Today, we’re talking steak!

Steak used to be pretty hit and miss, for me. I just couldn’t for the life of me find a way to get it consistent when cooking it at home! I’d take this dark-red, finely marbled dreamboat of a steak, and either make it so rare and bloody inside it was practically still mooing, or totally overcook it and wind up with a shrivelled little hockey puck of a steak. A crime against good beef, I tell you! But since Jason and I take our steak pretty seriously (along with all other food ever), we decided that enough was enough. Time to get on my steak-cooking A-game!

I’ve spent pretty much a year tinkering around with different ways of cooking steak, and now, I think I’ve cracked it! This recipe here is totally foolproof, and never fails to make delicious (and I think pretty darn perfect!) steak!

Let’s get to it…

Let’s get to the nitty-gritty for a second. The steak I like best is Waitrose Hereford beef rump steak, and I always go for the ones with a nice edge of fat on them. Call me gross, but I sort of think it’s the best part ;) Sirloin doesn’t do it for me, rib eye is great but the bone gets in the way, and fillet is lovely but not so flavoursome. Rump is where it’s at! The one photographed here cost about £4, and serving it ‘strip steak’ style makes it magically stretch and serve two people generously. Hello there midweek steak dinners! ;)

So, let’s start with the marinade! In a wide, shallow dish, pour in one part balsamic vinegar to four parts olive oil, and then mix it all together using a sprig of fresh rosemary. Add in a pinch of flaky sea salt and another (smaller) pinch of dried thyme. Crush two large garlic cloves (or more, if you’re a real garlic fiend!) using the back of a knife, and then add them in to the marinade to infuse.

Put the steak into the marinade, turning it over a couple of times so it gets well coated. I usually leave mine to marinade for about an hour, covered over on the kitchen worktop. That way the steak can come to room temperature whilst the marinade works its flavour-infusing, tenderising magic! If you’re marinading further in advance, cover over and store it in the fridge before bringing it to room temperature ready to cook.

Now, here comes the important stuff. The packet will tell you to cook the steak for 8-12 minutes. This is nonsense, if you ask me! For lovely pink (medium-rare/rare) steak, all it needs is 2 minutes each side, 4 minutes total. Here’s how I like to do it:

- Heat up a large frying pan and add in a knob of butter. Throw in the garlic cloves from the steak marinade to flavour the butter, and then when the butter’s totally melted and begins to sizzle, place the steak carefully into the pan.

- Set a a timer for exactly 4 minutes, and start it the moment the steak goes into the hot pan. Keep the heat under the pan medium, and turn the steak every 30 seconds or so to make sure that the heat distributes evenly.

-  When the timer pings and the 4 minutes is up, immediately transfer the steak to a large sheet of tin foil, and fold the tin foil around it so that it creates a loose but airtight parcel. The steak can now rest and relax and continue to warm through, but won’t overcook. {n.b. If your steak is a particularly skinny one, I’d maybe go 3 minutes total cooking time instead of 4 to keep it pink.}

- Whilst the steak rests (I usually leave mine to rest in the foil parcel for 5, but sometimes up to 10 minutes), finish off assembling any extras. The tastiest spinach ever can by made by pouring the leftover steak marinade into the still-warm pan, then adding in a couple of big handfuls of spinach and a pinch of sea salt and cooking gently until the spinach is totally wilted.

After the steak’s rested for at least 3 or 4 minutes, take it out of the foil and transfer to a chopping board. Cut into 1/2 centimetre slices, drizzle with the juices left in the bottom of the foil, and season with a big pinch of flaky sea salt. Serve with sticky rice, or homemade chips, or green beans, or in a sandwich, and definitely with some of that delicious wilted spinach.

Easy as pie! Do tag me in your photos if you have a go yourself, I’d love to see how you get on! Find me on Twitter: @ciderwithrosieb & on Instagram at ‘ciderwithrosieblog’, but then you knew that already, right? ;)