Sam's Cookalong Diary Sam looks to the main game - steak

Date Published:

15/01/2008

My real challenge is choosing and cooking the right steak to perfection - it's the centrepiece of Gordon Ramsay's Cookalong and the most important thing to get right. By Cookalong guinea pig Sam Jordison

The main course

Serve up a delicious juicy steak to your guests and even if you mess everything else up (short of setting fire to the kitchen) their abiding memory of the evening will be positive. Serve a steak that looks and tastes like an old shoe and you're in trouble.

I'm now going to state the obvious, but it's worth saying anyway to emphasise just how seriously you should take this stage: the first step towards getting the perfect steak is to make sure you get the best bit of meat, from the best source your budget will allow.

Gordon is full of good advice, both on what to look for and the questions to put to your butcher to make sure you're getting the best cut. Has the meat got the right veining of fat? Does the fat on the outside look rich and creamy? How long has the meat been aged? (21 days is reckoned to be the minimum.) Spending a few pounds extra on a well-reared organic steak from a quality butcher will also pay dividends, both in terms of flavour and the environmental impact of the meal.

Beer, massages and Japanese cows

I've been reading about Japanese Wagyu cattle. Apparently, the marbling patterns of fat in this meat are to die for (literally, if you're a cow). The enviable lifestyle of the Kobe variety of this bovine, which consists largely of beer drinking and having their muscles massaged (by human hand) instead of doing any exercise, results in a texture as soft and pliant as foie gras. Sounds fantastic. Right up until the moment you hear how much it costs.

This most bling bling of meats is popular in Las Vegas where a triple-seared Kobe steak costs a mighty $265 for an 8oz serving. But according to Forbes even this has been trumped by a restaurant in Japan where you can get a Kobe steak (plus mustard and pepper) for a mighty $300 for eight ounces.

All of which prompts a few interesting questions: How much are you prepared to spend on your steak? Do you think £150 a serving is reasonable? Or does such decadence revolt you? Would you prefer to season a few banknotes and cram those into your face instead? How much are you going to spend on the rest of your shopping for the big night? And from where are you going to source the ingredients?

Over the course of the next few days we're going to be running an informal survey about the nation's shopping habits here. We want to hear all about the most expensive steaks in the country - and the cheapest. You can upload your photos, shopping tips and comments about the whole process on the dedicated Facebook event and Flickr group.

Cookalong logistics

Meanwhile, on the subject of bling, I notice that on there's been a lot of talk recently on the Facebook board about the logistics of getting a plasma screen TV into your kitchen and still having room to do the cooking. Any suggestions there? Personally I'm going to be using an old portable and praying it doesn't conk out before I've finished pudding.

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