Prep Time 1 minute - Total Time 15 minutes - Serves 1
Sorry vegan’s and vegetarians, I have 100% respect for you but a beautiful cut of steak done correctly is one of life’s simple pleasures. Actually, a life without steak, is a life not worth living! In my humble opinion, sorry again.
I like my steak served next to a mountain of fries, NOT chips but fries and either a peppercorn sauce or a chimichurri sauce and a very cold beer. To be honest with you, if I was unfortunate enough to find myself on death row this would be my final meal, that’s if I had an appetite.
Ingredients
1 good quality steak, I like sirloin or ribeye.
A few springs of fresh herbs, rosemary or thyme.
3 whole garlic cloves, skin on.
Cold butter.
Salt.
Oil.
Method
First and importantly, take the steak out of the fridge 1 hour before cooking. Rub the steak with oil and a good pinch of salt, don’t do this until you are about to cook the steak.
Preheat a nonstick frying pan over a high heat. Once really hot use a pair of tongs and hold the steak fat side down. This will render the fat and give it a nice colour. Once the fat is golden carefully lay the steak down, you want to hear a good sizzle. I like my steak rare to medium-rare, so I only give them 2-3 minutes on each side depending on how thick the steak is. If it’s a really thick steak you may need to reduce the heat a little once you have built a nice crust. Obviously, cook yours to your liking. The best way to check the doneness of the steak is the touch test. While the steak is cooking give it a little prod with your finger to check its firmness. The more it cooks the firmer it will go. So the more bounce it has the less done it is and the firmer it feels the more well done it is. If you give it a prod when it’s raw it will give you an idea.
Once the steak is nearly done, turn down the heat slightly and throw in a few knobs of butter along with the garlic and herbs. As the butter melts coat the steak along with the garlic and herbs.
Lastly and most importantly once the steak is cooked, take it out of the pan, place it on a wire rack and leave it to rest for 5 minutes. As an optional extra you could add a knob of butter on top of the steak, as it rests the butter will melt and coat it. You never want to eat it straight out of the pan. You need to allow the steak to relax and do its thing. So don’t you dare slice it straight away, don’t touch it, don’t poke it, don’t even look at it. Just let it relax and do its thing. Don’t believe me, watch this video and see what the great Anthony Bourdain has to say on the matter.