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Chef  Adrian's Recipe
Steak - Cooked in a Clay oven
Five things to look for when buying a steak

1. When choosing a steak, striploin is a fine choice due to its tasty, melt-in-the-mouth succulence. Good striploin has just the right amount of fat and nice marbling. Rump (sirloin) steak is slightly cheaper than striploin but it's still a great steak for griddling or frying, with more flavour than striploin.
2. Age of the steak is important, as the hanging process develops the flavour and tenderises the meat. So ask your butcher how long the beef has been hung for. As a rule, 21 days as a minimum and 35 days as a maximum is a good range to go for.
3. Good beef should be a deep red colour.
4. Check the beef has good marbling - little streaks of fat running through the meat. This melts when heated, helping the steak to baste itself from within as it cooks.
5. A good layer of creamy-white fat around the top of striploin and sirloin steaks is essential.


Five steps to cooking the perfect steak in a Clay Oven

1. Take steaks out of the fridge 30 minutes before cooking to allow to come to room temperature. Heat your griddle or frying pan over a high heat, until smoking hot.
2. Lightly brush the steak with a little olive oil and season with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper just before cooking.
3. Bring the coals forward and sit your frying pan on the hot coals to heat really hot.
4. Seal each side of the steak with some fresh thyme and crushed garlic for 30 seconds on the very high heat of the coals until golden and crispy. Push the coals to the back once the steak has become crusty and sealed and roast to your liking. (see timings below)
5. Let the steak rest for about 5 minutes (in tinfoil) before serving, to allow the juices that have been drawn to the surface to relax back into the meat.

 How long to cook a steak for:

These timings are based on cooking a striploin steak that's about 3cm thick. (Cooking times will vary depending on the type and thickness of the steak, and how hot your oven is.)

Blue: 1 minute each side
Rare: 1 and a half minutes in the oven (after searing)
Medium rare: 2 and a half minutes in the oven (after searing)
Medium: 4 minutes in the oven (after searing)
Medium-well done: 5-7 minutes in the oven (after searing)