How I Prepare Steak

Both the Dutchman and I love red meat. It's unhealthy but we don't care. When we go out, we generally order steak (if there's a choice between fish and beef). In general, fish in The Netherlands tend to be uhm.. un-fresh which is weird when The Netherlands does have a coast or maybe I'm just spoilt from all the still-gasping-when-you-buy-them fish in Malaysia.

We (or rather I) also cook steak quite often. There are generally 3 kinds of steak at the supermarket- normal, organic/biological and premium. The best place to buy meat is obviously the butcher's but it is most times, more expensive and as a foreign person, it is difficult to find a really good butcher's. I actually found a great one along Steenstraat but it's organic and very expensive. I once paid over 14 euros for 8 drumsticks (at the supermarket, they'd cost less than 3 euros). The cost makes it unfeasible for normal dinners.

The premium range was on sale last week and I bought a pack of entrecotes (2 pieces). Entrecote's are easily identified by the thick slab of fat. I'm no expert when it comes to cuts of beef so I googled. Apparently, entrecotes could be sirloins or rib-eyes but strangely, the supermarket actually has separate packaging for rib-eyes and sirloins so I have no clue exactly which cut the ones I bought are. All cost the same per kg (22.90 euro). Premium steaks (termed "biefstuk" or beef steaks are slightly cheaper). The premium steaks from this supermarket are ripened for at least 28 days.

To cook a steak, you need to pat them dry. Then, heat up your pan and add in a lot of butter. Let it melt and froth. It's ready to receive your steak when the butter has turned to a clear brown-ish colour and isn't sizzling (although the heat is turned up high).

Then, put in your steak and leave it on each side at high heat for 1-2 minutes per side.

Then,lower the heat for an additional 2 minutes on each side. This will give you medium steaks (this would obviously depend on how thick your steaks are).

I do not usually serve steak with gravy/ jus unless it's a bad cut of meat or if I accidently overcook it.

Lekker;)