Tomahawk steak

Wexford Valley tomahawk with Béarnaise sauce, buttered Jersey Royals and creamed spinach

You can’t beat a classic steakhouse dinner. Big beef cooked with attitude, seasonal potatoes, creamed spinach. And don’t forget the Béarnaise sauce. The best steaks have a ridiculous crust on the outside with juicy, tender meat on the inside; this is difficult when the steak is thin. The ideal steak should be around 4cm thick. So buy big, thick steaks, like a tomahawk, and share it. 

Ingredients

Feeds 4

  • Wexford Valley tomahawk, weighing approx. 900g

  • 1tbsp melted beef fat

  • 150g unsalted butter, cut into cubes

  • Fresh rosemary and thyme

  • 8 garlic cloves, split in half

JERSEY ROYAL POTATOES

  • 600g small Jersey Royal potatoes (known as mids), washed and scrubbed

  • 20g unsalted butter

CREAMED SPINACH

  • 500ml double cream

  • 2 cloves garlic, crushed

  • 1 sprig rosemary

  • 10g anchovies, chopped

  • Good pinch of freshly grated nutmeg

  • Good pinch of cayenne pepper

  • Maldon sea salt

  • Black pepper

BÉARNAISE SAUCE

  • 100ml white wine vinegar

  • 100ml dry white wine 

  • 80g shallots, finely sliced

  • 15 black peppercorns, cracked

  • Tarragon stalks, chopped

  • Chervil stalks (optional), chopped

  • 4 egg yolks

  • 50ml reduction

  • 3tbsp cold water

  • 250g clarified butter

  • 10 tarragon leaves, chopped

  • 10g chervil leaves (optional), chopped

Method

JERSEY ROYAL POTATOES

1. Rinse the Jersey Royals in lukewarm water, scrubbing with a brush until the skins are clean.

2. Place the potatoes in a pan and cover with cold water. Add a generous amount of salt. Bring to a gentle simmer over a medium heat and cook until just tender. Drain and return the potatoes to the pan over a low heat. Add the butter and leave to melt. Swirl the pan so that the butter coats the potatoes. Season. Keep warm.

CREAMED SPINACH

1. In a pan, bring the cream to a simmer with the rosemary, garlic, nutmeg, cayenne, anchovies. Remove from the heat and leave to infuse for 20 minutes. Pass through a fine sieve and return the cream to the pan. 

2. Wash the spinach thoroughly and tear out any tough central ribs. 

3. Bring a large pan of salted water to the boil. Blanch the spinach leaves until just wilted then refresh immediately in iced water. Do this  in batches. Drain. Squeeze the excess water out of the spinach using muslin cloth or a tea towel.

4. Chop the spinach. Add to the pan of infused cream and stir to distribute. Warm through over a low heat. Season to taste.

TOMAHAWK

1. If you wish, french trim the tomahawk and tie the meat for even cooking. 

900g Wexford Valley tomahawk

Tomahawk French-trimmed and tied for an even cooking

2. Keep the tomahawk in the fridge overnight, uncovered, to help dry out the surface. Remove the tomahawk from the fridge at least an hour before cooking.

3. Preheat the oven to 150C. On the hob, get a cast iron griddle or heavy-bottomed frying pan (not non-stick) really hot. This can take 5-10 minutes. It should be painful to hold your hand above the pan. Open all the windows; there’ll be lots of smoke. 

4. Pat the tomahawk dry with kitchen paper. Wrap the exposed rib bone in foil. Season the meat generously with salt; use more salt than you think sensible. Brush with melted beef fat. 

5. Reduce the heat under the pan to medium-high. Caramelise the tomahawk, about a minute on each side. 

6. Add most of the cubed butter plus the garlic, thyme and rosemary. When the butter is foaming start basting to develop more colour and flavour. Do this for about 2 minutes. Add more cubes of butter if the butter in the pan starts to brown too quickly. 

7. Transfer the pan to the oven and cook the tomahawk until its internal temperature reaches around 48C.

8. Remove the tomahawk from the oven and place onto a rack over a tray. Pour over the butter and collect the garlic and herbs on top of the tomahawk. Rest for 20 minutes in a warm place. For medium rare, you want the serving temperature of the meat to carry over to 54C (59C for medium).

Tomahawk resting for 20 minutes with all the buttery pan juices, herbs and garlic

Tomahawk sliced and showing a beautiful medium-rare cuisson

BÉARNAISE SAUCE

1. Combine the wine, vinegar, shallot, peppercorns and stalks in a small pan and reduce by 75% over a low heat. Set aside to cool. (Do this ahead of time.)

2. Pass the reduction through a fine sieve into a metal or glass bowl. Add the egg yolks and cold water. Whisk together.

3. Place the bowl over a bain marie. Whisk continuously in a figure of 8 motion and do not let the temperature of the sauce get above 65C. Lift the bowl from the bain marie if it becomes too hot and return once it has cooled slightly. When the mixture has thickened and ribbons can be seen on the surface remove the pan from the heat.

4. Whisk in the clarified butter a little at a time. Stir in the chopped tarragon and chervil leaves. Season to taste. Keep warm, stir regularly, and do not let the sauce get too hot or it will split. If it’s too thick, stir in a teaspoon  of warm water.

Ribeye cooked medium-rare, unctuous Béarnaise, seasonal Jersey Royal potatoes tossed in butter, creamed spinach

MEAT, RECIPESimon Bakerbeef, steak, ribeyeComment