Steak Salad with Cashel Blue, Honey and Pecans

Steak Salad with Cashel Blue, Honey and Pecans

I am often asked how to cook a perfect steak.

First, the beef must be good quality — well-aged with lots of marbling (veins of fat running through the meat). My favourite comes from Hannan Meats, which prepares the meat for the Glenarm Shorthorn Beef company. Its unique dry-ageing method uses a humidity and temperature-controlled ageing chamber, containing a solid wall of Himalayan rock salt bricks. This results in exceptional flavour. 

I take my steaks out of the fridge at least 30 minutes before cooking to relax the meat. Put a griddle pan or barbecue on to the highest heat then brush the steak with olive oil and season with sea salt and black pepper. Place the steaks on the hot pan and cook to the following times. Blue: one minute a side; rare: one-and-a-half minutes; medium-rare: two minutes; medium: two-and-a-half minutes and medium-well done: three minutes.

The blue cheese will melt into the steaks and the pecans add a sweet and nutty flavour. If you’re not a fan of blue cheese use shavings of aged Parmesan — add a balsamic dressing and roasted tomatoes, leave out the pecans and you have a traditional Italian tagliata steak.

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