Father’s Day is around the corner. Is he the ultimate braai master or will you be cooking up that special meal for him? Wondering what to gift him? Well, for us, food is love.
For many, it’s almost a certainty that dad will fire up the braai and cook his favourite steak, to perfection!
If you want to treat Dad to something unique on Father’s Day, get to our butchery for his favourite cut. We seem to strive for meaty and powerful traits in steak, but there are other factors to consider. What is the ideal thickness for a steak? What about that marbling? What is the best method for preparing a restaurant-quality steak at home? And don’t forget the best sauce to pair with that chunk of meat.
When selecting a steak for Paps, it comes down to: What is dad’s steak personality?
We’ve got you covered with our top five dad-worthy cuts.
For the ‘apple’ of your rib-eye
Rib eye –The rib-eye is regarded as one of the greatest steaks for grilling. A boneless rib-eye steak typically has good marbling in the flesh, you’ll be getting ribbons of delicious and flavorful fat.
Even when grilled to medium-well, the fat flecks offer the meat the perfect balance of substantial taste and buttery suppleness.
This steak is ideal for a man who is incredibly charming, but tender on the inside, and always in for a treat.
And you must try Pete Goffe-Wood’s Ribeye with masala butter, paired with a charred onion salad and chips.
For the best of both Worlds – “Go big or Go home” he always says.
T-bone – For the dad that is the king of the show; the man-sized steak, but always wants the best of both Worlds.
The T-bone is a huge steak made up of flesh from the sirloin and fillet mignon, two of the most coveted cuts of beef. These are widely regarded as some of the greatest steaks available, and are ideal for a man with a voracious taste for the best of everything.
For something extra special get a dry-aged T-bone or a coffee
Recipe suggestion: Pepper-crusted T-bone with a garlic, thyme & lemon butter.
For the Knight in shining armour – The Sir
Sir Loin (get it?)
At our butchery, get him a thick-cut sirloin. It is a well-worked muscle, that is packed with flavour. It contains the vertebrae with the T-shaped bone and the fillet on the one side and the eye muscle on the other. The meat is tender and has a fine texture, and is known to be more flavoursome.
Grill, Pan-fry or Braai the steaks. Get boneless cuts or request sirloin on the bone from our expert blockmen.
Make this Biltong & Blue Cheese Crusted Sirloin Steak recipe or try a classic steak with Café de Paris (compound butter).
For the Classic dad!
For the tender of heart who enjoy the same quality in their steak, and the finer things in life. A fillet is for him. It is a leaner and softer cut of meat, with a milder flavour but It melts in your mouth. The fillet is boneless and without fat, and the most tender cut in the carcass.
Get a large cut to baste and oven roast or braai. Or Several steaks can be cut from the fillet for Fillet MIgnon which should bed grilled over coals or pan-fried.
Cook this Beef Fillet Medallions with chilli-butter mielies and carrot fries.
For the king of dad jokes
Is he getting better with age? Go for the dry-aged steak. What makes the dry-aged steaks so special?
Drying the meat means it loses water over time and the flavour becomes concentrated. The time of ageing can break down the collagen (kind of like us when we get older 😉 ) and makes the steak more tender.
Dry-aged steaks are available at selected butcheries at Food Lover’s stores and are dried for no less than 2 weeks. They are available in various cuts, including Sirloin, T-bone and Ribeye.
Now that you know which dad-approved cut to get from the butcher’s block at Food Lover’s Market, best you learn how to cook it to perfection. Read this.
Get to know some more beef cuts in our Steak Guide
