Steak

Tonight's dinner didn't really meet the criteria for this blog, being both expensive and so simple to prepare that it didn't really need a recipe: steak and chips and veg.  I didn't plan on posting so I didn't take any photos, but I wish I had.

The reason for the change of heart was the quality of the meat, which comes down entirely to the supplier:  Donald Russell.  Ordinarily their prices would be a bit out of our reach, but they had a special offer in the Guardian recently with a selection box of various steaks and burgers for £29.  At that price it was good value so we went for it, especially as we couldn't make it to the Farmers' Market this month.

The delivery and presentation was excellent.  Standard delivery allows you to choose a date for the meat to turn up at any time, or you can pay a bit more to specify a time slot.  I didn't have anything to do yesterday, so I just took the standard delivery (which was free with this offer).

The box is sturdy and well insulated, and comes packed with dry ice to keep the meat frozen.  Honestly: when I opened the box the blast of cold air that came out felt colder than my freezer, and the meat (which was individually sealed in sturdy but environmentally sensitive plastic bags, not those stupid trays that supermarkets use which cause so much unnecessary landfill) was frozen utterly solid.  It didn't occur to me to measure the temperature in the box, but I reckon it was a couple of degrees colder than my freezer in there by the time had been through the courier system from Aberdeenshire and arrived at my flat south of London.

There was a pile of literature in the box, including a glossy and beautifully-photographed little booklet entitled "How To Meat Perfection."  When I first picked it up I sneered a little, feeling that a booklet with such high gloss and disregard for basic grammar went a long way to explaining the high prices.  I ate my words when I actually read it though - it's a really nice little instruction manual on getting the best from the meat you've just invested a lot of money in, written in such a way that I think anyone could follow it.  That sort of thing shows a great level of both customer care and love for the product - now that you've spent a lot of money on your top quality beef, Donald Russell are willing to go the extra mile to make sure you cook it to perfection and get your enjoyment and your money's worth out of it.

So, for new cooks and for experienced-but-busy home cooks (like me) who need the occasional reminder, here's my guide to making love to your meat.  As it were.

Realistically, we're all going to freeze meat.   I generally only cook for one or two people but I still want to take advantage of two-for-one offers and bulk buys, so I split larger packs into portions and freeze them.  The Farmers' Market only comes round once a month so we stock up and freeze most of it.  Even if you've got  a great butcher nearby, nobody's got time to go to the shops every day.

Try to plan in advance.  Get your meat out of the freezer and into the fridge the night before, so that it has time to defrost slowly without ever getting warm enough for the bacteria to start breeding.  Don't be tempted to get it out and leave it somewhere warm, as you don't have enough fine control - you may find that the outside is warm enough for bacteria to start multiplying while the inside is still frozen (especially on larger pieces of meat).

You can defrost meat in a microwave but I wouldn't.  I've always found that the edges start cooking while the middle is still frozen, and the meat seems to get dry and rubbery.  It's a shame to spoil a decent piece of meat by doing that to it.

So, about 20 minutes before cooking, get the defrosted meat out of the fridge, out of the packaging, pat it dry with a bit of kitchen roll and leave it on a board.  Cooking from room temperature will leave it more tender than shocking it into a hot pan straight from the fridge.

Yes - a hot pan.  I'm lucky enough to have a heavy cast-iron griddle, which is the ideal thing for cooking steaks, but whatever pan you're using get it good and hot.  Don't be afraid to turn the gas on under it and bugger off for five minutes.  You'll want a splash of oil, but only a splash - not too much.

We had the inch-thick pavé steaks tonight.  The Manicure Maniac and I both like our steaks rare, and because my memory for figures is terrible I followed the instructions in the glossy booklet and gave them four minutes on each side.  Because I was using my ridged griddle, I gave them two minutes, turned, two minutes, then turned twice again, re-positioning them to create cheffy diamond patterns on the surface of the meat.

The booklet demands that you rest the meat for at least six minutes, so I got the green veg ready in the meantime.

These are such simple rules (not even techniques, really) that everyone should be using them.  The ideas apply to all red meat (defrost slowly, cook from room temperature, rest before serving) and just the timings differ.  Combine that with really top-quality meat, and the Manicure Maniac and I enjoyed what ranks among the best steak I've ever had: full of flavour and so tender it just melted in the mouth with barely any chewing required.