FIRST, CHOOSE YOUR STEAK

• Fillet is the most tender and expensive of steaks, but can be a little tasteless.
• Sirloin and Rib Eye are a little less tender, although if they’ve been dry aged they will still be tender enough, and the fat cover and marbling makes them far tastier.
• Rump steak is the least expensive of the frying steaks but in some opinions the tastiest and the dry aging for 21 days ensures it is still succulent.
• The most romantic of steaks is the “cote de boeuf” which is basically a double Rib Eye on the bone served rare with Béarnaise sauce, and is the ideal choice for Valentines’ night.

COOKING

Make sure your steak is at room temperature and that your pan is red hot. Immediately before cooking, lightly oil your steak with rape seed oil (this has a higher flash point) and season well.

Place your steak flat on the pan and cook on full heat for 2 minutes (for a steak that is about ¾”). Do not move the steak about. After 2 minutes, remove the steak from the pan to give the pan time to get back to full heat, and then replace the steak with the uncooked side down for another 2 minutes. Remove the steak and leave to rest on a warm plate for at least 4 minutes while you make the sauce.

Deglaze your pan with brandy or whiskey then let it cool a little. Add a good knob of butter, cream and green pepper corns and warm through then stir in any juices from your resting steak. Pour a little of your sauce over the steak, serve with chunky homemade oven chips and a rocket salad with the best red wine you can find.

Your steak should be rare or, at the very most, medium rare- any better done than that and you will have ruined a good steak!

For the cote de boeuf cook the same way, 2 minutes each side, but then place in a red hot oven for 10 minutes and rest for another 10 minutes while you make your Béarnaise sauce. Carve on the table at an angle so you can share it with your Valentine.