Saturday, July 31, 2010

Life's too short not to eat steak fried in butter.


 Why is rib eye steak so underrated? Mention it to most people and they don't know what you're talking about. Well. It's a steak cut from the rib section (sometimes called the "Scotch fillet") and it is a marbled meat - this makes it succulent and especially flavourful. It's also way cheaper than fillet or rump.
Cook it in a very hot pan with a slice of butter. Do that thing the chefs do on tv - tilt the pan and spoon the hot butter over the steak until everything sizzles. I cook it medium rare, about three minutes a side, just enough to form a lovely brown crust. Let it rest for a few minutes after cooking - otherwise all the juices will ooze out when you cut into it.
Last night I deglazed the pan with a dash of Ponzu (citrusy soya sauce) and served it with sweet potato mashed with nutmeg, pepper and a bit of the steak's caramelised butter and a salad of watercress, avocado and fresh orange segments.

3 comments:

D.M. said...

Salivating. when will I get the nod to dine at chez lili?

Marie said...

I agree! Ponzu is delicious...

My approach is: get the cast iron pan smokin'. Season the steak (no butter, no oil, since it's marbled - just salt it 10 minutes before to draw out some juice for a crust). Sear it on one side, then turn the steak and immediately throw it and the pan in an oven as it hot as it can go (440'+C?) Ten minutes. Take out, rest at least 8 minutes. Meanwhile...you have melted that butter separately (I find it burns at steak-cooking temps). When the steak has rested, I slice it thickly, then pour the butter over.

the sourcerer said...

Thanks! I'll definitely try your way next time. keen to get hold of "cowboy ribeye" - the one with the bone. never seen it on the shelves here though, think I'll have to ask the butcher man...