All recipes serve four unless otherwise stated
BARBECUED WHOLE FILLET OF BEEF, ROQUEFORT BUTTER
(serves eight)
Although I expressed some reservations about this cut in my introduction, there is undoubtedly good eating in it, particularly when the whole fillet is cooked. It's better to trim off the tail end and cook it separately.
1 fillet steak weighing about 1.5kg
2 fat garlic cloves cut in half
3 tbsp white wine vinegar
olive oil
1 onion, peeled and finely sliced
1 tbsp roughly chopped thyme
250g unsalted butter, softened
250g Roquefort
1 garlic clove, crushed
Tabasco to taste
half bunch flat parsley
Rub the meat gently with the cut sides of two of the garlic cloves and then chop whatever garlic is left from these two cloves. Combine the meat with the vinegar, four tablespoons of olive oil, the onion and thyme. Season the meat well with pepper and turn it, using your hands, in this mixture for five minutes. Cover with clingfilm and set aside for a few hours - overnight in the fridge is even better.
Combine all the butter, half the Roquefort, the remaining garlic clove and a few drops of Tabasco. Beat this until it is completely homogenised.
Pick the parsley and blanch the leaves for five seconds in boiling water. Refresh it in cold water, dry and chop it coarsely. Beat the parsley into the butter mixture. Crumble the remaining Roquefort and fold into the butter mixture. Roll this up in a tube, cover with cling film and chill. It will keep for several days, and the leftovers can be used with other grilled meat (or on toast).
Remove both the meat and the butter from the fridge at least an hour before cooking.
Chargrill the meat on a preheated barbecue until well coloured. Transfer it to a hot oven and continue cooking for a further 15 minutes. Remove it and set aside to rest. Serve with slices of the Roquefort butter on top and some new potatoes, or better still, chips.
STEAK SANDWICH
For those readers - and there are quite a few - more than a little sniffy about hamburgers (letters poured in following an article mentioning the same last year) a steak sandwich is a good idea for Saturday lunch, particularly if the barbecue is fired up
4 slices of rump steak (weighing 175g approx)
1 French stick, sliced lengthways
handful lettuce leaves
bunch coriander
1 tbsp sesame oil
lots of butter
1 garlic clove, finely chopped and crushed with salt
1 tsp finely chopped ginger
1 tbsp light soy sauce
2 tbsp vegetable oil
juice of half a lemon
Combine the steak with the last five ingredients, toss well and set this aside for an hour, or even better two. Brush off the marinade, season the meat with salt and pepper, and grill or barbecue for two or three minutes each side. Butter the bread and fill with the meat, lettuce, coriander and a drizzle of sesame oil.
HAND-CUT STEAK TARTARE
Not everyone's cup of protein, but to those of us who are keen, this is one of the best ways with beef. Some cooks mince all the ingredients together, but I'm more for allowing each diner to garnish their portion as they wish. It provides variety and a certain dynamic in a dish that can become monotonous.
700g best rump steak
4 very fresh organic egg yolks
1 small red onion, peeled and finely chopped
4 tsp good quality capers (the ones in balsamic vinegar are among the best)
8 small gherkins, sliced lengthways
8 anchovy fillets, finely chopped
1 tbsp finely chopped parsley
To serve: Dijon mustard, Worcestershire sauce, Tabasco
Finely chop the steak. This is a bit laborious, but far better than blitzing it in a blender. Divide the meat into portions on four plates. Make a little dimple in the middle and set an egg yolk in the hollow. Arrange a pile of onion, capers, gherkins and anchovy fillets around each one. Sprinkle the chopped parsley on top and season each plate with salt and pepper.