‘Meat Lovers’ Beef Steak Meal

I love meat, full-stop! Yes, I love meat and I have no qualms, whatsoever, in admitting that. Its not that I don’t like vegetables, but given an option, there’s a strong (read 99.9%) chance  that I’d opt for meat over vegetables. That’s just how I am and no one can do much about it. Although, with my husband’s efforts and out of sheer laziness, I actually got to taste some veggies like egg plant, for the first time in my life and honestly speaking, I actually liked them.

Having said all that, lets get back to, yes, you guessed it right, MEAT! When it comes to steak, my preference is beef all the way. Many restaurants do serve chicken steak, and even I have made chicken steaks at home a number of times (mostly because one, its easier to find boneless chicken breasts, and secondly, chicken requires much less time for marinating than beef does), however, my strong preference still is beef steak.

After some research on the history of steaks, I came to know that Steak is primarily an American dish (I wonder why I always related steaks to Italians!), which dates back to the 1880s. For those who are more interested in the recipe rather than the history of steaks, I’d skip the details, and those who actually want to learn about steaks, here’s the link.

When I go to a restaurant for steaks and look at the menu, the first thing that boggles my mind is selecting the type of meat that I want for my steak. Steaks can be made from a number of types of meat, which very in their cuts. The common types of meat are: Filet mignon, Rib eye, Sirloin, T-bone, and many more. Most of the time, the servers at restaurant suggest Sirloin since that is a very tender meat and since we desis prefer well-cooked, tender meat, that is a good choice for us. And again, I like my steak well-done, since medium or rare-done are too tough/ pinkish for my taste!

Ok, I’ll stop babbling now and get on with the recipe. The recipe that I am sharing is my cousin’s who after trying a few recipes, settled on this one, which is basically a mixture of 2-3 recipes. And when I tried it, I had to admit that it sure is a perfect recipe!

The steak tastes very delicious as it is, thanks to the perfect marinating, but when served with brown mushroom sauce, the taste increases manifold.  To complete this scrumptious meal, add garlic breads, some sautéed vegetables and not to forget caramelized onions, which is really simple to make yet tastes divine.  Other add-ons can be mashed potatoes, baked potatoes or fries, depending on your preference.

So, finally, here’s the recipe for a complete steaks meal. Serve it with mint lemonade or any other drink of your choice and collect accolades!

Ingredients:

Steak

2 beef or chicken fillets

1 tbsp + 2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce

2 tsp vinegar

½ tbsp ginger garlic paste

½ tsp mustard powder

1 tsp black pepper

1 tsp crushed red chilies

2 tbsp olive oil

Salt as needed

Mushroom Sauce

1 tbsp flour

1 cup water

Mushrooms as needed

Caramelized Onions

1 medium onion sliced

1 tbsp oil

1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce

½ tsp black pepper

Salt as needed

1 tbsp brown sugar or honey (optional)

Sautéed Vegetables

1 medium potato

2 medium carrots

½ cup peas

1 small capsicum

½ tsp black pepper

¼ tsp sugar

½ tbsp Worcestershire sauce

1 tbsp oil

Salt to taste

Garlic Bread

3 bread slices (bran or white)

3-4 tbsp butter (room temperature)

2-3 garlic cloves (finely chopped)

¼ tsp oregano

¼ tsp paprika/ crushed red chilies

Method

Steak

• Mix all the ingredients mentioned above (except 2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce) and prepare the marinade.
• Pour this marinade over the meat and coat well on both sides.
• Marinate for around 5-6 hours for beef and 2-3 hours for chicken.
• Heat the grill pan well and put the meat in it along with the marinade.
• When one side is dark brown (or whatever color is desired), pour 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce each, on top of  the meat and then turn them.
• When the other side is also brown and the steak is well cooked and tender, pour half cup plain water in the pan.
• Mix flour in the remaining ½ cup water and also add that.
• Stir it well with a spoon or spatula to avoid lumps; add mushrooms.
• Once the sauce is thick and bubbling, take off the steaks from the pan and pour the sauce over it.
  
  

Caramelized Onions

• Heat oil in pan.
• Add onions in it.
• Also add salt, pepper, and sauce.
• If sweet taste is required, add honey or brown sugar.
• Sauté it for few minutes till the onion gets a bit soft and take off the pan.
  
  

Sautéed Vegetables

• Cut potato, carrots and capsicums in cubes.
• Boil potato, carrots and peas.
• Heat oil.
• Add capsicum and fry for a few minutes.
• Then add the remaining vegetables.
• Add seasoning and sauté for 5-10 minutes.
  
  

 Garlic Bread

• Mix butter, garlic, oregano and paprika with a fork to form a paste.
• Spread on bread slices.
• Cut in as many pieces as desired.
• Bake in a pre-heated oven at 150C for approximately 10-15 minutes or till the bottom gets light brown and the sides feel crispy on touching.
• If desired, switch on the top grill to give slight color on the top.
• Serve steaks with garlic bread, sautéed vegetables and caramelized onions on a platter.
  
  
  

Tips:

• Marinating beef overnight will give even better results.
• Non-stick pans do not need additional oil for cooking steaks. However, if the steak is sticking, you can pour little oil.
• Any vegetables can be used as per your taste.
• French loaf cut in pieces can also be used to make (authentic) garlic bread.
• Do not over-bake the bread or it will become too crispy.
• Using a red-hot sizzler for serving steaks will give it ‘restaurant touch’ with the ‘sizzling’ sound.
• If desired, mushroom sauce can be prepared/ served separately. Once the meat is cooked, take it off the grill pan, prepare the sauce as per instructions and serve in a small bowl on the platter.