The Butter-Soaked Steak Only Iowa Could Dream Up

Iowans didn't invent the butter cow, but their iconic State Fair sure made it famous. Every summer, visitors to the fairgrounds outside Des Moines line up to see it, alongside temperature-controlled butter tributes to the likes of Elvis and American Gothic.

Meanwhile, in Des Moines restaurants, butter is the basis for a local tradition that isn't quite as well known—steak de Burgo, a cut of beef served in a puddle of Italian-ish garlic-and-herb sauce.

There's no definitive recipe for Iowa steak de Burgo (pronounced duh-Bur-go). In fact, no one even seems to know what the "de Burgo" part—which has also been written as "de burgo," "deburgo," "Deburgo," "DeBurgo," and "De'Burgo" over the years—means, or where it came from. There are theories, most prominently a convoluted one involving the Spanish Civil War and Des Moines' Catalonian community, but that's all.

Johnny Campiano of Johnny and Kay's, one of the two people credited with pioneering the dish, supposedly "discovered" it in New Orleans during World War II. Fans of the other pioneer, Vic Talerico of Vic's Tally-Ho, say it was on his Iowa menu before the war. Vintage newspaper clips and advertisements describe it as Italian, Italian-American, and Greek.

As with so many great American traditions, all of that may be true.

Today, many years after Johnny and Kay's and Vic's Tally-Ho closed down, de Burgo is a staple at other Des Moines institutions, including the Latin King, the Chicago Speakeasy, and Simon's. The steak is usually tenderloin. The sauce famously comes in two varieties: with and without cream. 

Both sauces add character to a tender cut with a mild flavor and lower intramuscular fat marbling. The no-cream version, the original, is like a heartland chimichurri, with herbs (often dried) and garlic suspended in a mixture of butter and drippings. With cream, the sauce becomes gravy-like and extra-rich. Either way, the garlic should be assertive enough that you can still taste it the next morning.

To me, the cream-enhanced version, attributed to chef Bob Bianchi of Johnny's Vets Club (also now closed), takes a good thing too far. To develop my ideal recipe, I started at the dish's foundation, with the recipe from Johnny and Kay's, published in Better Homes and Gardens' "Famous Foods from Famous Places" in 1964.

Compiano melted butter (or margarine) in a skillet over high heat, added minced garlic and basil (presumably dried), and cooked slices of tenderloin in the "seasoned butter." When I tried doing that at home, I had issues. Unsurprisingly, the garlic and butter burned before the steak was done. Plus, the sauce tasted flat without the acidity of white wine or the earthy, assertive flavor of oregano, both of which are common modern additions.

For better results, I seared the steak in neutral oil with a higher smoke point before adding the butter, garlic, and herbs. I added a short cool-down break between searing the steak and building the sauce, which dropped the pan's temperature enough to prevent immediate browning or burning. Then, I brought the wine and oregano back to the equation.

Dried herbs are still the standard in Des Moines steakhouses, and I started there. To balance a sauce as rich as this one, though, you can't beat the vibrancy of fresh. (If you want to try dried, you can—use about a third of the amount and add them with the minced garlic.) Leaning into the dish's too-muchness, I ended up with an almost one-to-one ratio of fresh basil, oregano, and garlic to melted butter, for a topping that crowns a filet like crabmeat, infusing every bite of beef with basil's sweet anise notes and peppery, slightly bitter oregano.

 Like the classic Johnny and Kay's recipe, mine comes together in just a few minutes, with minimal effort. It's a restaurant-quality meal that's easy to make at home on a weeknight—even if you don't have filet mignon in the fridge. Think of "de Burgo" as an adaptable adjective. Restaurants in Des Moines do, serving chicken, shrimp, and salmon versions. Just don’t skimp on the garlic or the butter.