A lesson in cooking the perfect steak

The Hussar Grill is currently hosting a steak masterclass at Silwood Kitchen in order to teach beginners how to cook a steak. You might think you know how it’s done, but really, there’s a lot more to it than simply flipping after 3 minutes, and these classes are aimed at giving you the low-down so that you can make a steak just as good as those served at Hussar, well nearly.

These classes have been going for quite a long while, ever since Hussar and Silwood figured out that they were both about to celebrate their 50th birthday. The two decided they had to do something in honour of the milestone and so the ongoing masterclasses came into being.

Ernst Gouws jumped on board as the resident wine partner who makes sure you are never looking for a top up. Food24 were lucky to be apart of one of the evenings to get some inside information into the Hussar kitchen.

Greg Bax, head chef at Hussar grill, was the teacher for the evening and shared his intricate knowledge on cooking a fillet and a sirloin.

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Here are a few pointers he shared:

* Cook with vegetable oil as opposed to olive oil: this isn’t because Greg doesn’t love and appreciate olive oil, it’s because its not necessary to use the premium quality oil, and also vegetable oil has a higher smoking temperature.

* When buying a steak at the butcher or store, go for an older cut. You can tell it’s a bit more mature if the cut has lots its colour. It will be a more dull red greyish colour as opposed to bright red. Grading on meat indicates the age: the lower the age, the higher the grade.

* Cook steaks with the same/similar thickness. This will make it easy to time them and to gauge cooking levels when cooking a few steaks at a time.

* Never prod a steak.

* Always season: the salt helps to caramalise and bring moisture to the surface.

The rest of the tips and tricks you’ll have to find out by attending the class!

Aside from learning exactly how to perfectly cook a sirloin and fillet, Silwood trained chef and teacher Nerita Bharuth showed us practically how to make a Bearnaise sauce and a peppercorn sauce. Having these in the bag definitely upped the, eh, steaks. They’re both classic sauces that are not as easy to prepare as a novice might think, and once you get the flambé going on your peppercorn sauce, you’ll feel that sense of cooking achievement, felt many a time in that Silwood Kitchen.

At the end of the evening, Greg taught us how to make his signature and very easy chocolate vodka Martini, a great end to a night of classic indulgence.

For steak lovers and Hussar fans, this masterclass is a must. It’s best to go with a partner or in a group. The kitchen can hold up to 14 people. Go to www.silwood.co.za for more info, or call 021 6864894 or email cooking@silwood.co.za to book.