Monday, March 21, 2022

Steak with Garlic Butter


 

Hey everybody, Cooking a great steak is surprisingly quick and not too difficult if you follow a few simple rules: oil the steak, not the pan; buy a great-quality steak to begin with; and make sure your pan is really hot. This recipe gives you the full step-by-step treatment and it's served with a delicious garlic butter. You can buy ready-made garlic butter to shave off even more time.


Cooking a steak well is surprisingly easy. Buy good meat and follow a few basic rules, and you’ll be rewarded with something special. The garlic butter recipe will make more than you need for two so keep the leftovers wrapped in the refrigerator for a week, or in the freezer for a month. 

 Don't Sweat The Technique: Always take the steak out of the refrigerator at least 30 minutes before cooking. The thickness of steak is more important than its weight: a thinner steak will cook more quickly than a thicker steak. Remember you can’t undo an overcooked steak, but you can always put an undercooked steak back in the pan.

INGREDIENTS:

1 clove of garlic 

1 handful fresh flat-leaf parsley 

50 g unsalted butter, softened 

0.2 tsp salt 

2 sirloin steaks, about 2cm (1 inch) thick, at room temperature 

1 tsp vegetable or sunflower oil 

1 pinch salt and pepper


DIRECTIONS:


Step-by-step 

Make the garlic butter first. Crush the garlic and finely chop the parsley. Put these into a small bowl. Add the butter, 1⁄4 teaspoon salt and season with pepper, then mix well with a fork. 

Unroll a sheet of plastic wrap (clingfilm) onto the work surface. Spoon the butter onto the plastic wrap in a rough rectangle shape. Roll the wrap around the butter, then twist the ends to make a tight cylinder. Chill in the freezer for 10 minutes, until firm (or for longer in the refrigerator, depending on how much time you have). 

While the butter is chilling, cut any excess fat off the steak (too much will just cause the kitchen to get smoky), leaving a layer about 5mm (0.2 inch) thick. Cut into this fat edge with a pair of kitchen scissors to prevent the steaks from curling up too much as they cook.

 When you’re ready to cook the steaks, rub them with the oil, then season generously with salt and pepper.

Heat a skillet or ridged grill (griddle) pan over medium heat until hot but not smoking. Put the steaks into the pan then cook, without moving them around, for 2 minutes. The steak should give a loud sizzle as the first edge hits the pan; if not, the pan isn’t hot enough. Give it another minute to heat up, then try again. 

Press down a few times on the surface of the steaks with a spatula (palette knife) as they cook to encourage a deep, golden crust underneath. 

Turn the steaks over and cook for another 2 minutes for medium-rare (pink and juicy in the middle). Press down on the meat as before to encourage good colour and a crusty exterior. After 2 minutes on each side, press the steak. Instead of feeling soft or bouncy, a medium-rare steak will just yield to your finger. For medium steak, allow 3 minutes per side. To cook the fat along the edge of the steak, use tongs to hold the steak, fat edge down, against the pan. Hold the steak for about 30 seconds, until the fat turns golden.

 Lift the steaks onto a warmed plate and remove the pan from the heat. Cover the steaks loosely with aluminium foil then let rest for a couple of minutes. While you wait, preheat the grill (broiler)to high.

 Return the steaks and their resting juices to the pan. Unwrap the butter and slice off 2 thick disks. Put them on top of the steaks. 

 Flash the steaks under the grill for 30 seconds, or until the butter starts to melt over the steaks and into the juices below. 

 Serve the steak with the buttery juices and enjoy immediately.

Thanks to Jane Hornby, for this recipe.
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Food Safety Tips
Protect yourself against food-borne illnesses.


1. Use a "refrigerator thermometer" to keep your food stored at a safe temperature (below 40 degrees fahrenheit).

Cold temperatures slow the growth of bacteria. Ensuring that your refrigerator temperature stays at 40 degrees Fahrenheit or colder is one of the most effective ways to reduce your risk of food-borne illness. You can buy a refrigerator/freezer thermometer at appliance stories, home centers (i.e. Home Depot), and kitchen stores including online ones, such as Cooking.com.

2. Defrost food in the refrigerator, the microwave, or in cold water... never on the counter!

Perishable foods should never be thawed on the counter for longer than two hours because, while the center of the food may remain frozen, the outer surface may enter the Danger Zone, the range of temperatures between 40 and 140 degrees fahrenheit, in which bacteria multiply rapidly. If you’re short on time, use the microwave or you can thaw meat and poultry in airtight packaging in cold water. Change the water every half-hour so it stays cold and use the thawed food immediately.

3. Always use separate cutting boards for raw meat/poultry/fish and cooked foods/fresh produce.

Bacteria from uncooked meat, poultry, and fish can contaminate cooked foods and fresh produce. An important way to reduce this risk is to use separate cutting boards for raw meat/poultry/ fish, and cooked foods/fresh produce.

4. Always cook meat to proper temperatures, using a calibrated instant-read thermometer to make sure.

One effective way to prevent illness is to use a food thermometer to check the internal temperature of meat, poultry, and egg dishes. The USDA Recommended Safe Minimum Internal Temperatures are as follows:

* Beef, veal, and lamb (steaks and roasts), fish - 145 degrees fahrenheit

* Pork and ground beef - 160 degrees fahrenheit

* Poultry - 165 degrees fahrenheit.

Cook meats like roasts and steaks to lower temperatures, closer to medium-rare, so that they retain their moisture. It is recommended that those who are at high risk for developing food-borne illness (i.e. pregnant women and their unborn babies, newborns, young children, older adults, people with weakened immune systems, or certain chronic illnesses) should follow the USDA guidelines.

5. Avoid unpasteurized/raw milk and cheeses made from unpasteurized milk that are aged less than 60 days.

Raw milk is milk from cows, sheep, or goats that has not been pasteurized (heated to a very high temperature for a specific length of time) to kill harmful bacteria that may be present. These bacteria, which include salmonella, E. coli and listeria, can cause serious illness and sometimes even death. The bacteria in raw milk can be especially dangerous to pregnant women, children, the elderly, and people with weakened immune systems or chronic illnesses. Raw milk cheeses aged 60 days or longer are okay, since the salt and acidity of the cheese-making process make for a hostile environment to pathogens.

6. Never eat "runny" eggs or foods, such as cookie dough, that contain raw eggs.

Even eggs that have clean, intact shells may be contaminated with salmonella, so it’s important to cook eggs thoroughly until both the yolk and the white are firm. Casseroles and other dishes containing eggs should be cooked to 160 degrees fahrenheit and you can use an instant-read food thermometer to check. Eggs should always be cooked fully and those who are at high risk for developing foodborne illness (pregnant women and their unborn babies, newborns, young children, older adults, and people with weakened immune systems or certain chronic illnesses should follow the USDA guidelines. If you can’t resist runny eggs or sampling cookie batter, use pasteurized eggs. They’re found near other eggs in large supermarkets.

7. Always wash your hands in warm soapy water for at least 20 seconds before handling food and after touching raw meat, poultry, or eggs.

You can pick up a lot of bacteria out in the world, so it’s important to always wash your hands before you eat or prepare food. You should also wash your hands after touching any uncooked meat, poultry, fish, or eggs, as the bacteria from these foods can contaminate cooked foods and fresh produce. Use soap and warm water and wash thoroughly for at least 20 seconds.

8. Always heat leftover foods to 165 degrees fahrenheit.

The USDA recommends heating all cooked leftovers to 165 degrees fahrenheit in order to kill all potentially dangerous bacteria.

9. Never eat meat, poultry, eggs, or sliced fresh fruits and vegetables that have been left out for more than two hours or more than one hour in temperatures hotter than 90 degrees Fahrenheit.

If you leave perishable foods out of the refrigerator or freezer for more than two hours they may enter the Danger Zone—the unsafe temperatures between 40 and 140 degrees Fahrenheit, in which bacteria multiply rapidly.

10. Whenever there’s a food recall, check products stored at home to make sure they are safe.

You should discard any food that’s been recalled because it’s associated with the outbreak of a food-borne illness. But, according to a survey conducted by Rutgers University during the fall of 2008, only about 60% of Americans search their homes for foods that have been recalled because of contamination. For more information on food recalls, visit the website Recalls.gov






Cavier & Vodka
Courtesy of The Lady (Bug) of the Household