Simply Steak (roll)

We don't often eat steak but when we do I try get as much bang for our buck as possible (because it's freaking expensive). Now my favorite cut of steak is rib-eye, not just because it's so reliably tender but also because when it lived it's life still on the animal it was surrounded by fat and bones and we all know fat+bones+meat=FLAVOUR so it's packed full of rich beefyness. But alas, it's only on the extreme and rare occasion that we can buy this delicacy and usually settle for rump and on the odd occasion when it's on special, fillet. Now don't get me wrong, for tenderness not much beats a fillet but not much on the animal beats it for blandness (nothing else in fact) so I usually use fillet when making steak rolls or something similar when I need tenderness and where I add shit to make it taste like something.

Case in point, these Steak Rolls... the combination of rich steak, slightly sweet pickles, insanely crunchy fried onion packed on a soft buttered bun is sublime and over the top delicious.

I've been using this steak marinade for a long time and it's just as nice on chicken and lamb too. To often meat marinades have a sweet note and although I'm not adverse to the odd sweetness I don't like sweet beef or lamb (lamb is sweet enough as it is) and this marinade is makes for a rich and savoury cooked product.

Although all of this seems like a lot of work, it actually isn't the bit of effort you do make is sooooo worth your while!

Here's the process in pictures and the recipes will follow below:

'Clean' the fillet by removing all the silver skin and slice in to half centimetre slices

Make the pickles

Make the fried onions

Skewer the meat and cook to your liking

Make the roll and enjoy!

Here are the recipes for the steak marinade and the crunchy onions thingies:

Steak marinade:

Ingredients:

1/3 cup soy sauce (or 20ml soy + 20ml dark soy + 40ml water)

1/2 cup olive oil

1 lemon , juiced

1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce

1 1/2 tablespoons garlic powder

3 tablespoons dried basil

1 teaspoon ground white pepper

Method:

Mix all the ingredients and marinade for at least half an hour to an hour (max)

Cook meat as desired but braai is always best! 😉

Crunchy Onions thingies:

I used 3 medium sized onions and ended up with a shitload of crunchy things but fortunately the stay crisp for a few days and are a delicious snack

For each onion:

20ml Corn Starch (Maizina)

5ml Turmeric

5ml Paprika

5ml Salt

Oil to deep-fry

Method:

Peel the onions, slice in half and slice each half into very thin half-moons.

Place the sliced onions and bowl and loosen.

Add the corn starch, turmeric, paprika and salt and toss lightly to combine and to coat every slither of onion.

Heat the oil until hot (about 170 - 175°C)

Carefully add the coated onions to the hot oil and tumble with a slotted spoon to separate, toss every 30 seconds and keep frying until there are hardly any bubbles visible and the onions are golden and feels crisp, this should take no more than about 3 minutes if that (do not overcrowd the pot, rather make in small batches)

Remove from the oil with the slotted spoon onto paper towel to drain any excess oil.

The onions will crisp even more as they cool.

Take care not to overcook the onions, they go from perfectly golden to burnt and bitter in seconds so keep an eye on them.

If you don't use everything keep in a sealed container and they should stay crips for a few days.