Frying meat that has a fat layer, such as steak, doesn’t need more than salt and pepper to be exquisite – if cooked right. There’s one pitfall many people see: the all-important fat is forgotten when cooked. Here’s how to render (cook out) the fat while adding tons of flavour to your steak!
Step 1:
Add seasoned steak to a cold, oiled skillet, holding it fat-side down with tongs so only the fat is touching the pan.
Step 2:
Turn on the heat and hold to slowly render the fat for 2-3 minutes. Once rendered, the fat layer should be a crispy, deep golden brown.
Step 3:
Place steak flat on your pan and continue to cook as normal, for 3-4 minutes a side until caramelised. In the last 30 seconds of frying, add a knob of butter, 2 garlic cloves and 2 sprigs of rosemary for extra flavour. Remove steak and rest for 5 minutes before slicing. Use a spoon and baste steak with the buttery juices.
Steak with mixed greens & Parmesan
Serves 2
Make a big batch of soup and freeze. Simply defrost in 15 minutes for a quick and easy mid-week meal!
Ingredients
1 porterhouse steak
1/3 cup olive oil
1 packet (180g) Italian salad mix, or mixed salad leaves
1 punnet (80g) wild rocket Salt and milled pepper
1 lemon, zested and juiced 20g Parmesan, shaved
Method
- Season steak and cook according to 3 step instructions above. Set the steak aside to rest for about 10 minutes.
- Toss together the remaining ingredients and season.
- Slice steak thinly. Serve on a platter with salad.
By: Sjaan Van Der Ploeg
Photographs: Zhann Solomons
Recipe and styling: Sjaan Van Der Ploeg
