When it comes to steak, the T-bone satisfies most people. You get some sirloin, fillet and crisp fatty bits as well, and all cooked on the bone for extra flavour. One T-bone is enough for two people, and if you ask your butcher to cut the T-bone twice as thick as normal, you have a handsome piece of meat which will be sufficient to feed four people. This is a most convenient way to grill beef for several people as you have one piece of meat, rather than four individual steaks. The two sauces suggested here are classic and expected, but what might seem unusual is that they are served together. They combine beautifully to give a freshness and vibrancy of taste that works brilliantly with the rich beef. Both sauces are an essential part of your repertoire, and you will use them with lots of other dishes.
Ingredients
- 2 t-bone steaks, cut 4cm thick or 1 t-bone steak, cut 8cm thick
- 2 tsp olive oil for rubbing on the steak
- 1 cut clove of garlic
- Maldon sea salt and freshly ground or cracked black pepper
- For the Salsa Verde:
- 1 large handful of rocket leaves, c 100g
- 1 bunch of flat parsley leaves, c 100g
- 8 sprigs of mint, leaves only
- 6 sprigs of tarragon, leaves only
- 1 tblsp capers, coarsely chopped
- 2 cloves of garlic, crushed to a smooth paste
- 8 anchovies, finely chopped
- 1 tblsp Dijon mustard
- 8floz olive oil
- Zest of 1 lemon
- Black pepper
- Maldon sea salt, to taste
- For the Horseradish Cream:
- 8fl oz/250ml softly whipped or pouring cream
- 2 tsp vinegar
- 1 tsp lemon juice
- ¼ tsp mustard
- ¼ tsp salt
- Pinch of pepper
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1½-2 tbsp of finely grated horseradish
Method
- Order the beef a week ahead from your butcher. It's an expensive treat and you will benefit from planning ahead.
- Use fresh horseradish for the sauce. Processed horseradish is generally sharp and vinegary and bears little resemblance to the sweet, hot and pungent taste of the freshly grated root.
- Serve the horseradish sauce straight from the fridge. It will be chilly but at the same time hot from the horseradish. Lovely. The horseradish sauce will keep for 3 days covered in the fridge.
- Chopping the ingredients by hand for the salsa, achieves a more fresh tasting result than when all of the ingredients are chopped in a food processor. The ideal with the salsa is that you can identify the individual flavours of the herbs and other ingredients as you eat it - tiny little pings of different tastes on the tongue. The processor-made version is rather more sludgy and confused in taste. If you decide to use a processor, use the pulse button to chop the ingredients and add the oil in by hand.
- For the Salsa Verde: Chop the herbs and mix with the other ingredients. Taste and correct seasoning, if necessary adding a few drops of lemon juice to freshen the taste. Store in a covered container in the fridge or freeze.
- For the Horseradish Cream: Mix all the ingredients together gently. The cream will thicken slightly after a few minutes of contact with the other ingredients. Chill until ready to serve.
- Heat a heavy grill pan or pans until very hot. You may just see a haze of heat coming from the pan.
- While the pan is heating, rub the beef on both sides with the olive oil as if you were meanly moisturising them. With a small knife, score the fat on top of the steaks to allow some of the fat to render out in the cooking and to allow the remaining fat to crisp up. Season generously on both sides with salt and pepper.
- Place the steaks on the heated grill pan, leaving at least 2cm space between them if cooking more than one. They should sizzle immediately. Cook on one side until a rich colour has developed, and if you want, giving the steak a 90-degree turn halfway through the cooking to attain a grid of marks on the cooked meat.
- Turn and cook on the other side until cooked to your liking. You will need to carefully control the heat all the way through the cooking. If the pan gets too hot you will burn the steaks and if the pan becomes cool, the meat will stew and toughen.
- Place the cooked steaks, a little apart from each other, on an upturned plate sitting on a larger plate, to capture any juices that run from the resting beef. Allow to rest for at least 5 minutes and up to 15 minutes seems to work for me. The thick, four-portion T-bone will rest happily for 30 minutes before serving. Keep them warm during the resting period in a warm oven set to 110c/220f/ gas ¼.
- Bring the steak to the table on a chopping board, putting any collected meat juices into a little jug.
- First carve off the fillet and slice on to hot plates. Then remove the sirloin from the bone and carve the meat either with, or against, the grain.
- Pour a little of the meat juices over the beef and serve, passing the two sauces separately.
