Secrets at steak

Having read one of my previous entries on steak, my 'LBD' of the food world, Papa Ockenden decided to give me a helping hand with my quest for perfection in this arena. Since road-testing his suggestion, I can confirm what I knew already, that my father is a culinary genius and furthermore, a generous one at that, for I have his full permission to divulge the secret recipe in aid of better steak for everyone. As the brilliant Sipsey enigmatically says in the film 'Fried Green Tomatoes' and quoted here in a rather less cannibalistic way, 'The secret's in the sauce!'

As luck would have it, this is a ridiculously easy recipe. You need only marinate the steak in soy sauce with crushed garlic and black pepper for a minimum of twenty minutes before you cook it. Having done that, it is a simple matter of sealing the meat on both sides in  pan and then leaving to finish cooking in a warm but not hot oven for fifteen to twenty minutes depending on how you like your steak.  This will ensure that your steak remains tender yet is evenly graded throughout. You can test how rare the meat is by prodding it with your finger; for a rare steak as I prefer, don't be afraid if it has a lot of give, this is how it should be. 

Obviously it goes without saying, the better steak you buy in the first place, the more rewarding this recipe will be. Even more so if you are living in Great Britain, where it would be pertinent to buy from British farmers who are struggling more than usual with the adverse weather conditions. This should also be taken as an opportunity to appreciate the nation's rare and native breeds (neglected by commercial farmers as being not sizable or prolific enough) which are more capable of withstanding harsh winters and tend to produce a higher quality, more flavoursome meat. 

The Lincoln Red: one of Britain's oldest native breeds of beef cattle