Southern-Style Steak And Potatoes Sheet Pan Brunch Recipe

You've heard of a sheet pan dinner, but what about a sheet pan brunch? This Southern-style sheet pan brunch recipe, courtesy of developer Kara Barrett, transforms classic steak and potatoes into something fit for a late morning or early afternoon meal, serving them alongside eggs and collard greens for a distinctly Southern flair. "Having a few sheet pan meals in your repertoire is never a bad idea," Barrett notes, and she loves that this recipe allowed her to hone in on her love of Southern cooking. "Buttery collards, eggs, steak, and potatoes with special additions like honey hot sauce compound butter and toasted pecans round out a brunch-worthy meal."

This recipe does take a certain amount of planning ahead as you need to give the ribeye steak at least an hour to dry brine, and once you get going, there are quite a few steps involved. Though it may seem daunting to the home chef (especially for one preparing this hungry on a Sunday morning), the beautiful array of comfort foods will be worth any time spent in the kitchen. "This recipe has several steps, but once everything is prepped, it goes pretty quickly," Barrett assures us. To make things easier, you could prepare the butter and olive oil marinade ahead of time, perhaps at the same time that you dry brine the steak, which you can do the night before you plan to serve the meal to make things a little easier come morning.

Before you jump into any cooking or assembling, you'll start this recipe by dry brining a ribeye steak with salt and pepper. Next up you'll make a hot honey butter consisting of butter, honey, and hot sauce. You'll coat both baby potatoes and collard greens in a dressing made from olive oil, lemon juice, salt, and pepper, then you'll finish off the sheet pan with a couple of eggs, some pecans, and optionally some flaky salt and lemon wedges to garnish. Barret tells us not to skimp on the lemon slices, "This is a very rich meal and you don't want to skip the lemons. They introduce acid and brightness. If you don't have any on hand, try substituting a little white wine vinegar."

At least one hour ahead of cooking (or up to 48 hours), prepare the steak by dry brining it. Start by patting the steak dry with a paper towel.

Sprinkle each side of the steak with ½ teaspoon of kosher salt and rub gently into the steak. Set aside uncovered in the refrigerator.

When you are ready to cook, allow the steak to come to room temperature. Add a few small pinches of salt and pepper if desired.

Using a fork, mix the butter, honey, and hot sauce together until fully emulsified (about 5 minutes). Set aside.

Preheat the oven to 425 F.

To make the dressing add the olive oil, a pinch each of salt and pepper, and the juice of one lemon to a bowl.

Whisk to combine then set aside.

Chop the potatoes into large chunks.

In a mixing bowl, toss the potatoes with half of the dressing, ½ teaspoon of salt, and a few pinches of pepper.

Spread the potatoes flat sides facing down on a large lined sheet pan and roast for 20 minutes.

Toss the collards with the remaining dressing and add ¼ teaspoon of salt and a few pinches of pepper.

Turn on the oven broiler.

Use a spatula to toss the potatoes and move them to one side of the sheet pan.

Add the collards to the sheet pan and place the steak on top of them with a few dollops of the butter mixture.

Depending on the thickness of your steak, broil on the middle rack for approximately 5 minutes.

Flip the steak, brush with more of the butter mixture and broil again for 5 minutes or until the steak has reached 125 F, or desired doneness.

Return oven heat to 425 F.

Remove the steak to a cutting board and top with remaining butter. Set aside.

Toss the potatoes and greens keeping them separate.

Make room between them and add the pecans.

Crack the eggs onto the collards.

Cook for approximately 5 minutes or until the whites are set completely.

Slice the steak.

When done, add back the steak and sprinkle the pecans on the greens.

Finish with flaky salt, and serve with lemon slices, black pepper, and hot sauce.

A ribeye is a famously delicious and popular cut of steak, so naturally, it makes for a great centerpiece in this steak and potatoes sheet pan brunch. You aren't limited to ribeye, however, and Barrett notes that other kinds of steak such as filet mignon, New York strip, sirloin, or flank would all work here. Should you opt for a different kind of steak, you could approach the dry brine in the same way, but depending on the thickness or size of the steak, you may need to adjust the cook time (or just ensure that the steak still ends up around 125 F).

Speaking of that dry brine, it's not technically essential if you just don't have the time, but Barrett strongly recommends doing it since "it adds some great benefits like improving the texture and drying out the surface to achieve a better crust." If you're able to, allow the steak to dry brine in the fridge for upwards of 48 hours, ideally on a sheet rack so that air hits the steak at both sides, drying it out in equal amounts. Or, just do what Barrett does and flip the steak halfway through the brining period so both sides get equal air exposure. If you only brine for an hour, flip after 30 minutes, and if you go for that full 48 hours, flip after a day. 

This sheet pan brunch recipe really does yield a full and well-thought-out meal, from the hearty steak and potatoes all the way to the buttery greens and classic eggs. That said, there's always room for creativity in the kitchen, and Barrett encourages you to customize this meal as you see fit. If you're inclined to change up the compound butter that goes on top of the steak, you could make an herb butter, a simple garlic butter, or a smoked paprika butter, which would add a nice BBQ-char element to the dish.

Other customization options include whipping up some biscuits to cook alongside the potatoes or adding bacon to the collard greens for even more smoky flavor. You may also choose to keep the recipe as-is but simply scale it up to serve a larger crowd, in which case you'll simply need to double the ingredients and use a larger pan, or use a couple of pans.

And, of course, no good brunch meal would be complete without a refreshing cocktail. To stay on theme, Barrett recommends opting for cocktails with a certain Southern air to them. So, something like a classic mint julep would contrast nicely against the rich flavors of the food, and for a nonalcoholic option, you simply can't go wrong with Southern sweet tea.