The Ultimate Valentine’s Steak Dinner

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If you’re planning on staying in this Valentine’s Day, Bowland Food Hall has everything you need to make date night something special. To us, Valentine’s is all about the ultimate steak dinner, and we have all of the information you’ll need to know for choosing the best cut from our in-house butchery team. 

Our basic philosophy here in the Food Hall is that high quality, properly aged meat doesn’t need messing around with. We’re really proud of the quality of our steaks, where we’re looking for good fat content and nice, even marbling. They are properly aged and packed with flavour. All of our beef is pure Hereford beef. Its winning quality is the neat layer of fat to be found on its cuts, which gives the beef succulence and its hearty and beefy flavour. 

Now comes the difficult decision, which cut of beef do you choose for your steak dinner? Let us help with that! 

Firstly, we have a ribeye steak. Ribeye has a more tender texture and has fats on its surface – sometimes referred to as marbling. This marbling is what is responsible for the rich flavours when cooked. Sirloin, on the other hand, is less tender, due to less marbling on its surface.

Fillet steak is the most tender. Cut from the other side of the ribs from the sirloin, it is very lean. We recommend pairing fillet steak with a peppercorn, mushroom or blue cheese sauce. 

Chateaubriand, our personal favourite, is very tender, cut from the broadest part of beef tenderloin – the long muscle found directly on the lower two sides of the animal’s spine. This is the most naturally tender and also the most delicately flavoured – perfect if you’re looking to impress this Valentine’s Day! 

Traditionally, Chateaubriand is served with a pan sauce, which we have attached a recipe for you to follow below! 

Serve with a very simple side such as potatoes, in any way you may like and a simple vegetable such as green beans or asparagus. If you and your partner drink wine, the red that you use to make your sauce makes the perfect pairing! 

What you need; 

• 400-500g chateaubriand 
• Salt, to taste
• Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened and divided
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 medium shallot, finely chopped
• 1/2 cup medium-bodied dry red wine
• 1/2 cup demi-glace/beef stock
• 1 tablespoon fresh tarragon, chopped (or 2 teaspoons dried)

Method; 

1. Preheat the oven to 190 C. Evenly season the beef on both sides with salt and pepper.
2. Melt 2 tablespoons of the butter with the olive oil in a large skillet (preferably cast iron) set over medium-high heat until cloudy and bubbly.
3. Place the seasoned meat in the pan and brown for 3 minutes without moving the meat. Using tongs, carefully turn the beef on its side and brown for 3 minutes more. Repeat the same browning process on all exposed surfaces of the meat.
4. Transfer to a rack placed in a roasting pan and put in the oven. (Set aside the skillet with any accumulated juices for making the sauce.) Roast the beef to your desired doneness – we’d recommend about 15 minutes for medium-rare, 20 minutes for medium, and 23 minutes for medium-well.
5. Remove the meat from the oven and transfer to a warm serving platter. Lightly tent the meat with foil and let it rest for 15 minutes.
6. While the chateaubriand is resting, make the wine sauce. Combine the shallot with the juices in the skillet and sauté over medium heat until the shallot is soft and translucent.
7. Pour the wine into the skillet and bring the sauce to a boil, scraping up any browned bits on the bottom of the pan.
8. Continue boiling the sauce until it reduces by half.
9. Remove the sauce from the heat and stir in the remaining 1 tablespoon softened butter and tarragon. Taste and season with salt and black pepper as needed.
10. Slice the meat on the diagonal and serve with the wine sauce. Enjoy! 

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