are ready to cook, remove the steaks from the marinade and reserve the liquid — that marinade becomes your sauce. Fry the steaks three minutes per side in butter and olive oil over medium-high heat, set them aside covered to keep warm, then deglaze the pan with the reserved marinade, scraping up all the browned bits, and whisk in the heavy cream. Fry the eggs in a separate pan while the sauce finishes, and plate everything together.

Tips for the Best Grilled Steak with Egg

• Marinate overnight if possible. Three hours is the minimum but overnight makes a real difference in how deeply the flavor develops.
• Reserve the marinade before you cook. You need it for the sauce — don’t discard it.
• Use a cast iron skillet. It holds heat evenly and gives the steak a proper sear. A Lodge skillet is what I reach for every time.
• Don’t crowd the pan. Fry the steaks one or two at a time depending on pan size. Crowding drops the temperature and you lose the sear.
• Keep the steaks covered and warm while you make the sauce. They only need a few more minutes in the sauce, so don’t let them cool down completely.
• The pickled roasted red pepper strip on top is optional but worth it — the acidity cuts through the richness of the cream sauce beautifully.
• Serve with fried potatoes or vegetables. The sauce is rich enough that you want something simple alongside it.

Serving and Storing

Grilled Steak with Egg is best served immediately while everything is hot — the egg, the sauce, and the steak all need to come together at once. Fried potatoes or steamed vegetables are the natural sides. Leftovers can be stored separately in the refrigerator for up to two days. Reheat the steak gently in a covered pan over low heat; the egg does not reheat well so it is best to fry a fresh one if you are serving leftovers.

I love iron skillets, and the ones I have from Lodge are my go-to for recipes like this. If you don’t have one yet, give this Lodge Skillet from Amazon a try. The key is to keep them seasoned and watch them carefully.

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Love Portuguese meat dishes? Try my Alcatra or Carne Espeto next.