Curtis Stone's steak with bacon and mushroom vinaigrette
Learn to cook the perfect porterhouse steak, then serve it with a rocket salad and crispy bacon, caramelised mushroom and red wine dressing.
One of the reasons so many people order steak when they eat out is they're not confident about cooking it at home, but you don't have to be a great chef to cook the perfect steak. First, choose your steak. This is one of my favourites. It's the porterhouse, also known as the sirloin steak. Now, I reckon it's got the most flavour, beautiful fat cover on the top. It's my idea of the perfect steak. Now, you could go for a Scotch fillet or a rib eye, which has that little bit of fat in between the two muscles and also the marbling through it. That gives it beautiful tenderness and loads of rich flavour. Or there's the classic T-bone, which also has the porterhouse on one side and then the fillet on the other. It's big, but you can slice it up and share it between two people, and of course save the rest to put in a steak sanger the next day. So, when you've got your steaks at room temperature, and that's an important part of the process - you've got to take it out of the fridge about 45 minutes before you're ready to cook, and that's called tempering your steak. You let it come up to room temperature. You're going to get a much more even cook by doing it that way. The first thing you do is season them with salt and pepper. So, both sides, freshly ground black pepper, and then you flip them over and do the exact same thing again. Be generous with your seasoning because, don't forget, it's impossible for you to season the inside of the steak, so seasoning the outside is really important. It's also going to help to give you that gorgeous crust that you're looking for. You want to cook it on a nice high heat and then you're going to get that beautiful sear and that's where you get that delicious crust on the outside. Then just drizzle them with just a little oil and rub it all over. I like to do it this way. Some people prefer to brush their actual grill, but I like to just use a tiny bit of oil. You really don't need a lot to cook the perfect steak. These steaks are quite thick, so I'm going to cook them for about 2.5 minutes on either side. You stick it in the pan just like that. It's up to you whether you cook the steaks on a grill plate or even outside on a barbie - it doesn't matter, but as long as it's all nice and hot. Don't forget, if you cook it on a grill, then you're going to get those beautiful grill marks, which I just love. The tendency is to mess with it, but just have the confidence to leave it in the pan. We're looking for a deep golden brown, and you're going to get it, but you've got to be patient, right. Now, when you turn the steak, watch this. I'm going to lift it up. This is halfway through the cooking process. You notice I'm going to stand it up on its end and just give a little bit of caramelisation to that fat which runs along the top of the porterhouse. It's also going to render
Serves
4
Prep
15m
Note: + 5 mins resting time
Cooking
35m
Ingredients
- 200g sliced streaky bacon, cut into 1cm pieces
- 1/2 cup finely chopped shallots
- 1/2 cup (125ml) red wine vinegar
- 1 tbs caster sugar
- ½ cup (125ml) olive oil, divided
- 600g brown cup mushrooms, wiped clean, quartered
- 600g Graze Grass Fed Beef Porterhouse Steaks (about 2cm thick), at room temperature
- 60g pkt Coles Australian Baby Rocket
Method
STEP 1
Heat a large heavy-based saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the bacon and cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 mins or until crisp. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the bacon to a large bowl. Reduce heat to medium and add the shallot to the pan. Cook for 5 mins or until the shallot is tender. Add the vinegar and sugar and cook for 8 mins or until the liquid is reduced to about 3 tbs. Remove from heat and stir in 3 tbs of the oil. Season with salt and pepper. Cover to keep warm.
STEP 2
Heat a large heavy-based frying pan over high heat. Add 2 tbs of oil and the mushroom. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 10 mins or until mushroom is deeply caramelised. Season with salt and pepper. Add to the bacon in the bowl. Cover to keep warm.
STEP 3
Place a wire rack on a baking tray. Sprinkle both sides of the steaks generously with salt and pepper, pressing the seasoning into the meat. Rub with the remaining oil. Heat a chargrill on high. Cook the steaks, on 1 side, for 2½ mins. Use tongs to lift each steak and stand it fat-side down on the grill for 20 secs to render and caramelise. Turn and cook for a further 2½ mins or until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the centre reads 54°C for medium-rare doneness. Transfer steaks to the wire rack and set aside for 3 mins to rest.
STEP 4
Thickly slice the steaks against the grain. Add the vinaigrette to the bacon mixture and stir to coat. Arrange the rocket, bacon mixture and steak on a serving platter.
Dietary Information
Check ingredient labels to make sure they meet your specific dietary requirements and always consult a health professional before changing your diet. View dietary information here.
