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hello my name is stefan i'm Donald Russell's head chef and i welcome you to
our short session of how to cook to perfect steak
cooking a steak could be a challenge even for a trained chef
but don't worry
i'll show you in simple steps and simple rules
how to achieve the perfect results
Your steaks are frozen extremely fast
with modern techniques
to lock in all the freshness
taste and nutrition
so
take them out
simply place them onto a plate
leave them in the fridge overnight to defrost
that will take about twelve to sixteen hours to do that
Before you start cooking
remove your steak from its vacuum pack
and pat dry with kitchen paper
traditionally matured meat
could have a slightly darker colour
and a slight smell when you open the packet for the first time
but you have to bring it to room temperature for about twenty minutes
by the met will bloom to a bright red color
at the smell will fade away
use a heavy frying or griddle pan to sear off your steaks
preheat the hob to the highest setting
and place the pan on top
there are two ways of recognizing if the pan is hot enough or not
one is adding a little bit of oil and once it starts smoking then you know the pan is
hot enough
or use a tiny bit of water splash it in and when you hear that sizzle
and the water disappears straight away and you know the pan is hot enough
many people when pouring oil into the pan are pouring too much just a little
bit that is enough
to sear it off
Ok, the question of the seasoning
we recommend either to season the steaks shortly before you start cooking or
what we do at Donald Russell is we season the steaks after the searing
simply because
when you season steaks too early with salt, the salt will
draw out the moisture of the steak
which we want to have left in the steak
for that wonderful succulent result after cooking
now my pan starts
smoking
place the steaks away from you into the pan
avoiding that
you might actually get hit by a drop of hot oil on your hand
sear the steaks
for about three minutes without touching
many people
use a fork
to turn the steaks or to work with their steaks, don't do that because when you break
into your meat you've just opened the pores and then you have the same as with
the salt you've just let the moisture escape
we have worked out
cooking instructions and guidelines on how to cook the steaks
in our 'meat perfection' booklet
which you will receive with your first order
look at the colour
wonderful brown, that's called caramelisation
wonderful, the three minutes are through so what you can do now to give a better visual
appearance
you brown off
the fat
by holding the steak this way
place it on to the rack
we recommend resting the steaks on the rack
simply because you will have drip loss
and if it's sitting in his own juices
you just soak out the nice caramelisation flavors you have achieved through the
searing
take some foil
cover the steaks
and leave to rest for at least ten minutes so now i'm giving you a hint
which i think most people will appreciate as it takes out all the
stress
in serving
complete a dish
take the whole steak with the plate
and place it into the oven which is pre-heated to about fifty to sixty
degrees
and you can let it sit there
for up to half an hour
what does that mean?
you have now all the time in the world
to finish the rest of your menu and accompaniments
to be ready in time to serve it when you are ready, now that you are not stressed because
the steak is already cooked
while our steaks are resting i'm going to show you know how to prepare a quick and
easy sauce
using the pan you used for searing the steaks
preheated to a medium setting
at a little butter
and braise off
some finely chopped
either onions or challots
for two to three minutes
once it's caramelised
you deglaze it with white wine
and you use approximately fifty to one hundred ml per proportion
deglaze it
bring to the boil
and reduced by half
once that's done
you use cream, double cream will do or just single cream's also fine
and you use about one hundred ml to two hundred fifty ml per portion
again bring to the boil
and reduce to a consistency you like
so
we're going to make a chive sauce
but using this method you can actually use any ingredients you fancy
you can see this is coming out to a consistency which you can serve if
you're a fan of thicker sauces just reduce it slightly more
my sauce is nearly ready
and the dish is ready to serve
I take the steak out of the resting oven
place it onto a preheated plate
as I said we season the steaks after cooking
so just season it with a little bit of salt
and pepper
I'll do the same with the sauce
adding the chive to the sauce, mix it
pour it over
and arrange some side at the sides
and some wonderful
seared cherry tomatoes
and this quick, easy and simple dish is
ready to serve
using a serrated knife
could create the impression even with the tenderest cut of meat
like you could saw it and you wouldn't get through
so use a proper steak knife like the Donald Russell ones which are razor sharp
which gives the impression you're cutting through butter
look at that
wonderful medium,
succulent, moist
and I bet if I tucked into that now I couldn't stop eating
you see, cooking the perfect steak isn't as difficult as it sounds at the beginning
just remember to follow the simple steps of thawing it overnight, bring it to
room temperature searing it off in a hot pan to your liking
rest well
and serve it with the right knife
if you have any questions or queries don't hesitate to
contact us
so what's left to do? I'm going to eat this steak... and I'm going to enjoy it!