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chitown

Sure, dress up for me sweet cheeks..........

Marmite the Dog

Umm, ok.

flash

Timber, is it better to season a steak before or during cooking?

Timber

There is alot of mixed ideas out there about this. To me it depends on the steak. If you have a thicker cut that will require a longer cook time its better to do it after you've flipped the presentation side of the steak up. If you cook some seasonings too long, like garlic or pepper, they will take on an undesirable bitterness and they lose alot of the characteristics that made them good for your steak in the first place. And if there is higher sugar content on your rub or marinade this will also promote burning. However if you like a thin cut steak that cooks quickly over higher heat, I've found that its ok to rub the seasoning on before you grill it, as the seasonings wont really have time to burn. Another thing you can do to really up the awe factor in taste and appearance is butter. I keep a pan of clarified garlic infused butter at the grill at all times. Its in a melted state with a basting brush. I give my steak a dip in this along with some wine or other marinating ingredient before it hits the grill, then after the 1st side is done I brush it then apply the seasoning ingredients and finally one more coat when its resting before getting served. The end result is that sexy wet look that looks so great on all things good, like steak, cars and swimsuit models. Hope I was some help for ya.

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Saphan Kwai

bkkmadness

^ Getting some good tips here, cheers Timber.

Ok, maybe you can improve my fried steak as I have no grill.

1. First I give the steak a bit of a knead to break it up a little inside and get the juices flowing. But I don't damage the outside and let the juices escape.

2. Put the oil on the steak, none in the pan.

3. Season well.

4. Chuck it in a high heat pan, few minutes on each side depending on the thickness.

5. Then I leave it to sit for a few minutes before serving it up.

Any suggestions?

Timber

Sounds like you know your steak. Whenever I've had to panfry my steak I follow pretty much the same procedure. Pan frying is good if you like the "blackend" style, just be careful of what ingredients you're blackening as some are not so savory at that stage or in too large of quantities. You might try using a good heavy cast iron pan b/c the heat distribution properties of cast iron are ideal for a evenly cooked steak, it holds heat much better than ss or aluminum. A good cast iron pan is one that has been well seasoned, never washed with soap and always rubbed down with some oil before being stored. Another option is a stovetop griddle, also castiron. I had one brought over from the states but I'm sure you can find one here. Its about 50cm x 30cm and weighs 8-9kg. Smooth on one side and raised ridges for marking on the other. You just set it on top of your home stove, and voila, improv grill.

bkkmadness

You reading this lads? And no fancy culinary school for bkkmadness either, learned those techniques straight off the internet.

Seriously, I was making steak for years completely the wrong way, got a few tips of the internet, the difference was amazing.

Cheers for the further tips Timber though I generally use my 300 baht electric wok for my frying because my stove died on me the other month.

I'll definitely swing by your place some time, it looks great and I always like a well run restaurant. Good luck with it.

flash

i am all ears, can you tell me a good overnight marinade?????????????????

Timber

^Heres one I came up with tonight on the fly for some great foodie customers. I used it on pork but if you add some red wine it'll be suitable for beef.

Sweet Sesame Garlic Marinade

Yield: Enough for up to 1/2 kg meat.

1/4 cup cup olive oil
1/4 cup garlic infused clarified butter...recipe follows
1 to 1 1/2 tsp soy sauce...depends on your taste
1/2 tsp sesame oil
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1 tsp Honey
1 dash Balsamic Vinegar (not essential but adds a little)
A pinch of salt

Assemble all ingredients in a large bowl and whisk until well emulsified. Rub your favorite meat with this for about a minute then toss it in a freezer bag, combine the remaining marinade and remove the excess air. It should keep for about 3 days depending on what you use it on. This ones simple, its how I do things in my restaurant. You should experiment with this style and come up with your own concoctions. This stuff is fun. Let me know how it goes.

For the butter

1lb unsalted butter
5 heads garlic

Slowly melt your butter in a pan big enough to hold it all.

After it has melted skim the white particles from the top with a slotted spoon. This is dead proteins from the milk and lowers the heat threshold of the butter as well as adding no nutritional or taste value. This is the point of clarifying butter. It will make your butter suitable to use in grilling and high heat applications.

After skimming the butter clean (this process should take about 1/2 hr), you will notice the a similar substance at the bottom of the pan. Pour off the clear butter on top until you reach the lower stuff, which if done slowly, will remain at the bottom. Discard whats left, this is the cost of clarifying butter.

Add the garlic, you can leave it whole or peel it into cloves, your preference. Simmer it in your beautiful new clarified butter for as long as you can. Regulate the heat, you do not want to burn this. Give it atleast 45min to take on flavor, longer if you've left your garlic whole. Also if you leave it whole you'll need to strain it to remove some skin that will dislodge in the cooking process.

You now have fine dining quality clarified infused butter. You can present the cloves as accompaniments and garnish for anything you're using this butter for. They taste great and this will hold about a week. I haven't tried freezing it.

Timber

I actually used this for a short marinade and then basted with it. But the components of it will also work for a long one. It should hold for about 3 days. After that most meat will begin to break down from the naturally occurring acids in the marinade. Make sure to watch carefully when you cook what you use this on. The recipe contains honey, mustard and sesame oil which offer great flavor but aren't desirable when charred too much.

sabang

^ Isn't it easier to go to an Indian place and buy Ghee (clarified butter) Timber?

jizzybloke

I think a nice horseradish mash goes well with a nice steak!

Timber

It is but there are intrinsic rewards for me in knowing that I'm responsible for the quality of product I put out there. I started this as a way to not only make money but do it doing what I love. I have fun putting together these kind of things for my place, and I hope that I get customers that can appreciate it.

Fabian

I am really looking forward to the review of this place, sounds quite nice.

gusG

Try looking here,

http://teakdoor.com/food-and-drink/2...eak-pasta.html (Chitown's Review of Timba's Steak and Pasta)

Fabian

Oh, missed that one. Thanks.