Roasted medallions of beef

Wednesday, December 2nd, 2009

Served with grilled mushrooms and a Béarnaise sauce. The meat can either be roasted quickly in the oven, or over a hot braai. Serve with mashed, roasted or baked potatoes. Roasted medallions of beef

±2,2kg beef sirloin
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
2T olive oil

  1. Preheat the oven to 240°C.
  2. Season the beef with salt and pepper, and rub with oil.
  3. Heat a large nonstick frying pan over a high heat. When very hot, sear the beef on all sides until browned.
  4. Transfer the beef to a roasting tin. Roast, allowing 7 minutes per 500g for rare (internal temp. – 45 to 50°C), and 10 minutes per 500g for medium beef (internal temp. – 55 to 60°C).
  5. Remove from the oven and allow to rest in a warm place, for at least ±10 minutes. (Or roast over hot coals on the braai for about 10 minutes on each side.)
  6. Cut the meat into thick slices and serve with the grilled vegetables. Drizzle with the pan juices and serve with Béarnaise sauce.

To serve
Béarnaise sauce

Wickedfood Cooking School

Sunninghill – (011) 234-3252 sunninghill@wickedfood.co.za

Wickedfood Cooking School runs cooking classes throughout the year at its purpose-built Johannesburg cooking studios. Cookery classes are run in the mornings and evenings 7 days a week (subject to a minimum of 12 people). The venue is also popular for corporate events and private functions – team building cooking classes, birthdays, kitchen teas, and dinner parties with a difference.

Our cooking lessons are hands-on, where every person gets to participate in the preparation of the dishes. They are also a lot of fun where you not only learn new skills, but get to meet people with similar interests. For corporate groups and teambuilding cooking classes these events are a novel way of creating staff interaction or entertaining clients.

The secrets of a perfect Braai steak

Tuesday, September 22nd, 2009

Steak is one of the most popular cuts to cook on the Braai and one that is most frequently cooked badly. Follow the following simple steps and you will be producing meat worthy of the top steak restaurant. When grilling meat, first allow the steak to come to room temperature, otherwise a thick steak will be overcooked on the outside while the inside will be raw and cold. As a general rule, the thinner the steak the closer it should be to the heat. Like roasts, grilled or braaied meat should benefit from a few minutes’ rest to reabsorb the juices disturbed while cooking, and for the meat to relax thus tasting more tender. For maximum flavour, leave a strip of fat on the meat (diners can always remove fat when eating) and ensure that the meat is well marbled.
For a more elegant way of serving, rather choose one big 6cm thick piece of meat, and cook it as one piece, before allowing it to rest and then carved into strips. This will cut down on the amount of meat each person needs and stop wastage. Always cut meat across the grain which will result in it appearing more tender, when eaten.T-Bone

The best cuts for grilling or braaiing are:
On the bone – T-bones, club steaks, prime rib (rib-eye or chuck – if well matured), short rip strip.
Off the bone – rump, sirloin (Scotch fillet, rib-eye, porterhouse), fillet.

To judge whether a steak is done, for a 2cm steak, allow about 3 minutes on each side for rare, and 4-5 minutes for medium.

±250g of meat per person
Teriyaki sauce
Lemon juice
garlic clove, lightly crushed
Olive oil
Course salt

  1. Score the meat at ±3cm intervals by cutting through the fat and membrane, to stop the meat from buckling.
  2. Rub each steak with teriyaki sauce, lemon juice and garlic and baste in oil. Pierce the meat with a fork to allow the marinades to penetrate well.
  3. Just before grilling, season with salt (if left on too long the salt has a tendency to draw the juices to the surface before the meat is sealed).
  4. Place the steak on a grill and cook, turning it no more than once as continual turning loses all the juices. Allow to stand for a few minutes before serving.

Wickedfood Cooking School

Sunninghill – (011) 234-3252 sunninghill@wickedfood.co.za

Wickedfood Cooking school runs Johannesburg cooking classes throughout the year at its purpose-built cooking studios. Cooking lessons are run in the mornings and evenings 7 days a week (subject to a minimum of 12 people). The venue is also popular for corporate events and private functions – team building cooking classes, birthdays, kitchen teas, and dinner parties with a difference.

Our cooking courses are hands-on, where every person gets to participate in the preparation of the dishes. They are also a lot of fun where you not only learn new skills, but get to meet people with similar interests. For corporate groups and teambuilding cooking classes these events are a novel way of creating staff interaction or entertaining clients.