Before I begin, it’s worth me mentioning that this blog post will contain a lot of meat. And specifically steak.
Ooddles of it.
Raw, cooked, and very few vegetables. It’s not for the vegetarians. This is most definitely one for the meat eaters.
Ready to continue? Excellent.
Much like it’s older sister site, Grill on New York Street has had a little bit of a facelift. The inside space, is more airy, lighter, and more open. But what’s even more appealing is that the menu too has had a little work done.
Not just in terms of dishes, or a revamped cocktail menu (which it has been, and the cocktails are indeed delicious). No I’m talking something far bigger – especially as Blackhouse is known for it’s steak.
I’m talking about the meat.
They went back to the provenance of the meat on their menu and working with their supplier, Fairfax Butchers, wanted to show us the fruits of their labours. The chaps from Fairfax have scoured the world to find some of the best meats available, and now you too can have them on your plate. They looked at everything from the cattle, to the care taken at the farmers’ hands, to the ageing process (wet versus dry). Having sampled them, I’m happy to say they are bloody stunning.
So, let’s start at the beginning.
Fairfax were on hand to both talk us through the processes, the meats, and the cuts, as well as demonstrating the butchery required to achieve the required cuts of meat. Each steak has been painstakingly matched with a wine to suit it,and the first on our plates was the Scotch sirloin.
A piece of beef can only be referred to as ‘Scotch’ if it has been born, reared and killed in Scotland, and the sirloin is a lean cut. Paired with a French Malbec, I was in heaven. The wine is a little more refined than the big hitters you get from Argentina, and along with the tender beef, was what I’d consider a great classic.
Our second steak involved a little trip to Argentina.
This piece of rib eye beef had been wet aged. This is a new process and is often done in transit. The meat is cut, and vacuum packed, so it can age within the confines of the packaging. In addition, a rib eye is a fattier piece of meat, which means a) more flavour and b) it’s more suited to a longer cooking time as the fat keeps it moist.
As you’d expect the meat had more flavour than the sirloin – not to say that wasn’t delicious, it was – but the richness meant it worked better with the heavier Argentinian Malbec that it was paired with.
Onto steak three, and my hands down favourite.
I mean just look at it. It makes my mouth water.
This was a 50 day aged sirloin from an ex-dairy cow. Dairy cows work for 15 years of their lives, providing milk for you and I. Normally at the end of their useful lives, they’re what would be considered too old to eat. However, Gallician farmers have been taking our ex dairy cattle and letting them live in pasture for three years. On their journey around the world, Fairfax sampled this beef and the flavour profile was found to be intense and delicious. However, so was the price. Gallician farmers were providing this meat to Michelin starred restaurants in Spain, and somewhat reluctant to send it over to the UK. But Fairfax had a little bit of a plan, and working with farmers in the South West of the UK, repeated the process over here. And this is the result of that process.
It is just beautiful. The fat is rich and buttery – melt in the mouth. The steak itself is a little less tender than the others, but the flavour more than makes up for it.
It was also paired with a Uruguayan Tannat – possibly everyone’s favourite wine. It’s acidity cut through the fattiness perfectly.
Our final steak required a trip to Australia. This Aussie was an Aberdeen Black fillet – aged to perfection. As you can see from the below, the unaged versus the aged steak, the dry ageing process had an impact on moisture and on flavour.
And this cut should always be enjoyed as rare as you can take it, and was paired with a Garnacha from Spain, or unusually a cocktail created to mimic a red wine.
The steakholder is light, fruity with lots of grape notes from the sloe gin used in it’s creation, and perfect if you’re not a red wine lover as it doesn’t have any heavy tannins.
The evening edged to a close. Dessert was divine – a lemon and lime posset, banana bread and butter pudding and Woodland Berry Mess sampler, but I’m saving myself for the meat.
Anyone for steak?
With thanks to Grill on New York Street, and the chaps from Fairfax. The evening was bloody fabulous, informative and even typing this up has been a challenge because I’m suddenly craving steak. Dammit.