I'll never apologise for my love of all things meat. I absolutely adore steak and one of the most decadent cuts of all is the Côte de Boeuf. Some butchers call it the Cowboy Cut but I know it as something which will cost you a small fortune in a restaurant but is stunningly easy to cook at home for a fraction of the cost.
This cut of beef is basically a ribeye with the bone still attached, or a slice of a beautiful rib roast - it's enough for one very hungry person (The Hubs) or one with more self-restraint who wanted leftovers for some delicious sandwiches the following day (me).
This cut of meat is too dense to be cooked on a BBQ or a griddle pan alone. It needs to be seared on the heat, then slowly cooked in an oven to ensure the bone conducts the heat into the centre of the beef. Here's how I did it...
Cooking a perfect Côte de Boeuf
Preheat a griddle pan until it's very hot and preheat your oven to 140c/Gas Mark 1. Pat each steak with some kitchen paper, season very well with lots of black pepper. Don't bother with oil - there's enough fat in this cut of beef to self-baste. And you're right, I forgot the salt. Only ever use it when the meat has cooked as otherwise it draws all the moisture out and tough steak is horrible.
Sear the steak for 5 minutes on each side until it looks like the picture above, then transfer to a roasting tray, put into the oven and cook for about 30 minutes for rare or 35 for medium. If you like well done meat, you should be ashamed of yourself. Don't ruin this by turning it to shoe leather...
Remove the steaks from the oven, season again with more pepper and now, finally, the salt, and allow to rest for 10 minutes before slicing and serving.
Delicious! I had this for my birthday lunch twice, once on il de re, and then at home last year. Fantastic with proper chips & bearnaise sauce. Let me know next time it's on the menu, will catch a flight!
ReplyDeleteI'll give you a call, Helen (if you're not jetsetting in NYC!)
DeleteClassic post Aoife, thanks! Ear marked and properly forward to hubbie ;)
ReplyDeleteThanks Magali. I was surprised that the supermarket having the steak & wine sale weren't telling people that this wasn't a "slap on the pan" cut so people shelling out for a posh steak would end up with something horrid.
DeleteOh my God. That looks so delicious! I will have to try this soon.
ReplyDeleteOh my god that looks amazing I would eat that now on some buttered toasted batch bread with a big dollop of horseradish and a big mug of tay.
ReplyDeleteBought one in the supermarket mentioned above for an astonishing price - less than 9 euro. Chips were prepared lovingly by blanching at 170, dusting with flour, oven-drying and finishing at 200. Bearnaise required fresh tarragon, which is a shame as most of it will end up drying out and thrown away I expect. However the end result was tremendous eating for the pair of us. If you like this you should try onglet.
ReplyDeleteI actually bought another one today for dinner this evening! You know you can freeze your tarragon leaves? Lay them out on a baking sheet, stick into the freezer & then transfer to a little container. They'll thaw almost immediately when you need them next...
ReplyDelete30 mins in the oven? complete overkill, on an inch abd a half think steak i give it 4 mins each side on the hottest i can get a griddle pan then with three mins each side (turn it over) in an oven at 200c. with the important rest period it comes out like the picture above. 30 mins in an oven would turn it to coal!
ReplyDeleteYour missing the fact that she cooks it at 140 in the oven fro half an hour. That's a really low temperature and helps not "shocking" the meat into toughness.
DeleteThanks Guy!
DeleteWe'll agree to differ, Anonymous. I've tried the cooking method you suggest and I don't think it works because of the bone and the thickness of the meat. As you can see from my photos, we definitely didn't eat coal...
ReplyDeleteThat just makes my mouth waterrrr. My fantastic butcher sells this but im always afraid to buy in in-case I make a mess of it so I usually just stick to sirloin or fillet. Next Saturday im going to try it out for sure!! What temp do you finish it in the oven?
ReplyDeleteCaroline, if it's about 2 inches thick like mine was tonight, I'd sear it for 3 mins either side then 30 mins at 140c. I used a meat thermometer to make sure it was warm in the middle
ReplyDeleteThe most accurate way to tell if your meat is done to your liking is to use an instant read thermometer. You say you use this method, however it would be useful if you gave example temperatures for rare, medium rare etc.
ReplyDeleteHello,
ReplyDeletetried this simple method and I was seriously please with how it came out! One technical question, after sealing it, did you transfer to a different roasting pan or just put the griddle into the oven? I sort of wishing i did the latter as mine ended up closer to medium-medium rare rather than rare.
Hi Roym
ReplyDeleteAs my griddle has a wooden handle, I transferred it to a foil-lined deep baking sheet (to catch the juices) & then put it into the oven
A
It takes one to know one...
ReplyDeleteWhat a beautiful thing to say.....
ReplyDelete