Steak - how to cook and what to have with it {Mega Merge!}

Cook your speciality. Obviously it's tasty and you'll be comfortable cooking it.

I do a sort of poivre based sauce.
Press cracked peppercorns onto steaks.
Fry in butter. Remove steaks, add drop of brandy, and scrape the pan. Add cream and garlic and simmer. Pour in any juices collected from the plate with the steaks.

This works well with chicken/white wine too. And you can add mushrooms etc. if you like.
A creamy sauce and gratin might be a bit heavy going though, so you could just have boiled baby potatoes and some steamed veg to balance it a bit.

Boil baby new pots, steam some veg over the pots, crush the tender pots and toss with butter, sea salt and chopped parsley.

It's very important, if you're cooking somebody a steak, to find out how they like it.

And I don't agree that potato gratin is easy - there's nothing worse than hard-in-the-middle gratin!! Though elsewhere on this board there is a good tip, from Shabadu I think, on how to make perfect gratin...

And if you plan on making gratin more than just occasionally, spend the money on a Mandolin - I bought mine in Roches for about €18 last year. It whizzes through spuds for gratin or dauphinoise, leaving them all the exact same thickness. Brilliant for thin slices of absolutely anything tbh

If you can get Ribeye steaks you will find that they are juicy and tasty compared with Sirloin, a close second would be a good T-bone but they are a little harder to cook because of the bone.
I would keep it simple with nice thin skinned potatoes and perhaps some simple veg, Carrots cut in strips(julienned) and steamed,broccoli the same, and maybe a little cabbage chopped finely and sauteed with butter.
make a sauce if you want but if you have high quality ingredients and cook them well, they should speak for themselves.

Gratin with a steak? Not to my taste I have to say.

I would go with a fillet steak, from the butchers or M&S. Ideally cooked on a griddle pan so that you can get a good charring on parts of the outside without over doing the inside.

On the side I would do some Italian style roast potatoes: Cut the spuds up to bite sized chunks (roughly the same size now), and par-boil for 10-15 mins. Then put the spuds into a baking tray, sprinkle on some rosemary and pour a on little olive oil. Turn over with a spoon or somesuch so that the oil more or less coats the spuds, if the spud surface ruffles up a bit all the better. Roast in an oven at around 200c, for 30 mins lowering to ~160 for another 30 minutes. The good thing about this is that its very over-cook tolerant.

For veg I would either griddle some thin courgette slices or do a Mediterranean roast veg. For this you just cut up some sweet peppers (from M&S or elsewhere if you can find ‘em), plus some onions (red and/or normal) & small courgette slices. You mix this lot with olive oil and pepper and chuck into the oven for 30-45 mins. The onions come out a bit charred and the peppers are fantastic.

Alun wrote:

What's with the references to your forehead in the above?

I assume he means how it feels, not a bad little guide there

wbailey wrote:

While we are on the topic,

How come every time I buy fillet steak, there are streaky fat bits in it (usually from tesco)
thats called marbelling and as long as theres not too much it,its grand

Blub2k4 wrote:

If the steak is fresh enough then it can be eaten tartare, that's raw. So as to your question as to how safe it is that depends on freshness.

How do you define fresh steak? Because I prefer my beef hung for at least 21 days before it's butchered into steaks. The longer the better in fact. That's the trick to truly tender, phenomenal steak.

Tescos do claim their meat is Irish sourced, how different is a Tesco Sirloin @ 8.80 per KG and my local butchers at ~15 euros per KG ? , not convinced that both are not from the same source.

I see T Bone steaks are on sale again. (They were banned after the BSE crisis, because it was believed that meat nearer the bone was at risk)

Has anyone ever eaten one? How does it compare to other cuts. How is it cooked?

wbailey wrote:

I see T Bone steaks are on sale again. (They were banned after the BSE crisis, because it was believed that meat nearer the bone was at risk)

Has anyone ever eaten one? How does it compare to other cuts. How is it cooked?

It is highly flavourful due to the bone still being attatched to the muscle. It is in fact a sirloin and a fillet still joined with the bone. As it's fairly huge, it is generally cut quite thinly in comparison with a regular steak, therefore it cooks faster. A 'Porterhouse' is a T-bone that is cut twice as thick as a regular T-bone.

I haven't tried the coke thing, but I'd say it would be interesting.
Have you thought about a "dry rub" as an alternative for a marinade?
Something along the lines of:
1 tsp salt
1 tsp brown sugar
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
2 tsp chili powder
2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
Just rub it well into the steaks & leave overnight.

I made this before and found it quite tasty....

1 head garlic
1 tablespoon olive oil
2/3 cup water
1 cup pineapple juice
1/4 cup teriyaki sauce
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 1/3 cups packed dark brown sugar
3 tablespoons lemon juice
3 tablespoons minced white onions
1 tablespoon Jack Daniels Whiskey
1 tablespoon crushed pineapple
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper





1. Cut about 1/2 inch off the top of the garlic. Cut the roots so that the garlic head will sit flat. Remove the papery skin from the garlic head, but leave enough so that the cloves stay together. Put garlic into a small casserole dish or baking pan, grizzle olive oil over it, and cover with a lid or foil. Bake in a preheated 325F oven for 1 hour. Remove garlic and let it cool until you can handle it.
2. Combine water, pineapple juice, teriyaki sauce, soy sauce, and brown sugar in a medium saucepan over medium high heat. Stir occasionally until mixture boils, then reduce heat until mixture is just simmering.
3. Squeeze the sides of the head of garlic until the pasty roasted garlic is squeezed out. Measure 2 teaspoons into the saucepan and whisk to combine. Add remining ingredients to the pan and stir.
4. Let mixture simmer for 40 to 50 minutes or until sauce has reduced by about 1/2 and is thick and syrupy. Make sure it doesn't boil over.

Wacker wrote:

One thing: the amounts that you listed would be for about how many steaks? I may have to prepare about ten.

Wacker:

Up the quantities to a dessert spoon of each. The rub ingredients aren't set in stone. Be sure to experiment & use ingredients that you like yourself.

For example, if you wanted to give a bit of an "indian" flavour you could add some garam masala to the mix. For a more herby flavour you could add chopped rosemary or thyme.

Best of luck!