Sunday, November 21, 2010

Entrecote...

A while ago we bought these fantastic entrecote at KaDeWe, a department store in West Berlin.
Like Harrod's in London they have one incredible but pretty pricey floor with just FOOD!
The steaks were supposed to cost 80 Euros a kilo. But they were on sale for half-price.
You can definitely find good entrecote or rib-eye steaks for much cheaper, but make sure that they dry-aged for at least 2-3 weeks. The meat loses water and shrinks which makes it far more tender and concentrates the flavor.





















After letting the steaks sit outside at room temperature for about 1-2 hours we slightly oiled them with vegetable oil using a brush (it only requires a little tiny bit). Then peppered them (NO SALT!) and seared them from one side for one and a half minute in our iron cast pan. Make sure the pan is really, really hot. Keep it on the fired stove for about 2 or 3 minutes before putting the steaks in.
Then turn the steaks, put some white truffle butter (yum) on top and put the pan together with the steaks in a pre-heated oven. The oven needs to be really hot (+250°C). The hotter the better!
Leave the steaks in for about 4-6 minutes (depending on the thickness and oven temperature) if you like them medium rare. For medium just cook them approx. two minutes longer. Check the internal temperature with a meat thermometer, and take the steaks out when they reach 5° lower than the desired doneness. You can find a temperature guide here.
Wrap the steaks in aluminium foil and let them rest for about ten minutes. They will continue to cook, and the juices will re-distribute.
If you like you can make a sauce from the drippings in the pan. We tried a mix of brandy, maple syrup, red wine and more truffle butter. Let it boil so that the alcohol diffuses and the sauce reduces a little bit.
Finally add some salt to the entrecote.
Serve it with some bread or a nice salad.

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