Recipe · Basics · 15 minutes
Our cattle are pasture-raised and grass-fed, then finished on grain. That last bit matters at the stove: grain-finishing is what lays down the marbling, the fine threads of fat through the muscle that melt as the steak cooks and make it tender and juicy.
So this is forgiving beef. It has enough fat to protect itself, and it tastes of something, which pure grass-finished beef sometimes doesn't. You don't need to be nervous with it. You just need a hot pan and the discipline to leave it alone.
Take the steak out of the fridge 45 minutes before it hits the pan. A cold centre means you burn the outside trying to warm the middle.
Aim for medium-rare. That's where the marbling has melted but the steak is still juicy. Take it off a touch sooner than feels right. It keeps cooking while it rests.
At least five minutes, loosely tented. Cut it straight away and the juice ends up on your board instead of in your mouth.
Pat the steak completely dry with paper towel. Wet meat steams instead of searing. Salt both sides generously with coarse salt.
Cast iron, on high, until a drop of water skitters across it. Add a spoon of tallow. It should shimmer immediately.
Lay the steak down away from you and leave it. Two to three minutes for a 1-inch steak, then flip once. Moving it around stops the crust forming.
In the last 30 seconds add butter, smashed garlic and a herb sprig. Tilt the pan and spoon the foaming butter over the steak.
Board, five minutes, no touching. Slice against the grain. Look for the direction the fibres run and cut across them.
Doneness by feel: press the steak with your finger. Soft and squishy is rare. Springy with a bit of give is medium-rare, which is where you want to be. Firm is well done, and after all that marbling, it seems a shame.
Ribeye and strip loin carry the most marbling and are the most forgiving, so start there. Sirloin is leaner and wants a slightly shorter cook. Tenderloin is the leanest of all: hot and fast, and pull it early. Flat iron and flank are the sleepers in your quarter. Both love a hot pan and a sharp knife cutting against the grain.
This all starts with good beef. Ours is raised on grass in the Bighorn County foothills west of Calgary, and cut the way you want it.
