Weddel Swift Guide to the Perfect Steak

Here at Weddel Swift with our years of experience of buying and tasting meat we would like to share our collective knowledge on this most common of questions.

The perfect steak must have both a crisp outer surface and soft inside; it must be tender flavoursome, and consistent. The first secret is to top quality meat, it must be from a young animal 24/30 months old, and of good provenance. The Steak itself must be marbled and free of sinew and excess fat, ideally dry hung aged for 21+ days. The aging process allows the enzymes in the meat to tenderise the muscle tissue and bring out the flavour. The thickness of the steak is important when determining the cooking time; each cut will have ideal thicknesses.

The meat must be taken out of the fridge an hour or so before cooking, the temperature of the meat must be consistent allowing the steak to cook consistently through. Heat a thick griddle iron pan to a very high temperature, the pan must be smoking before we begin. Massage the meat with a light olive oil and season generously with salt and pepper.

Lay the meat down on the smoking hot pan and leave to sear, some smoke will now be produced but do not worry this is all part of the process, it’s imperative that the pan is not crowded do not cook more than 2 steaks in one pan. We first must ensure that we seal the meat and provide a firm textured crust. Leave the steak cooking around 3 minutes for an inch thick steak and turn only once, cooking for slightly less time on the other side. If you are cooking sirloin it’s important to lay the meat on the fat side using tongs, so that the fat strip is in direct contact with the pan, this allows the fat to firm up and add to the flavour. Similarly if cooking a fillet you must also cook the exterior circumference of the steak to ensure a full crust around the steak.

Simple as that, and serve with a good red wine – most important.