Ingredients
Serves 2T-bone for Two
1 x 850 g T-bone steak
Extra-virgin olive oil
Sea salt flakes
Freshly ground black pepper
Lemon wedges to serve (optional)
Fennel & Green Bean Salad (Serves 6)
450 g green beans, blanched
1 head baby fennel, shaved
¼ cup parsley, finely chopped
¼ cup whole parsley, picked
½ bunch watercress, picked
½ cup pickled red onion
2 tbsp lemon juice
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Pinch salt & black pepper
Method
T-bone for Two
I think this on-the-bone steak is probably my all-time favourite. It’s cut from the saddle, and is made up of sirloin on one side of the bone and eye-filet on the other. It’s incredibly tasty, and needs nothing more in the way of flavour additions than good salt, freshly ground pepper, and a drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil.
Ask your butcher for a big steak - at least 600g, and about 5cm thick. This will give you enough meat for two people to share. A steak this thick will take much longer to cook on the grill or barbeque, so I prefer to cook it in the oven after first sealing it in the griddle pan over a high heat.
Remove the steak from the refrigerator 30 minutes before you want to eat.
Preheat your grill or barbecue to high and your oven to 200°C.
Rub the steak all over with oil and season generously with salt and pepper. Cook the steak over a high heat for 2-3 minutes on each side, so that it is well coloured. Now transfer it to the oven for 10 minutes, turning once or twice. Alternatively, move the steak to a cooler part of the grill or barbecue and cook it for a further 12-15 minutes, depending on the heat of the grill and thickness of the steak. Turn the steak every minute or so to prevent burning.
Because of the bone, you’ll find that the meat won’t cook evenly: it will be rarer close to the bone towards the edges it will be medium or even medium-well done. Use the thumb-to-finger test for doneness, or check the interior of the meat with a meat thermometer.
Transfer the steak to a warm plate and cover it loosely with foil. Leave to rest for 5-6 minutes before carving.
To serve, cut the two sections of meat away from the bone and carve into thick slices. Serve with more salt and pepper, extra-virgin olive oil and the lemon wedges if using.
Fennel & Green Bean Salad
This is a lovely fresh healthy salad to eat very quick to make has plenty of zing, crunch and crispness. I like to have everything prepared and then dress and toss the salad just before serving.
To make salad simply toss all ingredients in a bowl. Season to taste and serve.
Adrian’s Tips for Cooking Steak
1. When serving a steak its always best to set the table with a good sharp steak knife, it's amazing how a blunt knife can make the most tender of steak seem tough, before its even eaten.
2. When resting a steak I like to use a tea towel to wrap around the steak, kind of like a blanket, it helps to keep the steak warm as it rests.
3. When serving a steak it’s a nice idea to brush the steak with a little extra virgin olive oil it helps to give the steak a wonderful shine.
4. Butter and steak go so well together, I like to have a small slice or parsley butter on hand (easy to make and keeps forever in the freezer), a nice slice of parsley butter just add that little bit extra.
5. Want a different steak, try hanger steak, or flank steak, can have a little more chew, but the flavour and texture is the reward, best seared and served medium rare, your butcher will give you the best tips on how to slice it.
6. Where possible cook meat on the bone it helps distribute the heat better, keeps in the juices and is great to gnaw on.
7. Lean meat is good for you, though a little fat helps to keep the meat moist and juicy and of course taste better.
8. When cooking meat it’s best to start off with a high heat to sear the steak then reduce the heat so the meat cooks more evenly.
9 Salt, use plenty of it, salt loves meat and meat loves salt, I season my steak with plenty of salt and pepper and rub in a little olive oil just before cooking. After resting the steak I like to brush with a little oil and sprinkle a little extra salt for flavour.
10. Buy the best quality grass-fed meat, from your friendly local butcher.
11. Pre-heat BBQ, pan, griddle, so that your meat sears and grills, rather than boils.
12. Allow meat to come to room temperature for 10-15 minutes, rub with a little oil and season with plenty of salt and pepper.
13. The thicker the steak the more you turn, you want even heat on all sides, like cooking a suckling pig on a spit.
14. Rest the meat for a few minutes before serving, this allows the juices to settle.
Click here for more tips on The Perfect Steak.