Tis the season for  barbecues!  You might want to fire up the coals this weekend, to celebrate Father’s Day with the man of the house!  As it’s a macho special occasion, why not make it steaks all round!  Steak is brilliant for the barbie, succulent and juicy, provided you follow a few tips before you cook. You don’t want to spend good money on the best meat then incinerate it beyond recognition over the coals! Follow our tips below:

Firstly, choose your steak wisely. Fillets have no fat in the flesh nor on the rind,  so may tend to become dry on the barbecue. Not the best cut for this method of cooking.  Striploin should be well marbled and with a good layer of creamy fat on the outside – this makes a good barbecue steak. But by far the best steak of all for chargrilling is a meaty Ribeye. Lots of marbling of fat in the meat to make it moist and juicy,  and plenty of taste. Our favourite.

Whichever cut you choose – put your steaks on a plate, drizzle with a little oil (Irish rapeseed is good) and season with sea salt and finely ground black pepper. Do this about 5 minutes before you want to cook them, and leave them to stand at room temperature.

Make sure the coals are at the right temperature  – they should be white hot with no sign of leaping flames, which will burn the outside of the steaks.

Place the steaks on the griddle cook to preference – medium steaks take about 5-7 minutes, depending on thickness.  Turn them during cooking.

A good accompaniment to barbecue steak is garlic mayonnaise – see our Friday Food Fact for last week on making your own mayo – and add 1 clove crushed garlic to that recipe.  Dijon mustard is also good if you don’t fancy mayo.

Happy barbecuing this weekend and Happy Father’s Day!

 P.S. Dont forget a good bottle of red wine to enjoy with the steak!