One of London’s most noted food bloggers, Chris Pople, recently opened his home to Londonist to sample what he suggested would be the “best steak you'll ever have (in the UK).” Having a look at his April 2007 “Steak!” post on his Cheese and Biscuits blog, we gladly accepted his invitation in anticipation of a night of meaty gluttony. And without doubt, that’s exactly what Chris served up! So what’s the secret to cooking a gorgeous steak at home? Here’s Chris’s account of how he went about wowing us with his T-bone:
The meat was Aberdeen Angus 28-day aged beef from Whole Foods, where they dry it on-premises. I brought the meat to room temperature, and during this warming period salted it to draw the moisture out of the edges and try and create a crispier char while cooking. I then pat it dry and repeated the salting process once more before adding pepper and putting it on a red-hot (ideally) griddle pan.
The result? A gloriously juicy and decadently buttery hunk of cow like we ain’t never had. But was it the best Steak in the UK? Well, despite our openness to any potential contenders that may wish to contact us (!!!), we’re just not so sure we want to venture down that slippery slope. However, we can safely say it was the best piece of meat we’d ever eaten in a private home in London. The dude can make a mean Martini too! We gladly recommend his blog to any Londoner looking for tips on how to live a yummier life.
Also on hand for the evening was Chris’s sister Caroline, who (in addition to creating fine and “edgy” porcelain tableware) knows her way around a Béarnaise sauce, which Chris reckons consisted of nothing more than “four egg yolks, tarragon, white wine vinegar, and lots of melted butter.” Mmm melted butter. A little vanilla clotted cream ice cream with some warmed up sea salted caramel spread from Artisan du Chocolat for dessert and - wow - Londonist had a scrumptiously memorable meal. Cheers!
Photography by Chris Osburn
