BCEC at Home – Secret to the Perfect Steak

 

In the second of our BCEC ‘At Home’ Series, our General Manager Bob O’Keeffe wants to share with you his favourite method of cooking the perfect steak.

BCEC is known for its ability to serve perfectly cooked steak for thousands of people at the same time.  Bob has used the BCEC method in his own cooking for family and friends at home for many years, presenting steaks at their desired level of ‘doneness’ and to rave reviews!

Perfect Fillet Steaks – à la BCEC!

Ingredients

  • 4 x eye fillet steaks – 180g each, 6cm thick
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • Salt and pepper

Method

  • Preheat oven to 180˚C
  • Remove the steaks from the refrigerator 30 minutes before cooking.
  • Lightly season with salt and pepper both sides –  place a cover over the steak.
  • Heat a large heavy-based pan on high heat for 3-5 minutes
  • Pour olive oil into pan then place in steaks.
  • Cook for 2-3 minutes then turn.
  • Cook for a further 2 minutes, then roll in the pan for 30 seconds to lightly brown the sides.
  • The steaks can now be refrigerated and removed closer to the time you are ready to cook.

Sauce and simple salad

The steaks can be served with a sauce recommended by our Executive Chef David Pugh:

  • A quick sauce can be made with 200ml cream, 50ml milk, 1 tsp Dijon mustard and 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce. After pouring off the oil in the steak pan, bring sauce ingredients to simmer for 1 minute, then serve.

As an alternative to vegetables our Chef David recommends the following simple salad:

Salad Ingredients

  • 300g vine ripened tomatoes, cut in 1 1/2cm pieces
  • 1 small red onion, thinly sliced
  • 8 basil leaves, torn in half
  • 1 ripe avocado cut in half, destoned, scooped out with a teaspoon
  • 1 cup of picked rocket leaves

Dressing Ingredients

  • 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
  • 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • 1/2 tsp smooth mustard
  • Salt and cracked black pepper

Method

  • Place dressing ingredients in a jar and shake.
  • Put salad ingredients in a bowl and lightly toss with half the dressing – season to taste.
  • Place leftover dressing in the refrigerator.

Vegetables

With the weather at night cooling off, I often combine the steaks with vegetables including:

Cocktail Truss Tomatoes – place these in an ovenproof dish with a touch of olive oil and seasoning. Then put into the oven with your steaks for 20 minutes.

Grilled asparagus or broccolini – also treat with olive oil and seasoning, and cook on a shark tooth grill (square ridged pan) on a gentle heat for 5 minutes.

Potatoes – supermarkets provide a good variety of easy-to-cook potatoes, but a favourite of my Irish relatives is potatoes with butter and herbs which can be microwaved for 6-8 minutes before serving.

Cooking Plan

It is always good to have a cooking plan and the plan for this meal would be as follows:

  • Sear the steaks before the guests arrive and place in the refrigerator.
  • Take the steaks out of the refrigerator to allow them to return to room temperature.
  • Plan your time of service and count back as follows:

Set oven to 180˚C
20 minutes out – steaks to be served well done and the cocktail tomatoes to be placed in the oven.
15 minutes out – steaks to be served medium to be placed in the oven.
12 minutes out – mix the sauce and place on a gentle heat on the stove. Heat the shark tooth grill.
10 minutes out – steaks to be served rare to be placed in the oven with the others.
7 minutes out – add asparagus or broccolini to the shark tooth grill. Get yourself a nice glass of wine and wait for the clock to tick down and your friends to notice that everything is under control.
Zero minutes out – rest the steaks and plate up.