Lomo a lo pobre — Chilean steak with fries, caramelised onion and fried eggs
Lomo a lo pobre: Chilean steak with fries, caramelised onion and two fried eggs on top. Step by step, ready in 1 hour 40 minutes.
Recipe in testing. We published it before cooking it in our kitchen. Once we cook it, we will adjust whatever it needs and remove this note.
What lomo a lo pobre is and where it comes from
Lomo a lo pobre is a Chilean main course and a staple of steakhouses and home-style restaurants: a striploin or ribeye steak with fries, onion fried slowly until golden and, usually, two fried eggs on top. Its origin is not firmly documented. The most quoted account, from the historian Eugenio Pereira Salas, places it in the late 19th century at Papa Gage's café on Huérfanos Street in Santiago, where it was what the regulars ate; another theory links the name to the French steak au poivre. Despite a name that means «poor man's style», it is a generous plate and far from cheap, and in Chile «a lo pobre» describes any dish served with a fried egg and fries.
Instructions
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Caramelise the onion over low heat
Halve the onions lengthwise, then slice them along the grain into 3-4 mm strips: cut this way they soften without falling apart. Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a wide frying pan over medium heat, add the onion with a pinch of salt, which helps it release its water, and stir for 5 minutes, until it wilts. Lower the heat to medium-low and cook for another 30-35 minutes, stirring every 4-5 minutes; whenever a golden layer sticks to the bottom, add 1-2 tablespoons of water and scrape it up so that flavour goes back into the onion. It is ready when soft, caramel-coloured and reduced to roughly a quarter of its volume. It needs no sugar: the sweetness comes from the onion itself. Over high heat it would burn on the outside before softening and turn bitter. Keep it covered.
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Cut the potatoes into sticks and soak them
While the onion cooks, peel the potatoes and cut them into even 1 cm sticks so they all fry at the same rate. Leave them for 30 minutes in a bowl of cold water with a few ice cubes: the water turns cloudy with surface starch, and washing it off helps the fries turn out crisp and keeps them from sticking together. It is the double-fry method of the homemade French fries recipe, which explains it in detail.
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First fry of the potatoes at 150 °C
Drain the sticks and dry them thoroughly with a clean tea towel: any water left on them cools the oil and makes it spit. Heat the litre of oil to 150 °C in a deep, wide pot, filled no more than halfway. Fry the potatoes in 3 batches, 6 minutes each, until cooked through but still pale, and leave them on a rack. This first fry cooks the inside; the colour and crunch come with the second, just before serving. Turn off the heat and preheat the oven to 90 °C: it will keep the plates and the fries warm while you finish the steaks and the eggs.
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Dry, season and sear the steaks
Pat the steaks dry on both sides with kitchen paper: a wet surface steams instead of browning. Season them with salt and pepper just before cooking, because within a few minutes the salt draws juice to the surface. Heat a heavy-based frying pan, ideally cast iron, or a griddle over high heat with 1 tablespoon of oil until the oil shimmers and gives off a wisp of smoke. Cook the steaks two at a time, without crowding, and leave them alone for about 3 minutes, until a golden crust forms and they release on their own; turn them once and cook for another 2-3 minutes. In a crowded pan the temperature drops and the meat stews in the juice it releases instead of browning.
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Check the doneness and rest the meat
Use an instant-read thermometer, pushed in from the side of the steak to the centre, and take it off the heat at your preferred doneness: 52 °C for medium-rare (red and pink centre, what Chileans call jugoso), 56 °C for medium (pink, a punto), 61 °C for medium-well (barely pink, tres cuartos) or 67 °C for well done. If it is not there yet, lower the heat to medium and keep cooking, turning it every minute. Rest the steaks for 5 minutes on a warm plate, uncut: the temperature rises about 3 °C and the juices settle instead of running onto the board at the first cut; if they have to wait longer, cover them loosely with foil. Without a thermometer, make a small cut in the centre of the thickest steak and check the colour.
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Second fry of the potatoes at 180 °C
As soon as the steaks go into the pan, reheat the potato oil, this time to 180 °C. While the meat rests, fry the potatoes a second time, in 2 or 3 batches of about 3 minutes, until golden and crisp. Drain them on kitchen paper, salt them straight away, while the salt still sticks, and keep them in the 90 °C oven on a rack or a tray while you fry the eggs. Do not cover them: trapped steam makes them soft.
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Fry the eggs with runny yolks
Heat the remaining 3 tablespoons of oil in a large non-stick frying pan over medium heat. Crack each egg into a cup and slide it into the pan, four at a time. Fry for 2-3 minutes, spooning the hot oil over the whites, until they are set and opaque with golden edges while the yolks stay glossy and wobble when you move the pan. Season lightly with salt. The runny yolk is part of the dish: once broken, it coats the steak and the fries.
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Assemble the plates and serve
Take the plates out of the oven. Put a steak on each one, to the side or as the base, the fries next to the meat or on top of it, and a generous spoonful of caramelised onion over the fries; crown each plate with two fried eggs. Serve at once, because the fries lose their crunch within minutes. If you want something fresh on the side, ensalada chilena (tomato and onion salad) or a green salad balances such a hearty plate.
Nutrition information
| Calories | 1190 kcal |
|---|---|
| Protein | 67 g |
| Carbs | 59 g |
| Sugars | 9 g |
| Fat | 75 g |
| Trans fat | 1 g |
Values per serving (1 of 4).
Frequently asked questions
What cut of beef is used for lomo a lo pobre?
Usually lomo vetado (ribeye) or lomo liso (striploin, also sold as New York strip), the two cuts Chilean restaurants offer. Ribeye has more fat running through the meat and stays juicier and more flavourful, even medium-well; striploin is leaner and firmer, and dries out sooner if overcooked. Tenderloin (filete in Chile) also works and is the most tender, but it has less flavour and costs more. Ask for steaks about 2 cm thick and 250 g: thinner ones overcook before they have time to brown.
Why is it called «a lo pobre»?
There is no proven explanation. The most quoted one comes from the historian Eugenio Pereira Salas, according to whom bistec a lo pobre was what the regulars ate at Papa Gage's café, on Huérfanos Street in Santiago, in the late 19th century. Others link the name to the French steak au poivre, although the two dishes have little in common, and others to the idea of a simple, filling meal. Today in Chile «a lo pobre» means any dish with a fried egg and fries, such as the completo or chicken a lo pobre.
How many eggs go on lomo a lo pobre?
In Chilean restaurants the tradition is two fried eggs per plate, and this recipe is worked out that way: 8 eggs for 4 servings. Home versions often have just one per plate, and the dish is still complete; each egg you leave out takes off about 90 kcal. What does not change is the yolk: it should stay runny, because once broken it works as a sauce for the steak and the fries.
What is the best doneness for the steak, and how can I tell without a thermometer?
It comes down to taste: medium-rare, which Chileans call jugoso (take it off the heat at 52 °C), medium or a punto (56 °C), medium-well or tres cuartos (61 °C) or well done (67 °C); it climbs about 3 °C more while resting. Without a thermometer, make a small cut in the centre of the steak: bright red is medium-rare, pink is medium and barely pink is medium-well. The USDA safety reference for whole cuts of beef is 63 °C with a 3-minute rest; when cooking for pregnant women, small children or anyone with a weakened immune system, take the steak at least to medium-well and fry the eggs until the yolks set.
How do you caramelise the onion for lomo a lo pobre?
Sliced lengthwise into thin strips and cooked over medium-low heat, patiently: 35-40 minutes in all, stirring every few minutes and loosening the golden layer on the bottom with a splash of water. It needs no sugar, because the onion has its own. Rushed over high heat, it burns on the outside, stays raw inside and turns bitter. It can be made the day before: keep it covered in the fridge and reheat it in the pan while the potatoes fry.
How many calories are in lomo a lo pobre?
By our estimate, one serving of this recipe, with 250 g of raw steak, 250 g of potato for the fries, the onion and two eggs, has about 1190 kcal, 67 g of protein and 75 g of fat: it is one of the heartiest plates in Chilean cooking. To lighten it, choose striploin over ribeye, serve one egg instead of two, cut down the fries or make them in an air fryer, and add a salad on the side.
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