COOKING TO PERFECTION
To help you cook your Stockton & Stratton meat to perfection, we’ve set out some handy guidelines below –
GUIDELINES FOR STEAKS1) You don’t need to tenderise our steaks – they’re perfectly tender already because the meat is properly hung.
2) Rub a little oil into both sides of the steak. You can use whatever oil you like, but we suggest you don’t use expensive extra virgin olive oil – the flavour is lost during heating. Instead, try a good sunflower oil, which is stable under heating. This means you won’t get any off flavours developing, and the pan won’t smoke.
3) Grate some black pepper (but not salt!) onto each side. The oil coating helps the seasoning stick.
Don’t put salt on before cooking, as it can draw the moisture out of the steak. Adding pepper before cooking is fine, as it doesn’t affect the juices in the meat, and the heat of cooking enhances the pepper flavour.
4) Preheat a solid frying pan over a medium heat. Place the steak in the pan, let it cook for a minute or so and then turn it gently onto the other side. This seals both sides of the steak before it really gets cooking.
5) As we all know, there’s no right or wrong way to cook steak - it’s a matter of personal preference. But we think the flavour of the meat really comes through if you don’t cook it for too long. About 6 minutes per side should be enough.
6) Finally, the last thing to do is… NOTHING! Never serve it straight out of the pan. Let your steak rest somewhere warm for at least 5 minutes before doing anything with it. During this time the meat fibres will relax, reabsorb some of the juices and the temperatures will even out throughout the meat. You can add salt to your steak at this point, if you wish.
A good way to organise this is to cook the steak first, and then prepare the salad or vegetables. By the time you’ve done this, the steak will be properly rested.