There is no single best sauce for steak, because the right sauce depends entirely on the cut in front of you. A lean eye fillet wants richness. A heavily marbled wagyu wants acid. Put the two the wrong way round and you either smother a delicate cut or make a rich one heavy.
Below is a cut by cut guide using the sauces actually on the menu at Elements Brasserie in Belmore, the three rules that decide every pairing, and what to do when the table cannot agree.
The Three Rules of Sauce Pairing
- Match richness with acid, not more richness. The fattier the cut, the sharper the sauce. Fat on fat is where plates get heavy.
- The leaner the cut, the creamier the sauce can be. A lean cut has less of its own flavour to lose, so butter, cream and truffle add rather than mask.
- One bold sauce per plate. Two assertive sauces fight each other. If you want variety, keep one bold and one neutral.
Everything below is an application of those three rules.
Cut by Cut: What to Order With What
| Cut | What it is like | Sauce to order | Why it works |
|---|---|---|---|
| Eye fillet 250g | Leanest and most tender, mild flavour | Truffle and roasted garlic crème, or tobiko and tarragon beurre monté | A lean cut carries a rich sauce without becoming heavy |
| Sirloin 300g | Firm, balanced, a clean beef flavour | Roasted shallot and burgundy bone jus, or native pepperberry and green peppercorn | The classic steakhouse pairing; jus and pepper lift beef without covering it |
| Scotch fillet 300g | Well marbled and rich through the middle | Bush herb chimichurri verde, or roasted pepper and almond romesco | Herbs and acidity cut through the marbling between bites |
| MB9 wagyu rump or sirloin 300g | The richest option on the menu | Chimichurri verde, or black garlic, squid ink and finger lime aioli | Finger lime and vinegar reset the palate so the fat stays enjoyable |
| T-bone 800g | Two muscles on one bone, sirloin and fillet | Bone jus on the sirloin side, something creamy on the fillet side | Two different cuts genuinely want two different sauces |
| Tomahawk 1.5kg | A sharing cut with a long bone | Harissa and garlic beef tallow butter, with charred habanero and smoked honey bbq alongside | Spread across a table, variety beats a single sauce |
The Classic Steakhouse Sauces, Explained
Bone jus
The roasted shallot and burgundy bone jus is the most traditional thing on the list. A jus is reduced roasting liquid, so it is pure beef concentrated down, with the shallots and wine adding depth rather than sweetness. If you want the steak to taste more like itself, this is the order.
Peppercorn
The native pepperberry and green peppercorn sauce is the Australian version of steak au poivre. Green peppercorns are milder and fruitier than black, and pepperberry brings a native note with it. Heat without harshness, which is why it suits a sirloin.
Chimichurri
Argentina's contribution to steak, and the most useful sauce on any grill menu. Herbs, garlic, oil and vinegar, served cold against hot meat. The bush herb chimichurri verde is the one to order with anything fatty.
Hollandaise and the butter sauces
Hollandaise sits among the French mother sauces, and the steakhouse favourite béarnaise is its best known descendant. The tobiko and tarragon beurre monté on this menu works on the same principle: emulsified butter carrying tarragon, which is exactly the flavour pairing béarnaise made famous.
Romesco
Spanish, built on roasted peppers and almonds, and nuttier and sweeter than a tomato sauce. It brings texture as well as flavour, which makes it a good match for a chargrilled crust.
If You Cannot Decide
The steak tasting platter comes with a choice of any four sauces, which settles the argument at the table without anyone compromising. It is the most sensible way to work out which sauce you actually prefer, rather than ordering the same one out of habit.
A practical approach for four people: one jus, one peppercorn, one chimichurri and one butter. That covers rich, peppery, sharp and creamy, and nobody fights over the same ramekin.
Matching the Side as Well
The sauce and the side should not both be rich. A few combinations that work:
- Bone jus with truffle parmesan steakhouse chips. The jus is lean enough to carry a loaded chip.
- Peppercorn with beef tallow pom puree. The puree softens the pepper heat.
- Chimichurri with chargrilled broccolini. Green on green, and the acid works on both.
- Truffle crème with a garden salad. If the sauce is doing the heavy lifting, keep the plate light.
- Romesco with garlic and thyme portabella mushrooms. Earthy with nutty is a reliable pairing.
Sauce on Top or on the Side?
On the side, almost always. A sauce poured over the steak softens the crust you paid for, and it commits every bite to the same flavour. On the side, you control the ratio and the crust stays crisp.
The exception is a butter. A beurre monté or a tallow butter is meant to melt into the meat, so letting it sit on top is the point.
Where to Try Them
All of the sauces above are on the signature sauces list at Elements Brasserie, alongside the prime cuts, which come with a choice of tallow pom puree, steakhouse chips or garden salad.
The venue is at 721a Canterbury Road in Belmore, in the middle of the Canterbury-Bankstown area, with the contact page covering directions and parking.
If you are still deciding on the cut before you think about the sauce, the guide to choosing the best steak cut is the place to start.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the best sauce for steak?
It depends on the cut. Lean cuts such as eye fillet suit creamy and buttery sauces, while marbled cuts such as scotch fillet and wagyu suit sharp, herb based sauces like chimichurri.
What sauce goes with eye fillet?
Something rich. A truffle and roasted garlic crème or a tarragon butter adds what a lean cut does not have on its own.
What sauce goes with wagyu?
Acid rather than cream. Chimichurri or a citrus aioli cuts through the fat, and it is worth keeping the sauce on the side so the beef still leads.
Is peppercorn sauce the same as au poivre?
Close. Au poivre is the French original built on cracked pepper and cream or jus; a peppercorn sauce follows the same idea, often using milder green peppercorns.
What is chimichurri?
An Argentinian herb sauce of parsley and other herbs, garlic, oil and vinegar, served cold. It is the standard pairing for grilled beef in South America.
Is béarnaise a mother sauce?
No. Hollandaise is counted among the French mother sauces, and béarnaise is derived from it by adding tarragon and shallots.
Should steak sauce go on top or on the side?
On the side for anything other than a butter, so the crust stays crisp and you control how much each bite gets.
Book a Table
Pick the cut, then pick the sauce. Book a table at Elements Brasserie in Belmore, or call 1300 353 636.
