The Best Beef Ever

OK, actually, this is rather subjective since we just bought the most expensive fillet yet for our latest experiment and the result just simply must translate into the best beef meal ever tasted by mortal man so here goes…

A few weeks ago friends tipped us off to the magic of Argentinean beef and we simply had to give it a go. I went to www.gaucho.ch and purchased a fillet at 96CHF per kilo (translation… almost $100 US). I followed the directions below to the T and four of us enjoyed a fabulous dinner with possibly the best meat we have ever eaten in our lives. OK, well I did preface this article with the adjective ‘subjective’ but our meal was without a doubt the best beef dish I have ever cooked.

INSTRUCTIONS:
Trim the meat, depending on the cut, you may need to trim off the fat around the sides since the fat shrinks faster than the meat during the cooking process and thus can squeeze the juices literally out of the steak. If you leave a thin layer of fat around the steak that is fine, just be sure to score it so that it does not affect the shape of the steak during cooking. Also note that the fat embedded into the meat is what flavors the beef not necessarily the fat surrounding the steak.

If your cut is a fillet, be sure to slice the thin white membrane off the piece before cooking; and cut both the tip and the head of the filet off so that you have a uniform piece of meat to grill. The tip can be cooked separately for a fraction of the cooking time for another meal serving 1-2 people and the head is better known as Chateaubriand which serves at least 2 people generously.

So, once the meat has been trimmed, take a brush and oil it lightly with an oil that has a smoke point of at least 200 degrees Celsius (olive oil is OK but do not use extra virgin olive oil).

Lightly season the meat with salt and pepper on all sides.

Pre-heat an iron skillet that is also oven-proof (translation: having a handle that will not melt at 300C degrees) If you sprinkle some water onto the surface of the hot pan and the droplets dance around – the pan is ready for use.

Place the steak into the pan and leave it there for a full 2 minutes – DO NOT TOUCH IT until the 2 minute timer has expired. Just after the 2 minute mark, use tongs to flip the steak and place it exactly on the same spot in the pan for another 2 minutes to seal the other side.

At the 4 minute mark, place the meat into an iron pan and put a tablespoon of butter on top of the steak and then close the BBQ lid or, using a good oven mitt, slide the iron pan into your 200C pre-heated oven.

I use a gas grill to sear the beef before putting it into an iron pan and applying the butter on top. Then I close the BBQ lid to create oven-like conditions but you can use a charcoal grill or a combination of a grill and your oven if you prefer. What you need to know is that the meat needs to cook a bit longer to reach the level desired by your hungry guests.

Here is how to gauge the time needed to achieve a perfectly done steak every time. Get that meat thermometer ready!

RARE:
Internal Temperature 51C degrees when you want to remove it from the pan.
For a rare steak, grill the meat on both sides as hot as possible for 1-2 minutes per side (depending on your grill) for a 3cm thick piece of meat.

MEDIUM RARE:
Internal Temperature 53C degrees when you want to remove it from the pan.
For a medium rare steak, grill the meat on both sides as hot as possible for 2-3 minutes per side (depending on your grill) for a 3cm thick piece of meat.

MEDIUM:
Internal Temperature 61C degrees when you want to remove it from the pan.
For a medium rare steak, grill the meat on both sides on a medium high heat for 5-6 minutes per side (depending on your grill) for a 3cm thick piece of meat.

MEDIUM WELL & WELL DONE:
Please go back to the store and buy the cheapest piece of meat available then cook it at any temperature you like for as long as the football game lasts and finally smother it in your favorite steak sauce. Seriously, the easiest way to get people that don’t like meat to eat it would be serving it like this… cook the meat nice and slow at a medium heat to prevent burning for approximately 12 minutes per side per 3cm thickness.

Be sure to have an oven proof thermometer handy so that you can insert it into the meat approximately 1cm from the surface to test the temperature during the cooking process.

Lastly, when the steak’s inner temperature has achieved the desired level, place the steak onto a plate and cover it with aluminum foil and then a cloth kitchen towel to allow the meat to rest for approximately 5 minutes – among other things, this helps to create the most tender steak you have ever eaten.

If you are serving some form of potatoes with this meal and you’d like to have a killer sauce to go with it, while the steak is resting, throw half a cup of chopped shallots, half a cup of herbs (basil, rosemary, thyme, parsley, oregano etc), a tablespoon of Dijon mustard and a bit of oil into the hot skillet and stir for a few minutes then add a cup of red wine to it and allow it to simmer for a minute or two… Your guests will be in awe…. I can’t wait to go out and buy another filet of Argentinean beef and do this all over again. Enjoy!