A Steak Masterclass at Son of Steak Nottingham
Published On Tuesday 17 Sep 2019 by Sticky Beak
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The Man Bird and I were invited to something a little different the other week; a Steak Masterclass. Before all you would-be wits out there start saying “what, like it comes from a cow”, there was a bit more to it than that!
We parked up in the Trinity Square car park, and Son of Steak (SOS) is only a short stroll from there. The venue itself is a large open plan space, very modern and uncluttered, but with a great vibe to it. Son of Steak do a fab concept; the taptail, which is the Mojito cocktail on draught – get in! Wine drinkers will be pleased to hear that there’s a good selection to choose from, and all are very reasonably priced – especially for a city centre location. Prices for lager, beers and ciders are all pretty much standard, but again there’s a pretty good choice.
Josh, the event organiser, got us settled at our table and a lovely young lady brought out some Olives and Chilli puffs for us to nibble on whilst the other guests were arriving. Amir, the culinary development Chef was in charge of the cuts being cooked and served, and Jim from Fairfax Meadow (the meat supplier to SOS) was the man with the mad knife skills i.e. the master butcher.
Before the practical demo took place, Jim told us that all SOS’s beef comes from the UK and Eire, from Steers (castrated males) and Heifers (barren females) under the age of 30 months. All these cows have to do is munch as much good grass as they can over two summers and then finish off by eating rich grain – known as “softening off”. The reason for this process and age limit is that the beef is in its prime and hasn’t been subjected to hormones that make it tough. See, learning something already, aren’t you?
Specific cattle breeds are chosen for their muscle and fat coverage, both of which contribute to the making of a tasty steak. The slaughter process is also kept quiet and calm, again to minimise any surge of stress hormones, which affect the flavour and texture of the muscle. Have I not always said that you can tell when an animal has had a good life (and death)? Jim just backed me up. The meat is aged for 7-10 days on the bone and then for a further 28 days in vacuumed conditions; no rushing a good steak I’m afraid. Then the meat is all hand cut, no machinery for Son of Steak’s choice cuts.
Moving on, Jim took us through the main characteristics of some of the more popular steaks on offer at SOS; namely the Picanha (from just above the tail), Sirloin, Flatiron, and Ribeye. The Picanha comes from a very active muscle, so it’s nice and lean with fat on its edge only; this is best cooked medium so that the fat is softened, thereby increasing the flavour of the cut. Amir passed slices around for us to try and it was a really tasty bit of beef with a dense (not tough) texture; or a nice “chew time” as I would say!
We all sat mesmerised as Jim seamlessly cut flatiron steaks from the feather blade of beef. This cut is from the cows’ front end, just inside the shoulder blade. In my opinion, Flatiron steaks aren’t as forceful in flavour as other cuts but that isn’t to say they’re tasteless; the thing about a flatiron steak is that it doesn’t have its own fat (flavour), so needs basting in butter to keep it moist. It does partner rather well with SOS’s beef dripping sauce though!
Normally His Nibs and I are a bit “meh” when it comes to Sirloin, most we’ve come across have been a bit fattier than we’d like and not especially flavoursome. Son of Steak blew this out of the water, their Sirloin was amazing! Sirloin is best cooked medium/rare (rare at a push) and Amir had the team cook the Sirloin steak so it had got that dark “meat candy” on its outer, you know, the charred bits that have that intense meatiness to them! The meat had been allowed to rest so the moisture went back into the muscle fibres, which meant we got a properly juicy bit of Sirloin to chomp on, sweet and less dense than the Picanha cut. This was a prime example of Son of Steak’s mantra: Meat, Fire, Flair.
Our last morsel to try was the Ribeye, which combines both (muscle) fibre and fat content in a brilliant fusion designed by nature. Jim said that Ribeye ideally needs to be cooked long enough for the fat to render out and release its maximum flavour, so not for rare enthusiasts really.
In the Son of Steak kitchens, the meat is cooked under vapour at 58 degrees; this isn’t as hot or intense as steam and doesn’t use the plastic needed for sous vide cooking, making it more enviro-friendly.
We’d had a variety of veggie sides to accompany our steak slices, all of which were very yummy – I especially liked the crispy coated Mushrooms! His Nibs preferred the potato cakes. We both loved the beef dripping sauce, and for those that haven’t tried the spicy sauce, be warned; it packs a real (cow) kick!
To balance the savoury element of the evening out, we were treated to squares of the uber-gooey Chocolate Brownies with Salted Caramel sauce. Yummy! All in all, it had been a great evening; there’s worse ways to spend your time than go to Son of Steak, that’s for sure!
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