PREPARATION TIME: 5 MINUTES (PLUS 30 MINUTES STANDING TIME)
COOKING TIME: 15 MINUTES (PLUS 5 MINUTES RESTING TME)
SERVES: 2
THE DINOSAURS-AREN’T-DEAD ‘CAVEMAN’ STEAKS
I love a good-quality, thick, medium-rare steak on the bone and I know that my best mate, Tim, does too. We cook them together in his apartment in Collaroy — good times. This technique for cooking a steak doesn’t utilise the barbecue — for this perfection you need a nice controlled environment. You won’t be disappointed.
2 thick-cut rib-eye steaks on the bone, about 500 g (1 lb 2 oz) each, trussed (see note)
2 tablespoons grapeseed oil
1 tablespoon sea salt flakes
freshly ground black pepper
60 g (2¼ oz) butter
1 garlic clove, smashed
2 thyme sprigs
Remove your steaks from the refrigerator 30 minutes before cooking.
Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F/Gas 4).
Brush each steak liberally with the grapeseed oil and season well with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper.
Heat an ovenproof, heavy-based frying pan (or skillet) over high heat until it is smoking hot. Add the steaks and cook for 2–3 minutes on each side. Remove the pan from the heat and place the whole pan with the steaks into the oven and cook for 4 minutes each side for medium-rare (see note).
Once removed from the oven, place the butter, smashed garlic and thyme sprigs into the pan. Spoon the infused melted butter over the steaks. Remove the steaks from the pan and allow the meat to rest for 5 minutes before serving to retain the juices.
NOTES
∎ I buy rib-eye on the bone in a rack at the butcher so I can trim each steak to suit my purpose. But if you prefer, get your butcher to cut your steaks to size.
∎ To truss the steaks, tie a double piece of kitchen string around the diameter of each steak. This helps the shape and thickness of the steak stay uniform during cooking.
∎ This timing will cook the steak to medium-rare. Remember that different ovens and the thickness of the meat will alter the cooking time so play around with your temperature control to cook your perfect steak.
