Ted shuffled out of his cave and grunted these great (and sometimes not
so great) words of knowledge:
> I have tried for years and years to make sirloin steak work. And
> failed. I don't know what cooks in the US regard as sirloin steak,
> but let's just assume it is the meat cut one removed from the whole
> fillet.
>
> the recipe I was given specified a cut that was no less than 2cm thick
> - a tad under 1 inch. The method was as follows:
>
> Put about 3 tablespoons of EVOO (extra virgin olive oil) in a shallow
> pan and heat to moderate. Sprinkle the steaks with garlic salt and
> place salt-side down in the pan when the steaks make a sizzle. The
> oil will spatter all over the place, so wear an all-cover apron of
> some sort. After about 3 minutes, turn the steaks over and sprinkle
> with salt or garlic salt. Reduce the heat a bit and let the steaks
> cook a further 3-4 minutes, turning if you think they are cooking too
> fast.
>
> Remove the steaks - and now comes the strange part. Put them in a
> shallow dish or on a plate, and keep warm. I have a small extra cook
> and grill oven and I put them in that at about 75 deg C.
>
> Now you can make a sauce, using mushrooms and shallots or whatever in
> the pan from which the steaks have been removed. I poured off some
> of the olive oil. I cooked finely chopped shallots and when soft, I
> added finely chopped mushrooms and let these cook for a while. Then I
> added about half a cup of good red wine and let this reduce by half.
> I then added about a cup of good rich beef stock, and let that reduce
> until the mixture was syrupy. I added the steaks to this sauce and
> served immediately.
>
> I don't think I have ever eaten such tender melty steaks in my life.
> Beef here in New Zealand is grass-fed and the texture therefore tends
> to be different to grain-fed.
>
> I've cooked sirloin in this way a couple of times since, with and
> without any sauces. It's been tender, moist and good each time - and
> I wonder if we cooks don't get all frantic if we don't get to eat the
> meat when it is just cooked. Perhaps cooking steak in so much oil
> and then leaving it in a warm place is the answer. Who knows? I
> only know it worked for me.
>
> Daisy
>
> Carthage demands an explanation for this insolence!

The BIG thing is that there are sirloin steak and then there are sirloin
steak. THE SINGULARLY BIG DIFFERENCE is the amount of "marbling" in the
meat. The more marbling (within reason of course ) the more tender and
flavorful the steak will be.

Unfortunately, the majority of meat (of any kind ) available in this
country, is of a poorer quality than what is found elsewhere in the
world. The primary reason.....the beef is not pasture fed, it is grain
fed. The grain (which is grown with artificial fertilizer ) does not
provide the proper nutrients to the animal. A prime example is the
substance CoQ10. This substance is REQUIRED for proper health of the
heart. Pasture fed beef have almost 400 times the amount of this
substance than grain fed beef. There are many additional substances
which are also lacking in grain fed beef.

If you have the opportunity to compare the same cuts of grain fed beef
and pasture fed beef (frequently imported from Australia and New Zealand
) look at the amount of marbling in each AND the color of the marbling.
The pasture fed beef will have more marbling and it will be much more
white in color than the grain fed beef.

I will now get off the soap box and let the next person have their turn
on it. {:-)