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  • 4 months later...

I have a restaurant...well had, thanks Covid-19, that made a balsamic reduction as a sauce for their steaks. It is a sweet sauce but it does go very well with a big chunk of steak. Now the restaurant is about as fine dining as you get where I live ( a bit cynical I guess as you don't have to dress up but I always rate fine dining to how good the staff are, in a really nice, well run restaurant, you barely make eye contact with a waiter, a knowing nod and they will be there as soon as they can...I mean I hate waiting. Even better is when they come past when you are almost through your drink and ask "another". Of course that is a stupid question because all I think is "why isn't it already here".

Anyways, was going through withdrawal from the sauce so I'd thought I'd give it a go. Had a muck around with garlic, shallots, red wine, balsamic, honey and it was good but not quite there.

Funnily enough, I got it down pat and all it was ( and this was after 4 attempts)

5 tablespoons of Balsamic vinegar 

3 tablespoons brown sugar

bit of rosemary (optional)

2-3 tablespoons of butter ( butter is not margarine...I can't say that enough)

Whilst you are resting the steaks in the pan you cook, add balsamic and sugar on medium

give it a regular stir, this ain't a sauce you can leave and go onto the computer

sauce will thicken up and reduce, when it is just before a syrup...or you start to see parts of the pan when you stir, plonk in butter, mix in, reduce heat, taste.

You may want to season, if you were using some fresh or dried rosemary, add it in with the balsamic, maybe a 20 cent piece size, if fresh do chop it.

As I said, a sweeter sauce, so may not be for all but if it is, easiest sauce I have made and the bugger was charging a tenner for the sauce at the restaurant

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On 17/04/2020 at 7:03 PM, Rob Courtney said:

I have a restaurant...well had, thanks Covid-19, that made a balsamic reduction as a sauce for their steaks. It is a sweet sauce but it does go very well with a big chunk of steak. Now the restaurant is about as fine dining as you get where I live ( a bit cynical I guess as you don't have to dress up but I always rate fine dining to how good the staff are, in a really nice, well run restaurant, you barely make eye contact with a waiter, a knowing nod and they will be there as soon as they can...I mean I hate waiting. Even better is when they come past when you are almost through your drink and ask "another". Of course that is a stupid question because all I think is "why isn't it already here".

Anyways, was going through withdrawal from the sauce so I'd thought I'd give it a go. Had a muck around with garlic, shallots, red wine, balsamic, honey and it was good but not quite there.

Funnily enough, I got it down pat and all it was ( and this was after 4 attempts)

5 tablespoons of Balsamic vinegar 

3 tablespoons brown sugar

bit of rosemary (optional)

2-3 tablespoons of butter ( butter is not margarine...I can't say that enough)

Whilst you are resting the steaks in the pan you cook, add balsamic and sugar on medium

give it a regular stir, this ain't a sauce you can leave and go onto the computer

sauce will thicken up and reduce, when it is just before a syrup...or you start to see parts of the pan when you stir, plonk in butter, mix in, reduce heat, taste.

You may want to season, if you were using some fresh or dried rosemary, add it in with the balsamic, maybe a 20 cent piece size, if fresh do chop it.

As I said, a sweeter sauce, so may not be for all but if it is, easiest sauce I have made and the bugger was charging a tenner for the sauce at the restaurant

Sounds great, and on pork spareribs? If a bit to sweet for my liking would you add a bit of fresh chilli?

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11 hours ago, Barrelboy said:

Sounds great, and on pork spareribs? If a bit to sweet for my liking would you add a bit of fresh chilli?

In saying that though, I wouldn't hold back on the chilli, there would be no point adding a bit, you need to balance it so you get the sweet and then the hit of chilli as it moves along your taste buds, Both flavours need to be distinct and in every mouthful.

I don't know if you eat much Thai but cooking from that region will at its best have sweet, sour, bitter, heat all in that one mouthful and you can recognise each flavour separately 

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11 hours ago, Barrelboy said:

Good points, I’m not shy on chilli either. Love Thai and similar styles and you are certainly correct in the 4 distinct flavours although if not recipe based can find that a challenge.

Yeah just with this one, if you have made the reduction, then start adding chopped chilli and keep adding to you go "that's it" and when you think "that's it", just add a little bit more. Can't explain why, I just can't but chilli seems to lose a little between pan and plate.

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  • 5 months later...

So it is Boho night. Left the good wife with instructions to get a couple of steaks so we could have steak and baked potatoes tonight. As I was leaving from work I rang so the steaks could be left out of the fridge so they'd be ready to cook. Didn't even look at them when I got home, bike ride with the kids and came back to look at the steaks. I was hungry and wanted to get dinner on quickly but there are 2 eye fillets, 3 inches thick.

Now, I'm not complainng much, the steaks are awesome but given I eat my steaks rare, I was still 4 mins each side in the pan, 20 mins in a 200c oven and 10 mins sitting before I could eat the buggers...and that is rare. Just glad the good wife doesn't eat steak well done I think that may have been over an hour in the oven

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  • 1 year later...

Nice New York Strip with some salad tonight. I could easily eat a protein w/salad 3 times a week...and probably should for the amount of times I dump a tub of cream into things.

OP was really nice with it too, Tettang is less prominent and is drinking well...can see an emergency dash for some late night cheeseburgers later

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