T-Bone steak for two

T-bones are also most delicious if you prefer your steak served rare or medium rare. If the T-bone steak is large, one steak can be shared between two people. Place the cooked steak on a hot serving platter and carry it to the table, where you can use a sharp steak knife to divide it up. Traditionally, the lady is given the small, tender, delicate-tasting fillet, which is nestled into one corner of the bone, and the gentleman is served the larger, heartier sirloin from the other side of the bone.

The best sauce for a steak is the simplest one of all. Once the steak has been removed from the pan, any excess fat is spooned out and discarded and then a slosh of the wine, beer - or water - you are going to drink at the table is added to the pan, which is returned to the heat. The dark residues in the pan are scraped up with a spatula and a teaspoon of butter is swirled in. The resulting spoonful of tasty sauce is then poured over the steak.

If you like your steak rare, it is particularly helpful to take the meat out of the refrigerator 30 minutes before cooking so that it will lose its chill. This will ensure that when you eat the steak, the interior will be warm instead of cool.

T-bone steak

500 g	T-bone steaks (Main)
1 to taste	Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 tsp	Clarified butter, butter oil or peanut oil
¼ cup	Wine, beer or water can also be used
1 tsp	Butter

Accompaniments

½	Parsnips
2 Tbsp	Peanut oil
2 tsp	Salt
1 ½ cups	Spinach

Directions

1. Season the steak on both sides with freshly ground black pepper.
2. Take a heavy frying pan the right size to hold the steak with little room to spare. Put the clarified butter or oil in the pan and heat just until the oil starts to smoke.
3. Carefully lay the steak in the pan and sprinkle the top lightly with salt. After a minute or so, when the bottom of the steak has started to brown, use tongs to carefully turn it over. Salt lightly and cook for a further minute, then turn again. After another minute, turn again.
4. By this time the steak will be cooked rare. If this is how you like it, turn off the heat.
5. If you prefer to cook it further, continue to turn the steak every minute until it is done to your liking.
6. Leave the steak to rest in the pan with the heat off for about 3 minutes. Then remove and make the pan gravy as described below.

Gravy

1. Once the steak has been removed from the pan, any excess fat is spooned out and discarded and then a slosh of the wine or beer that you're going to drink at the table is added to the pan, which is returned to the heat (or you can also use water). The dark residues in the pan are scraped up with a spatula and a teaspoon of butter is swirled in.
2. The resulting spoonful of tasty sauce is then poured over the steak.

Accompaniments

1. Roasted parsnips make a delicious accompaniment. Peel and split the parsnips, place in a small roasting pan, brush with peanut oil and roast for about 30 minutes in a fan oven preheated to 210C. Sprinkle lightly with salt before serving.
2. Spinach, blanched and buttered or made into a simple salad, completes the meal. Serve the vegetables in bowls at the table so that everyone can help themselves.