spork me

Rib Eye Steak with Anchovy Butter, Pea Fritters and Salsa

I think I’ve finally perfected this steak, and managed to find a steak butter recipe that I really like. I went a bit heavier on the herbs, but I made the butter according to this recipe and still have some in my freezer for next time.

The bone-in rib eye steak was 600g, and I seasoned it with salt and pepper then seared in a hot pan with 2 tablespoons of butter for 3 minutes on each side, until there was a dark crust on the outside. When the pan starts to smoke, add a touch of olive oil.

Pop that into the oven at 175C/325F for 15 minutes until the internal temperature comes up to 48C. Take it out of the oven and let rest on a plate until the temperature is 52C (medium rare).

I served this with a recipe from Jamie Oliver’s app. I’ve made pea fritters before but usually not with this sort of batter. It was much nicer actually, but I kicked his up with a bit of hot sauce and lemon zest in the batter.

Drunken British Bucket Turkey

Or otherwise known as Orange Bourbon Tea Brined Turkey roasted with Molasses Bourbon Orange Butter.

Just… wow.

Anyway, follow the directions here for the brine, then follow these easy steps to inject your turkey full of goodness to bake.

Ingredients:

Brined turkey
1 stick of butter
Zest and juice of 1 orange
1/4 cup bourbon
1/4 cup molasses
Cayenne pepper
Salt
2 springs of rosemary
2 bay leaves

Put the butter, orange zest, half the orange juice, bourbon, molasses, cayenne pepper, and salt in a blender. This works better if the butter is at room temperature, but whatever. Blend. It may not combine entirely, but that’s ok. Refrigerate it for a bit if you need to.

Make a pocket under the turkey skin, and mash the butter mixture all up in there. Put 1 bay leaf and 1 sprig of rosemary on each side, over the breast. Squeeze the remaining orange juice over the skin, and season the outside, and the cavity of the bird, with salt and pepper. Stuff the orange rind into the cavity, and bake for however long a bird of the size you have needs to bake. Cover it for the first 3/4 then remove the cover for the last 1/4. Let it rest for 30 minutes, covered, before serving.

Rosemary and Pancetta Scotch Fillet Roast, with Roasted Mushrooms and Garlic

If you buy this roast pre-tied, this is dead easy to make. You could tie it yourself, but why bother.

Ingredients:

1 scotch fillet roast, 1kg
7-8 pancetta strips (enough to cover the outside)
1/4 bunch of rosemary
4 tbsp butter
1 packet of oyster mushrooms
Half a bulb of garlic, woody ends chopped off but skins on and separated
Olive oil, salt and pepper

Preheat the oven to 200C / 375F. Rub the meat with olive oil, salt, and pepper. Remove leaves off all but one sprig of rosemary, and rub into the meat as well. Slip the pancetta in a single layer over the top and sides of the meat, containing the rosemary underneath.

In an oven proof dish, toss the garlic and mushrooms with a bit of olive oil, salt and pepper. Place 2 tbsp butter in the center of the pan, the roast on top, the last sprig of rosemary, and then the last 2 tbsp butter on that. Bake for 30 minutes, and remove from oven for about 5-10 minutes and let rest in the pan. This produced a medium roast, so adjust to your liking.

Steak and Green Beans

Thanks to bad daytime television, I figured out a superior way to cook a steak. I only had about 30 minutes to marinate this, and I just rubbed a bit of salt and pepper on it, and grilled for 2 minutes on each side on a cast iron indoor grill pan on the highest heat possible (a flat pan will work too). Add a few tablespoons of butter to the pan and flip the steaks onto it, for 1 more minute on each side to finish. Let rest for 5 minutes on a plate and serve with sauteed green beans with garlic. It was actually one of the best steaks I’ve had and it took zero prep. Go, butter!

Cayenne and Brown Sugar Brined Turkey

Usually I baste my turkey’s in alcohol, but I went for a far more simple version this year that came out really moist (isn’t that word awful?) and amazing. Check out the recipe here; the only thing I changed was I went a step further and inserted some butter and rosemary under the skin to add more flavor to the bird since I was lacking a turkey baster. Big thumbs up.

Sirloin Steak with Sage Roasted Carrots and Mushrooms and Sage Burnt Butter Sauce

When it’s dark, a lot of times the pictures I take don’t really do the food justice. This is one of those circumstances - this was amazing, but the picture is fairly lackluster. I’ve thought about lighting it, but as we’re headed into summer and it’s light out later, I’m hoping this will resolve itself, at least temporarily, without heavy equipment.

Ingredients:

2 sirloin steaks, seasoned in salt pepper and olive oil
4 carrots, cut in half lengthwise
2 portabello mushrooms, sliced
1/4 cup diced sage + 2-3 tbsp butter (for the carrots)
10 whole sage leaves + 2 tbsp butter (for the burnt butter)
Salt and pepper
Some greens… I had some leftover kale, or you could steam spinach

Melt the butter (for the carrots) on the stove in an ovenproof pan, toss in the carrots, mushrooms, and chopped sage and coat the mushrooms well. Season with salt and pepper and bake for 20-30 minutes at 200C / 375F, stirring once.

Grill the steak on a hot, hot barbeque for 3 minutes on each side. Pull off and let rest, covered with foil, for 5 minutes while you make the sauce.

In a hot pan, melt butter and add sage leaves, on medium high, for 5 minutes. Season with a bit of salt and pepper and stir frequently until the leaves are pretty charred. Spoon on top of the steak and serve with veggies.

Grilled Aged T-Bone with Red Wine Butter, Roasted Fennel and Garlic Green Beans

This, seriously, is the best steak I’ve ever eaten in my life. It helped it was aged beef from Victor Churchill, it helped that it was perfectly cooked on the barbeque, but what did it was the red wine butter. Oh. My. God.

Ingredients (red wine butter):

4 tbsp butter
2 anchovies (really, really worth it, even if you “hate anchovies”)
1/4 cup red wine
2 cloves garlic
Salt and pepper

Toss all the ingredients in a food processor and blend. Toss into a saucepan on low heat, and cook at a very, very low simmer for about 10-15 minutes, until everything is combined. Pop into a container and either put in the fridge or freezer, depending on how much time you have before dinner. Mine didn’t set for dinner, but I’ve got some tasty looking leftover in the fridge.

Ingredients (steak and veggies):

2 T-bone steaks, rubbed in chopped fresh sage, salt and pepper, for at least an hour
1 fennel bulb, stalks removed and cut in half
A couple handfuls of green beans
2 garlic cloves, diced
Salt, pepper, and olive oil

Season the fennel with salt, pepper and a drizzle of oil. Pop under the grill in a hot oven for 25-30 minutes

Heat the barbeque to high for about 15-20 minutes before you start. Start the green beans, sauteing with garlic, a couple tablespoons of oil, salt and pepper. If you have thyme or some other fresh herbs, toss them in. Hell, toss in some bacon. Cook them for about 15 minutes until they’re tender.

Remove as much of the rub from the steaks as you can, and drizzle a bit of oil on. Pop them on the grill for 3 minutes on each side (if they’re super thick steaks, maybe 4 on one side). Put them on a plate, cover in foil, and let rest for 5-10 minutes while you finish the beans. (Note: start the beans and the steak at the same time, if you haven’t done the math already)

Serve a healthy tablespoon of the butter on the steak (and maybe the fennel, once you realize how awesome this butter is), and eat the crap out of it.

Sage Roasted Pork with Fennel Marmalade and Roasted Tomatoes

This was a great Sunday roast with plenty of leftovers for sandwiches the next day. The fennel marmalade made a really nice spread, which I based off this New York Times recipe, and I served with some roasted tomatoes.

Ingredients (roast):

1 kg pork scotch fillet roast
1/4 cup chopped fresh sage
3 tbsp fennel seeds
1 onion, diced
3/4 cup chicken stock
Salt and pepper to taste
2 tbsp butter

Preheat oven to 180C / 325F. Melt butter in a saucepan, rub pork with sage, fennel seeds, salt and pepper (may need a tablespoon of olive oil to get it to stick) and brown on all sides. Get the fat on the top mostly cooked until it’s getting crispy… it’s going to spit like crazy, so be careful!

Pop in a roasting pan with a lid, fatty side up, with the remaining ingredients. Bake for an hour with the lid on, and then 20 minutes with the lid off. Pull out of the oven to rest, and remove the fat on the top. Place fat in a pan under the grill and bake until it forms a nice crackling.

Ingredients (fennel marmalade)

2 tbsp olive oil
1 leek, sliced
1 fennel bulb, in very thin slices
2 garlic cloves, diced
1 chili, sliced
Dash of nutmeg
2 tbsp brown sugar
Salt and pepper to taste
Juice of half a lemon

Put everything in a hot pan but the lemon, and cook on medium for about 5 minutes, before covering and cooking on low for 40 minutes, stirring occasionally until it looks like the fennel has melted. Add the lemon and cook for a couple minutes. Serve hot or cold.