How To Cook Perefect Steak Being a meat lover, one of the things I love about Sydney is that just about every suburb in this city has a local butcher that offers a delicious range of poultry, beef, lamb and pork.

Our love affair with the weekend barbeque will not be the same without our friendly neighbourhood butcher that seems to remember our favourite meat recipes and offer all kinds of suggestions for our cooking pot.

But then again, there are butchers and there is Victor Churchill.

Established in 1876 on Queen street in Woollahra, this original premises was founded by James Churchill. His sons, Victor and Cyril Churchill took over the management of the business and in 1953 the business was sold to Jack Wallace who paid eight pounds a week in rent as Victor Churchill continued to work in the business until his retirement.

Jack Wallace’s nephew, Gary Stokes began his butcher apprenticeship with his uncle in 1957 at the age of fifteen. By the age of twenty six in 1968, Gary had become the third owner of Churchill’s and continued to run the business for forty years until 2008.

Victor and Anthony Puharich, the founders of Australia’s largest wholesaler of premium quality meats, Vic’s Premium Quality Meat have since become only the fourth owners of this butchery in its 133-year history.

Victor Churchill, Woollahra, Sydney

If you are a meat lover, you will feel like a kid in a candy store when you walk into this store. The display cabinets showcase a whole array of terrines, sausages, meat pies and some of the choicest cuts of red meats that money can buy.

Be warned, the products in this place is expensive. Many of its beef cuts are hung up and dry-aged for up to three hundred days. This dry-aging process allows the meat to develop more intense flavours. One of the priciest, David Blackmore’s full blood wagyu with a maximum beef marble score of 9+, cost $200 per kilogram.

Browsing around this store conjures up some delectable images of what you can be cooking with. Even if you are not going to buy any meat, I can assure you that window shopping in this store is a wonderful experience.

Here are some drool-worthy cuts of meat that might tempt the staunchest of vegetarians…

Housemade duck and orange terrine $74.99/kg

Housemade Italian style pork sausages $31.99/kg

Housemade pork Frankfurts $34.99/kg

Caramelized onion and Comte cheese $8.50

300-day grain fed T-bone from Rangers Valley, NSW $59.00/kg

Veal Osso Bucco from Casino, NSW $24.99/kg

300-day grain fed aged scotch fillet from Rangers Valley, NSW $55.99/kg

300-day grain fed dry aged sirloin from Rangers Valley, NSW $69.99/kg

David Blackmore full blood wagyu sirloin (Beef Marble Score: 9+) $199.99/kg

David Blackmore full blood wagyu rump (Beef Marble Score: 9+) $84.99/kg

Pasture fed dry aged rib-eye $54.99/kg

300-day grain fed beef cheeks from Rangers Valley, NSW $31.99/kg

Pasture fed aged T-bone $38.99/kg

Titania Chestnut pasture fed sirloin on the bone $55.99/kg

Lamb backstraps $65.99

Pork belly 19.99/kg

Butterflied spatchcock with a dry spice rub of coriander, fennel seed and oregano $28.99/kg

Lamb loin with olive tapanade and herbs of Provence $55.99/kg

Housemade pork, chicken and mushroom terrine $72.99

Cauliflower truffle soup $11.99 each

Cooking stock

Roast chicken

Wagyu biltong $123.99

Sauces and pastes

Victor Churchill, Woollahra, Sydney

Dry aged meats in the cool room

French-boned lamb shanks

Rib eye steaks on the bone cut to order

Victor Churchill, Woollahra, SydneyT

The store also conducts cooking classes and demostrates how fresh meat is prepared for the dinner table.

You can even download an online app for your iPhone called Ask the Butcher that would turn you into a meat expert over night. A butcher in your pocket 24/7!!

Anthony Puharich of Vic's Meats

Victor Churchill
132 Queen street, Woollahra
New South Wales

Tel: + 61 2 9328 0402

Opening hours: Monday – Friday 9am – 6pm, Saturday 8am – 6pm Sunday 9am – 5pm

~~~~~~~~O~~~~~~~~

How to cook perfect steak at home

Grass fed rib-eye from Rangers Valley

Cooking a good steak is not difficult at all. I find that a beautiful piece of beef steak is as much a joy to cook as it is to eat.

As much as I have read the techniques used by different chefs to try and dish out a “perfect” steak, I prefer to stick to some basic ones which I am comfortable with.

Grass fed rib-eye from Rangers Valley $55.99/kg

We decide to try a few choice cut from Victor Churchill and these steaks turned out to be spectacular in terms of an intense, beefy flavour.

Grass fed versus grain fed? Many meat lovers say that grass fed has more flavour intensity in the meat although grain fed is more tender depending on the type of cut.

Searing a grass fed rib-eye from Rangers Valley

Here are some simple steps which I follow to ensure a perfect steak every time.

For this particular rib-eye, I started by standing the steak on its edge to caramelize the layer of fat at the bottom.

How to cook perfect steak at home

Depending on the cut of meat, choose one which is fairly thick (2 – 3 cm). This will allow the steak to caramalized on the outside and minimise the chance of overcooking. Do not use thin cuts of meat as it will just cook through and become tough and chewy.

If you are cooking the steak on a pan, it is essential to use a heavy, cast iron pan because they conduct very high heat and cooks the meat evenly. Do not use light, thin base pans as these will only overcook your steak on the outside, leaving the inside raw.

Ensure the grill or pan is very hot before you begin cooking.

If frozen before, the meat should be thawed to room temperature prior to cooking. Do not season with salt as this causes the juices to draw out and will reduce the moisture in the meat.

When the grill or pan is very hot, brush the meat with some olive oil and gently place it onto the cooking surface.

For this particular piece of rib-eye steak, I did not use any oil at all because the fat content is enough to render oil from the cooking process. Holding the meat with a pair of thongs, I seared it on the edge where there is a thick layer of fat to caramelize this edge and to render the fat from the meat onto the pan for about a minute. Only then, I placed the meat onto the searing hot pan to let it cook on one side.

Sprinkle salt over the meat as it is cooking.

Always use a pair of thongs to handle the steak and when the meat is brown and sealed on one side, turn it over to cook the other side.

I use the “tip of finger to thumb guide” to gauge the level of cooking for the steak. Gently place tip of finger against the tip of your thumb and the firmness of the meaty part at the base of your thumb will give you an indication of the steak when cooked:

Blue: Ensure pan is smoking with a teaspoon of olive oil and sear for 2 minutes on each side
Rare: index finger to thumb
Medium rare: middle finger to thumb
Medium: ring finger to thumb
Well done: last finger to thumb

For a 300 – 400gm piece of steak on medium heat, cook for approximately 3 – 4 minutes on each side for a medium rare steak. After searing on each side, the steak should feel rare to the touch, using the guide above.

After searing the steak on both sides, put the entire pan with the steak into a 200 degree Celcuis oven for about 5 – 8 minutes to ensure the steak cooks evenly. (Therefore, you need to fire-up your oven to 200 degrees Celcius before you start cooking your steak in the pan to ensure a hot oven once the steak is done in the pan).

Remove the steak from the oven and place it on an oven-warmed dinner plate and let it rest for at least 5 minutes. This process allows the meat fibres to relax and the juices to settle which makes the steak more tender and succulent.

Do not cover the steak with aluminium foil as recommended by some recipes. This will create a steam trap and will stew the steak while it is resting.

For a good piece of steak, it is not essential to eat the steak while it is still hot. Once rested, good cuts are best eaten lukewarm.

Some cuts of meat with a very high BMS such as wagyu may taste better when it is cooked to medium to allow the fat to caramelize to a crusty texture on the outside.

My steaks turn out beautifully every time I follow these simple cooking steps.

Searing a grass fed rib-eye from Rangers Valley

I used very little oil to cook this particular grass fed rib-eye steak since it has a healthy level of fat content.

Beautifully cooked: Grass fed rib-eye from Rangers Valley

This awesome piece of rib-eye only needed a few pinches of salt while it was in the pan and a sprinkle of freshly cracked black pepper while it is resting in a hot dinner plate after cooking.

Beautifully cooked: Grass fed rib-eye from Rangers Valley

Resting the steak for five minutes after cooking allows the muscle fibres of the meat to relax, resulting in a more tender and succulent texture.

Medium rare - beautifully cooked on the inside every time

The flavour of this rib-eye is intense, especially the fat which has been nicely seared and caramelized.

For the best cuts of meats, all that is needed is a good pinch of salt when the steak is cooking and some freshly crack black pepper while it’s resting.

My favourite accompaniment is a big dallop of French Dijon mustard on the side. Serve this with a fresh salad and a glass of your favourite wine, this particular piece of rib eye is truly one of the best I have ever tasted.

At $55/kg, this $20 piece of rib eye would cost three times the price at a good steak restaurant.

So dear readers, are you a meat lover and if so, what is your favourite meat and how would you cook it?

comments

11 Responses to How to cook perfect steak, Victor Churchill, Woollahra

Tina @ bitemeshowme says:

July 8, 2013 at 8:39 am

You nailed that piece of steak – medium rare at it’s best! Can you believe I knew about that finger to thumb rule by watching Huey’s Cooking Adventures? haha
Winston says:

July 8, 2013 at 10:33 pm

Dude I looooooooove cooking steak so much it’s one of my favourite things to cook at home. Hands down. Makes for such a great, quick, delicious weeknight meal too. And that butcher looks sensational, never seen one like it! Premium at its best, seriously. Now THAT’S quality. There really is nothing better than a good quality steak that’s been cooked to perfection, like you have there. Nice!
Juliana says:

July 9, 2013 at 10:05 am

Oh! I am a big meat eater, therefore I was like wow, wow and wow at every picture of the different cuts…and yes, this steak is cooked to perfection!
Have a great week ahead 😀
Helen (Grab Your Fork) says:

July 9, 2013 at 1:13 pm

Love a good steak. And there’s plenty of impressive marbling to be had here!
Anna @ The Littlest Anchovy says:

July 9, 2013 at 2:37 pm

What a sensational looking steak! I have never been to Victor Churchill, and it is plain to see that I need to make a little journey out to Woolahra very soon. I will be sure to follow your instructions when I select a beautiful steak.
Lorraine @ Not Quite Nigella says:

July 10, 2013 at 12:57 pm

I use Heston’s method and Victor Churchill’s steaks and the steaks always turn out so juicy and caramelised on the outside. They’ve got such a good range there.
Kimby | a little lunch says:

July 10, 2013 at 10:15 pm

Ribeye is my favorite and I use the same sear/finish in the oven technique as you do. Thanks for the “fingertip” chart — I always give them a poke, but wasn’t sure how to tell exact doneness. Very helpful! The marbling on that Wagyu beef looks incredible and I liked their idea for stuffing pork with tapenade, too. Another fun adventure through your lens and writing!
msihua says:

July 10, 2013 at 10:40 pm

Oh how the Boy would love this!
Row says:

July 21, 2013 at 1:20 pm

Words/phrases I muttered while scrolling through this post: wow, oh my goodness, oh man, that looks so good. I wouldn’t be able to just window shop in this store. Instead, I would walk out with a lighter wallet and a big smile on my face. 😀

My favourite cut of meat is rib-eye, cooked to medium-rare with just a bit of salt and pepper. You did a wonderful job on this steak… thank you for the tips!
Maureen | Orgasmic Chef says:

July 27, 2013 at 12:03 am

That is a perfectly cooked steak. What time is dinner?

I’d love to take a meat class at that shop – how cool.
celia says:

August 2, 2013 at 2:00 pm

I can’t believe that photo of the store – it looks like an expensive jewellery store from outside! Beautiful looking meat though!