how to cook the perfect blue steak

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Your opinions greatly appreciated.
I struggle to get consistency in my quest for the perfect blue steak.
Which cut, what cooking utensil, which cooking medium (or should that be what,which,what?!). How long to let stand? How long before cooking to take out of fridge? And a host of other questions.
And while you're at it you can give me the best bottle of red to share with it - on a money no object basis!
TIA.
 
Top quality Ribeye (these guys are good) with a good month or more hang time, cut to at least two inches thick (or more), sea salt for seasoning (add pepper after cooking), meat should be at room temperature. Simply heavy frying pan for cooking, heat to smoking hot. Sear until good crust on each side, checking progress by colour and visible change of colour up the side of the steak. Leave to stand for 10 minutes or so in warm oven, then slice, serve with pommes allumettes and homemade Bearnaise.

Partner with rich syrah - For the Love of it by SQN 02 or Guigal La Mouline 88 if you like your wines big, or something like a Dominus 91 for a more old world style. When doing dinosaur steaks, subtlety isn't on the cards.
 
Charles Morgan said:
Top quality Ribeye (these guys are good) with a good month or more hang time, cut to at least two inches thick (or more), sea salt for seasoning (add pepper after cooking), meat should be at room temperature. Simply heavy frying pan for cooking, heat to smoking hot. Sear until good crust on each side, checking progress by colour and visible change of colour up the side of the steak. Leave to stand for 10 minutes or so in warm oven, then slice, serve with pommes allumettes and homemade Bearnaise. Partner with rich syrah - For the Love of it by SQN 02 or Guigal La Mouline 88 if you like your wines big, or something like a Dominus 91 for a more old world style. When doing dinosaur steaks, subtlety isn't on the cards.

Bast**d - I'm bloody starving now......(!)

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Top quality Ribeye (these guys are good) with a good month or more hang time, cut to at least two inches thick (or more), sea salt for seasoning (add pepper after cooking), meat should be at room temperature. Simply heavy frying pan for cooking, heat to smoking hot. Sear until good crust on each side, checking progress by colour and visible change of colour up the side of the steak. Leave to stand for 10 minutes or so in warm oven, then slice, serve with pommes allumettes and homemade Bearnaise.

Partner with rich syrah - For the Love of it by SQN 02 or Guigal La Mouline 88 if you like your wines big, or something like a Dominus 91 for a more old world style. When doing dinosaur steaks, subtlety isn't on the cards.

I'm loathe to disagree with our resident gastronome but, personally, for a blue steak I'd always choose fillet. Ribeye is my favourite cut but I think that it lends itself to cooking slightly longer, at least rare.

I wholeheartedly agree with very other syllable of this, though.
 
Edit: Oh, and don't bugger the meat about when you're cooking it. So many people seem to prod, poke, flip, turn and generally 4rse about with it which slows it all down. Look at it and judge it on sight, smell and sound. Aim to turn it once only.
 
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Yes, fillet is good, although I'd rather have that as Tartare or Carne Crudo. Sirloin is another option, I just like the marbling in Ribeye.
 
A good Ribeye every time for me. My contribution on the pan part would be to put a saucepan lid over the part of the pan you're aiming to drop the meat on - this really cranks up the surface temperature for that first 'flash'. Smear the steak with unsalted butter and pat it all over with cracked pepper corns and coarse sea salt.

Potato & Celeriac mash, Rocket salad, english mustard, bit of horseradish.......

My personal choice of wine to go with it would be the chunkiest Malbec I can get - a decent Cahors wins for me.

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Well by coincidence we had a rib-eye tonight, it was sourced from a local butcher that has had the carcass hanging for 6 weeks . the meat was a deep purple, the marbling a rich yellow and the cut was a good 5cm thick.

As Charles said: Bring the meat to room temperature but my preference is to add no seasoning .

The cast iron griddle was heated to a smoking haze and the steaks laid straight on to it. When, and only when the meat has developed a crust should it be turned.

I then also quickly sealed all sides and left the meat to rest for 10 minutes in the warming oven.

Served with a simple green salad with feta and avocado, new potatoes and a robust Syrah :)
 
I must admit its fillet for me. I try to get the pan as hot as possible - 15 or so minutes on the hob before I panic.
Tonight though, I had sirloin, which was lovely. 30 days aged from my local butcher. And a bottle of Tautaval. Or rather half a bottle. At 15% its not one to quaff when you've got to be out at 6 in the morning.
 
Some might cringe at this! 28 day aged Aberdeen Angus sirloin, 1 inch thick from a decent butcher. Savagely hot griddle pan, salt the beef, 2 mins per side, then I tickle it on both sides with a kitchen blowtorch to add a little colour and flavour. It also just puts a touch of crisp on the fat. Christ, my mouth is watering at the thought!
Thin chips, some green beans and a decent Rioja Reserva for me. Heaven!

I've had some good steaks out, and some bad, but I think you have cracked it when your eight year old son says "will you cook me a steak for my supper dad? Make it a juicy one!"
 
I'm with Charles regarding the uses of fillet. The only thing I would say is that once cooked, I would keep the steaks warm and resting for a minimum of fifteen minutes.
 
Tonight, I got in from four hours and 250 miles in the seat since 4:00pm and ate whatever was put in front of me.
I wasn't really bothered how it was cooked...as long as it was.
 
Got to say, bought Aldi rib-eyes on more than one occasion (3.99. for a 10 oz??) seasoned and cooked for about 1.5 minutes a side on a searing hot cast iron griddle pan, rest and they have been delicious.

Also bought steak from old fashioned butcher at a little bit more - cooked as per above, still lovely.

Don't fiddle or mess, on heat - cook - turn serve!
 
I'm with Charles regarding the uses of fillet. The only thing I would say is that once cooked, I would keep the steaks warm and resting for a minimum of fifteen minutes.

I enjoy pretty much all of the cow, and the texture and melt in the mouthness of a good fillet steak is lovely, but don't blinker yourself with the one cut. A ribeye or sirloin/porterhouse offers a greater depth of flavour, perhaps at the trade off of a little more work on your jaw.
 
I have to disagree about the expensive cuts, I think a good cut of rump has the most flavour, and my from local butcher, I would say his rump is as tender as a ribeye too.

I always ask for a 1in thick cut, this is then divvied up between my wife, daughter and me. It is seasoned with plenty of salt and pepper and little bit of garlic then I leave in the fridge for a few hours, then take out atleast 60 minutes to cooking.

As above, a stinking hot frying pan, I use a solid cast iron, with a smidge of oil, as I want the steak seared. I time it for 2 minutes each side and then rest (in tin foil) for 5-10 minutes before eating. Out of my inch cut, it is rear, proper spanish rear, not english rear and that dripping red flesh tastes divine.

In fact we got my daughter eating it rear from about the age of 8, she had never bothered with steak until one day we gave her a piece and now 4 years on appreciates a dripping red steak, she can't understand people that like it anything more than medium rear, if it ain't got blood, she ain't interested, I think we did well there.
 
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It must be a steak week obviously, lol.

Just got back from Wales, where I always make an effort to find a local butcher and get some nice cuts.

This time brought back 6 beautiful rib eyes and 6 fillets. 8 weeks on the hooks, deep purple colour meat, not even Marks & Spencers can offer such quality down south :(
 
My favourite cut is Onglet, muscle from close to the kidneys and between the ribs, so on the chewy side. Gamey and intensely flavoured, but that I'd do to saignant rather than blue. Difficult to cook evenly though with its slightly odd shape.
 
I take a trip to Spa Francorchamps once a year, and I must say I do enjoy a good Belgian steak. Despite what the neigh-sayers will tell you, it's not bad at all if done right!
 

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