Wednesday, January 12, 2011

Black Pepper Sirloin Steak - Back To The Basics - Featured at GROUP RECIPES

After eating very light for the past week, mostly vegetables and salads, I thought I would like to make some meat last night. I went to the freezer and there I saw a package of beef. There were two sirloin steaks, about ½ inch thick and about 200gm each, and I knew they would hit the spot. I had some black pepper sauce, which I had made earlier, in the fridge. The sauce is actually very pasty when stored in the refrigerator and it keeps well. Then it can be brought out for just when you need it. I had most recently used it to sauce some crab claws I had made for a dinner during the holidays. The recipe is included below. Spying that at the same time that I found the steaks, I knew this was a perfect marriage for making something fast and simple. I decided to make black pepper steak, steamed broccoli, and boiled new potatoes tossed in butter with roasted garlic and parsley. I got all these ready in 45 mins, actually beating my own estimate of one hour.


To prepare the steak:
2 fully defrosted steaks, ½ thick, 200gms each, trim excess fat, if any. 1 tbs of the black pepper sauce (recipe below)
Marinate steaks in 1 tbs black pepper sauce, rubbing over both sides of both pieces of meat, and set aside. Rub a stove top ribbed grill with some vegetable oil and heat it up over a high flame, until quite hot. Lay the steaks on the grill and grill each side for about 2 mins for medium, depending on individual preference. Transfer to serving plate and allow to rest a few minutes.

To make the gravy:
1 heaping tbs black pepper sauce
½ cup milk 2 tbs blond roux*
kosher salt for seasoning
* Called blond roux, it is simply equal parts flour and butter blended together and used to thicken a sauce and enrich it. Heat a sauce pan on moderate heat and heat the sauce, stirring a bit until fragrant. Add ½ cup milk and mix well till sauce is well blended with milk. Thicken the sauce with roux, adding a bit at a time until gravy thickens . Season with salt to individual taste.

To make the basic pepper sauce:
Ingredients:
Largely adapted from Chef Sam Leong's recipe
Good for 10 servings, keep balance in fridge for use later with some other dishes
30g (2 tbs) butter
15g (3-5 cloves) peeled and minced garlic
15g (2 rounded tbs) red chilies minced
200ml (4/5 cups) water
15g (2 1/2 tablespoons) ground black pepper
30ml (2 tbs) Maggi seasoning (available at Asian markets, can substitute with light soy sauce)
12 grams (1 tbs) icing sugar
1 tbs pear balsamic (other balsamic is fine)
2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
70g (1/4 cup plus 1 tbs) tomato paste
1 rounded tbs all purpose flour

Instructions:
Heat butter and sauté minced garlic. Add red chillies, mint leaves and water and bring to boil. Add all remaining ingredients except flour. Thoroughly mix flour with some water and stir into the sauce to thicken.

Ingredients for new potatoes:
20 small or 12 medium new potatoes, peeled and rinsed ice water (enough to cover potatoes in the pot)
2 tbs butter
1 tbs minced garlic
½ cup chopped parsley
black pepper and kosher salt for seasoning

Instructions

Place ice water and potatoes into the pot and bring to boil. Cook potatoes till the skewer can just poke through. Drain and rinse briefly under tap water to stop the cooking. Drain and set aside. Cook garlic in butter till golden and pour onto the potatoes. Toss with parsley, ground pepper and kosher salt until potatoes are evenly coated. 


Stitch opened a bottle of Pinot Noir for our dinner that turned out to be quite a surpsrise. Here are his tasting notes: 


Sybaris Undurraga Reserva Especial Pinot Noir - Chile 


I opened and poured a glass and let it stand for  6-8 minutes to allow the cabinet chill to go off, and to let the wine breathe a bit. Great varietal nose, immediately attractive. I quickly poured the second glass for Quaypo and returned to the tasting. This bottle had been a dinner gift from friends during the holidays and I was unfamiliar with it. In the glass it displayed the classic red ruby color of a pinot noir. The wine had very round tannins that were soft on the palate. Rich blackberry with a finish closer to sweet ripe dark cherry but velvety throughout. I was really surprised by this one and hope I can find more. At approximately $18 dollars it is a bargain. It is a terrific wine for attracting new initiates to the glories of red wine. We had, in the past, thought not to add wine tasting notes to the dishes my lovely wife makes. But this one was exceptional.

24 comments:

  1. Ooo...black pepper sauce is the perfect way to have that meat (lucky find!)

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  2. so yummy...and your pics are wonderful, Im hungry now:)

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  3. We don't eat beef but lamb. Such an appetizing platter! :D

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  4. Mmmmm that is so mouth watering. Diane

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  5. This is a really beautiful dish! The black pepper sauce sounds so flavorful. My husband is always sprinkling lots of black pepper on his steak, so I know he would love this dish!

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  6. Looks delicious awesome platter.

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  7. Belinda: I agree with you.

    David: Thanks. It was always hard to take photograph in the evening because of the lighting but I am glad the those pics turn out OK.

    Love2cook: Thanks and I am sure the black pepper sauce can go with any meat.

    Diane: I really appreciate our visits and comments. Hope you will try this sauce recipe someday and let me know if you like it as much as I do.

    Faith: Thanks. If your hubby like pepper, it will be handy to keep a jar of black pepper sauce in your fridge.

    Swathi: I am always encouraged by your comments. Thanks.

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  8. Nice recipe, and nice photos :)

    the black pepper sauce is really a good idea... yum !

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  9. That is one of my favorite combinations! A yummy classic.

    Cheers,

    Rosa

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  10. Delicious! My mother makes a version of this with green bell pepper and onions.

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  11. Yummie, this is sure my kind of meal...steak...specially with the black pepper sauce. PERFECT!

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  12. Oh, that looks good! I can't imagine the effort you took to skin those 20 potatoes so perfectly. With my style of lazy cooking, my steak usually ends up sauceless and my potatoes..oh well..lol

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  13. Thank you for describing what blond roux is. I usually use cornstarch as a thickener but this sounds so much better. I'll have to try blond roux next time. This dish looks wonderful and delicious. I loved the addition of Stitch's wine tasting note, what a great idea. Thanks for sharing, Quay Po and Quay Lo :-D

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  14. I have always loved a good steak and I have been trying hard to shed a couple of kilos after my business trip in US and the holidays...but your post has tossed me into a state of dilemma - to eat or not to eat... :)

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  15. I am going to make that black pepper sauce tonight! We had a bottle from the the Asian market at the end of our road but it's a little spendy considering how often we use it. This has me very food excited!

    The steaks are lovely too! I'm not always a steak person but these look perfectly tender.

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  16. Nothing to say than I really want to taste it ^^.

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  17. great pictures. although i'm not a beef eater, i just cant stop looking at the photos!

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  18. Wow, this looks SO delicious! Lovely photos and a great recipe. Thanks for sharing!

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  19. Reminds me of Steak au Poivre but with flair. I'm a pepper freak, I'll have to make the sauce and keep it on hand as I can see many uses for it.

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  20. The basics can be very good and I like the wine selection.

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  21. Florian: Thanks so much for dropping by. It is a delight to know a new friend always. Have a nice weekend and hope to see you again.

    Rosa: So nice to see you again and your comment is dear to me.

    yummychunklet: I am sure the addition of green bell pepper and onion will enhance the taste. You mum knows best!

    Juliana: Thanks for your visit and your comment. Do drop by again.

    My dear lequan: You are most welcome. I am glad the info on the blond roux is useful to you. Once you use this to thicken your gravy or sauce, you will not want to use corn flour again:D

    Chloe: Thanks for your visit. I can appreciate a young lady like you will always go for something fast and simple. However knowing that you will cook yourself makes me happy because lots of young people just rely on fast food which is not good for them.

    Shirley: I am sorry I put you in a delimma. LOL! How about just have the steak and then go on diet?

    Joy: Thanks so much for your compliment on my steak. Perhaps next time you make a batch of black pepper sauce yourself and keep it handy in the fridge. I am sure it is more economical that way.

    dailydelicious: Thank you for checking out my blog. If you are nearby, I will gladly invite you over to my house for dinner.

    Lena: I am happy to hear that you think the photo is good. I was just complaining to my Quaylo that I am not happy with my picture. He said I am too critical of myself.

    Georgia: Welcome to my blog. Really appreciate you visit and comment.

    Rhonda: Keeping sauce at hand is such a great idea isn't it? When you are press of time to come up with a meal, the jar of sauce in the fridge is a savior!

    Filip: Great to see you again. When is your next dancing competition?

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  22. Veronica..your photography skills on the steak makes me drool and salivates :))) I know this will definitely taste good. Have bookmarked this, thanks for sharing such an awesome steak recipe and beautiful pictures of it :)

    have a great weekend,
    Elin

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  23. Elin, thanks so much for the encouraging words. I am still learning and hope to improve further.

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  24. I too have been having a craving for beef. I made sirloin last night. You pictures and meal sound delectable.

    http://wendycooks.wordpress.com

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