porterhouse steak with mathurini sauce

A couple of days ago I was informed that the 1/4 grass fed cow that I ordered was ready for pick up. While I was expecting it I had no idea which day the cuts would be ready. I took a journey of 180 mile round trip to the butcher. Being my first time buying beef this way I had very little idea how much meat there is. I was afraid that my eyes are bigger than my stomach when I ask the butcher to give me some bones.


At least I was well prepared for the trip. I drove my VW Westfalia so I have a good amount of cargo space. For the bones I brought a garden refuse recycling bin and some garbage bags to line the container. As it turn out the butchered meat from 1/4 cow would nearly fill 3/4 volume of a 5 cu ft chest freezer. The butcher didn't bother to cut up the bone into smaller pieces so it was a bear to process them. The leg bones in particular was next to impossible to use as they are longer than even my restaurant size stock pot. I took my heck saw and put on a new steel cutting blade thinking I can cut the leg bones into shorter piece. I was much harder than I thought. After a lot of elbow grease I manage to make one cut. After that the blade was already dull so I use it only to cut some spine bones.
it is mind boggling the amount of fat in a cow; i trimmed off about 10 lbs of pure fat

boiling the bone release the buttery and creamy fragrance; there is hardly any meat on these bones

i skim off the fat from the bone stock; a lot of it was from the bone mellow so I am saving it to make the duck confit that I have been planning

In my share of the frozen beef packages I found one pack label porterhouse. I set it aside so I can cook it first since it is the most expensive cut. I left it in the refrigerator to thaw for about 24 hours. All is good and there is no blood when the steak was thawed. The butcher has hung the cow carcass for a few weeks to age it and the bone and the fat smell wonderful. It is something I had never smell before. It is very buttery and with more pungency. I knew the steak would be much better than the common store bought one that tends to have less hanging time.

In recent time I learnt to cook steak quite well. The most important technique I learnt is for most home cook the most fail-safe way to cook steak or chop is to pan sear it. Before this I used to grill it with disappointing results because most grills are just not hot enough. In the past I have always eat steak with just salt and pepper. This time I decided to make a sauce base on a French technique. I did a bit of research and decided to make a mathurini sauce inspired by a Hubert Keller's recipe. I didn't want any carbohydrate so I just blanched some napa cabbage in a bit of bone stock for serving with the steak. Most steak house would serve a plate of spinach drenched in butter sauce.
most of the ingredients - the steak can be a bit more marble; but like your residence you don't get to choose your neighbors; the luscious sauce would compensate this slight short coming

The steak does not look like a complete T-bone. The butcher cut off the top of the T. Our cow is a small one so the steak is relatively small.
blanch the thicker parts first - the bone stock would be used for preparing the mathurini sauce later

the leaves are added later

i took two photos of the steak being seared - the color is more accurate in this one without using the flash but one cannot see the smoke from the searing

this one is taken with the flash and you can see the smoke - the color however is too cold making the steak look not too appetizing; i judged the doneness of the steak by the finger test

i start the sauce by saute some finely chopped shallot onion in the fat from the bone stock; the bone fat is more fragrant than butter

I  have been cooking a lot with shallot onions of late. It has become one of my favorite ingredients. While they cost a lot more than common onions they are so much more flavorful. Of course common onions still have their place in cooking.
i put in about 2 table spoons of freshly ground pepper and a bit of cheap american brandy; the sweetness from the cheap brandy took the place of the raisins called for in Hubert's recipe; i also added may be 1/2 teaspoon of maple syrup

i deglazed the cast iron pan in which the steak was cooked in with some dry red wine and add it into the mix and reduced the mixture

when i bought the sauce dispenser in Thailand i was thinking i would probably would never use it; it comes in handy for the mathurini sauce

for reference this is the photo of a porterhouse steak from a famous steak house - Peter Luger in Brooklyn, New York

A glass of good dry French wine pairs really well with the rich dish.
closeup of the steak

 medium rare - just how i like my steak

the mathurini sauce and the steak exceeded my expectation; it is by far the best steak I've ever had.

it is so juicy and tasty - if this is not gluttony i don't know what is

 the amount of sauce i prepared was just perfect

A cup of cappuccino rounds off the sinful meal. I went for a futile long walk in attempt to burn off the calories.

If you like to learn French cuisine, Peter Hertzmann's Peter Hertzmann's blog is one of the best. He has a few steak sauce recipes. Alternately you can also access his website before the blog which has a lot of insightful articles on cooking fundamentals.