Stout scotch eye fillet

An utterly delectable, moist, tender and reliable method to cook extra-thick cuts, which typically end up too dry or underdone using conventional cooking methods. Cooking large joints, awkward and thick tender cuts with dark beers is part of Belgian, French and German regional cuisines. But used with the most tender and lean cut of beef, the eye fillet which can be tricky, the result is almost always perfect. Dark beer has natural tenderizers, complementing other lean but chewy cuts such as rump and topside.

Ingredients

2 bottles	Beer, dark, or good dry stout (Main)
1 Ltr	Beef stock, low salt
2 fillets	Beef, eye fillet (Main)
1 dessert spoon	Black peppercorn, whole
1	Star anise pod, or 2 bayleaf
1 pinch	Salt

Gravy

2 cups	Beer, and glace fluid ladled from the pan
2 tsp	Cornflour
2 Tbsp	Water

Directions

1. Preheat frying pan and quickly sear (brown) the scotch eye fillets in a little oil. A barbecue is good at this, but DON'T cook the fillets, we only want to brown the outsides. Keep them warm if the next step isn't ready.
2. In a medium pan add the glace (or stock) with the beer, peppercorns and star anise and bring to a low boil. Add the seared fillets to the heated mix, making sure the fillets do not cool and that they are just covered by the liquid. Bring back to the boil and then cover and turn down to simmer for 20-25 minutes.
3. A robust meal, deserves substantial vegetables. This recipe is excellent with mashed potatoes, steamed cabbage and cauliflower. They round off a filling and lean main, and are complemented by the gravy or pan juices.
4. The glace-beer liquid can be used to make a rich gravy, ladle some into a small saucepan, salt to taste and thicken with about 1 heaped teaspoon of cornflower (which has been dissolved in a little cold water. Bring to the boil while constantly stirring and remove from the heat once it begins to thicken. Leave to stand, 1 minute should thicken nicely.