In the Middle Ages in Europe, pork and mutton were the meat of the common people, and beef was the high-end meat of the princes and nobles.

Steak is one of the most common foods in Western cuisine, and its cooking methods are mainly fried and grilled.

As one of the traditional foods of the West, it is necessary to understand the differences between China and the West when making steak in China, and the biggest difference is the fundamental difference in meat quality due to the different breeds of Chinese and Western cattle. The main reason for using domestic beef to make steak is that the beef used in European and American steak is a special variety, which is very delicate and can be very tender without pretreatment.

Steaks can be pan-fried or grilled, but the most effective way to make them tender on the inside and fragrant on the meat is to divide them into two sections.

Taking frying as an example, the first time the steak is fried in the pan, it must be on high heat, when the surface of the beef is dehydrated and hardened, the Maillard reaction occurs, the color changes to dark brown, and the aroma of frying is exuded, and the other side is also fried to a dark brown color before the beef is browned. This stage is to create the flavor of the steak.

The second stage is to let the inside mature, and try not to make the temperature of the outside too high before hardening, resulting in too much difference between the surface and the inside of the meat. At this time, there are two methods, one is to change the original pot to low heat and continue frying, but you need to turn the dough frequently, about 1 time a minute, so that the heat slowly enters the beef. The second is to bake the meat in an oven at a low temperature, so that the heat is stable from all directions. This stage allows the internal temperature of the meat to become higher and the juices to seep out.

The time of steak frying varies according to the height of the beef, the cooking utensils, and the size of the stove, and the method of cooking steak can be summarized in five words.

One is knocking, even if the steak is to be cut into small pieces, it needs to be flown with a wooden hammer or the back of a knife before marinating. Because only in this way will the meat be more tender and easy to taste, and the flavor of the beef itself is rich enough. But if you want to make the most of the flavor of the beef itself. The combination of ingredients is essential, and in order for the flavor to be integrated into the beef, the beating of the wool is prepared in advance.

The second is marinating, the steak should be marinated in olive oil, minced garlic and a little salt for about an hour in advance. If the time is longer to marinate. It can be put in the refrigerator. The flavor is even greater, but it is also a challenge for the chef to control the effect of the temperature difference on the texture of the meat during cooking.

The third is fried. Adding butter and olive oil to a frying pan, adding salt and black pepper granules before cooking, and then taking it out for later use, not only does not cook the beef, but also ensures that the oil temperature can lock in the flavor of the beef marinade, which is definitely not an easy part for the chef to treat.

Si Nai stir-fried, this link does not refer to the processing of the beef itself, but the preparation of sauce, generally speaking, a spoon of tomato sauce with a little mustard seeds, and some coriander stir-fried. If you want a stronger aroma, it is recommended to add some minced onion to stir-pop, whether it is black pepper or onion juice or tomato sauce, for the sauce, this pre-prepared tomato mustard is very important.

Finally, there is the wine, which is the highlight of the red wine steak, and different wines can give different flavors to the beef.

The Velina Pinottagi from the Strand, a favourite of South African chefs, is a medium-bodied, dry wine with hints of plum, raspberry and vanilla, subtle minerals, and supple tannins, making it ideal for filet mignon.

A blend of 91% Syrah and 9% Cabernet Sauvignon, Penfolds St Henri Syrah is a full-bodied, ripe wine with dark fruit aromas that pair well with grass-fed beef or venison and are a favourite among Australian diners.

Ranging from medium to full-bodied, with a pronounced jam and hints of pepper and nutmeg, the Benziegmero dry red wine is so supple that it pairs well with simple dishes such as brisket and beef burgers, and is an American favorite.

Not all wines are suitable for cooking, although the red wine made from Tuscany's Sangiovese grapes is first-class, but it is indeed inferior to boiled beef, but it is a small blended table wine from Umbria, Italy, and the price is only 37 yuan, the Blumburg Sagrant Dry Red is more suitable for grilling steaks, this wine is very eye-catching, full of blackberry and blueberry flavors, and the tannins are very rich.

When cooking a wine with sufficient tannin content, it will condense with protein in the form of hydrophobic bonds and hydrogen bonds, etc., to lock the fat and aroma of the beef itself tightly, and obtain the most rich and dense taste.

Tannin, the translated name of the English Tannins, is one of the two phenolic compounds contained in wine, especially in red wine, which is beneficial to the prevention of cardiovascular diseases. The tannins in wine are usually fermented from the maceration of grape seeds, skins and stems, or from the extraction of the tannins in oak barrels. The amount of tannins determines the flavor, structure and texture of a wine. Red wines lacking tannins have a light texture and do not have a thick feel, as exemplified by Bojolais.

Tannins are the soul of red wine, and its main functions are: to establish the "skeleton" of the wine, so that the wine structure is stable, solid and full; Effectively polymerizes and stabilizes pigmenting substances to give the wine a perfect and vibrant color; It reacts with other substances in the wine to form new substances and increase the complexity of the wine. Wines with insufficient tannins are stunted and are usually light, weak and tasteless.

Blumburg Sagrant Dry Red is undoubtedly a more suitable red wine for steak than Sangiovese wine, cooking is not just a combination of all the ingredients in one, expensive combinations of ingredients do not necessarily get the best dishes, only the right combination can fully awaken the taste buds, this Sikong Yao has long known, so he is not surprised.

Before cooking the steak, the steak must first be massaged, and there are many utensils used in Western cuisine, unlike a kitchen knife in Chinese cuisine, they will have many cooking utensils to help the chef with his work, and the meat hammer is one of them.

Unlike pork cutlets, you can't use a fork to beat beef, because the fiber of beef should be delicate, and only a meat hammer can perfectly cut off the thicker muscle fibers on the beef to achieve a soft and tender taste.

Even if the steak is already marinated, sprinkle an equal amount of salt and black pepper on both sides and a small amount of olive oil before serving, not to add range to the beef, but to ensure that it does not stick when frying at low temperatures.

Heat a non-stick frying pan, add a little olive oil, put in the marinated steak, the evenly heated pan will quickly seal the surface of the meat from all sides, so that the delicious gravy remains inside, and the low temperature is relative to the cooking temperature, generally speaking, it should reach 50% of the hot oil.

If you want to get a tender and juicy steak, it is best to use a cast iron pot, compared with the ordinary so-called smokeless pot and non-stick pan, its unique uncoated design of the pot body fundamentally eliminates the harm of chemical coating and aluminum products to the human body, and makes the whole family enjoy health and deliciousness without destroying the nutrients of the dish, but it is also relatively harsh to use, unless it is a skilled chef, it is easy to use.

Spread the new olive oil, heat the oil on high heat, after it is so hot that it almost smokes, adjust to medium heat at the moment when it is about to smoke, the first side can be turned over for about 3 minutes, and the reverse side can only be fried for 1 minute, and then the steak is put into the preheated oven, the time depends on your favorite taste, in order to get the taste of the five ripe, 3 minutes is the most appropriate, of course, it also depends on the thickness of the steak.

Any kind of meat can not be processed immediately after the oven, including cutting, must be static for a short time, in order to avoid the loss of gravy, meat ingredients in the process of stationary will spontaneously lock the gravy, if this time is processed, the juice will be lost, many novice chefs only know how to race against time, use butter to increase the juice concentration of the steak, but do not understand the reason that speed is not reached.

While waiting for the steak to cool, the gravy left in the cast iron pan can be used to make the sauce, re-heat it, add a little butter, add the ground black pepper to continue cooking, then pour in the chopped basil, onion, chicken and tomato, add a small amount of water and boil until the juice is thick to get a rich black pepper juice.

Black Pepper Sauce is the perfect accompaniment to steaks, and the combination of black pepper and steak is as addictive as the combination of ketchup and fries, using the finest black pepper and a variety of refined ingredients, using a secret recipe developed over hundreds of years, this high-quality, multi-purpose sauce helps chefs free themselves from the tedious hand-making process, bringing convenience and speed to them.

When all the ingredients are fused under high temperatures, various aromas are integrated into the thick sauce, and all the charm is condensed in one point, and the black pepper juice gives the charm of other Western dishes that cannot be banned. (To be continued......)