The last few weeks I’ve cooked salmon under vacuum (sous vide) on a Sunday night.

Yesterday, while grocery shopping I saw a nice thick piece of scotch rib fillet steak and thought it looked too good to go past.

Tonight I cooked the steak by the reverse sear method. That is, I start cooking the steak in a low-temperature oven and then finished the cooking with a hot but short searing on a cast-iron skillet at the end.

I also thought it would be nice to make a blue cheese sauce with some leftover Gorgonzola cheese.

Ingredients

• Steak
• Salt
• Pepper
• Butter
• Plain flour
• Milk
• Cheese
• Baby green peas

Equipment

• Toaster oven
• Cast-iron skillet
• Saucepan
• Heat source (I use a portable induction hob)
• Meat thermometer (I use a wireless one connected to an application on a smart device)

Instructions

Dry brining

1. Last night, I unwrapped the steak and patted it dry with absorbent kitchen paper.
2. I put it on a rack over a baking dish and then seasoned all surfaces of the steak with salt.
3. I put the steak (left uncovered) in the refrigerator overnight and all of today.

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Reverse searing the steak

1. When I was ready to cook dinner, i.e., after a Group FaceTime session with my daughters, I turned on the toaster oven to about 75 °C.
2. I took the steak out of the refrigerator and inserted the meat thermometer, so the tip of the probe was deep into the fillet portion of the steak.
3. For readers unfamiliar with the anatomy of a scotch fillet steak, the eye fillet is surrounded in part by the deckle meat which has a fat cap attached. The eye fillet is very tender and is relatively lean, unlike the deckle meat, which is often fatty. Regular readers will know what part of the scotch rib fillet steak I like the best. 😉
4. I opened the associated application on my smart device and set the desired target temperature to 45 °C.
5. I put the steak into the toaster oven and then allowed it to cook until the internal temperature had reached 45 °C.
6. On the application, I followed the progress of the interior and ambient temperatures As the internal temperature approached 45 °C I wiped some Queensland nut oil onto the cold surface of my cast-iron skillet and turned on the heat to high.
7. When the application signals the internal temperature has reached 45 °C, I turned the toaster oven off and removed the steak. I gently placed the steak onto the hot cast-iron skillet and began searing the surfaces of the steak.
8. To avoid uneven cooking of the meat, I like to turn the steak over relatively frequently. I also use kitchen tongs to hold the steak and sear the edges of the steak, especially the fat cap, so the fat renders a little.
9. Once the steak had seared to my liking, I removed the steak from the skillet and put it onto a plate and then brushed it over with some melted butter.
10. At this stage, I seasoned the steak with freshly cracked black pepper.
11. I allowed the steak to rest for a few minutes before dissecting away the deckle meat from the fillet. Dissection means inserting your fingers between the spinalis dorsi and the longissimus dorsi muscle bundles and prising them apart. With a cooked steak, the connective tissue plane has dissolved, and the muscle bundles should pull apart with little to no resistance. As the Borg say, “Resistance, is futile.”
12. I placed the fillet portion into an airtight container and refrigerated it for later in the week.
13. I sliced the deckle portion for dinner. 
14. On the dinner plate, smother the steak with blue cheese sauce.

Blue cheese sauce

1. Weigh 25 grams of butter.
2. Weigh 25 grams of flour.
3. Crumble some blue cheese. I chose to use some leftover Gorgonzola cheese.
4. In a cold saucepan, begin to melt the butter on low heat.
5. When the butter has melted, add flour and cook the flour in the butter for a few minutes. 
6. Slowly add some cold milk and stir until it begins to thicken.
7. Add in the cheese and incorporate with a wooden spoon until the sauce is smooth.

Baby green peas

1. Rapidly boil some water.
2. Add in a cup of frozen baby green peas.
3. Bring the water back to the boil and turn off the heat.
4. Drain the water from the peas.

Serving up

1. On a warm dinner plate, add the sliced steak and next to the steak, use a spoon to add the peas.
2. With a spoon smother the steak with blue cheese sauce.

Tonight was the first time I’ve made a blue cheese sauce. It was a great addition with the steak.

If you make this meal, please let me know. Leave a comment or contact me on social media.