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Steak Sauce Guide

Sauces add character and flavor to steak meals

Steak sauces play an important part in any steak, either as a side dish, a marinade or a rub. An important addition to every steak meal, barbeque or sandwich, sauces can truly transform a meal from dull to exciting or from bland to delicious!

There are a whole range of sauces to choose from when it comes to accompanying your steak with something truly delicious, and each ingredient of each sauce can truly make the dish tantalising.

Pepper Sauce – Also known as peppercorn sauce, this is easy to make and a classic addition to a ‘steak and chips’ meal. You will need 85 ml double cream, 1 beef stock cube, 1 tsp crushed peppercorns, 1 tsp Dijon mustard, a dash of hot water, and a dash of white wine. First, heat the cream, crush up and add the stock cube. Add the mustard, peppercorns, wine and water. Season and stir then pour over your steak – simple!

Diane Sauce – A sauce mainly made up of pan juices, the Diane is a very popular choice for steak and is made up of beef stock, cream, shallots, flambéed brandy and Worcestershire sauce. All you need for a traditional Diane sauce is olive oil, 200ml single cream, 4 chestnut mushrooms, 2 tbsp cognac, 2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce, 1 tbsp Dijon mustard, 2 sliced shallots, 1 clove crushed garlic, and 1 tsp butter.

Mushroom Sauce – Sometimes created with a variety of different mushrooms, the subtle flavours of the mushroom won’t overpower your steak. Generally mixed in with a little butter, milk, flour, olive oil and seasoning, it is quite a thick consistency and should be served hot.

Tomato Relish – A fresh, rich and tangy tasting sauce, tomato relish is easy to make and can give you steak a lovely fresh taste. Just make sure you do this a few hours in advance to allow to flavours to combine. Best when made with ripe tomatoes, tomato relish also includes peppers – if you like your spicy foods, hot peppers can also be used.

BBQ Sauce – Great for barbeques or drizzled over different kinds of meat, the BBQ sauce is a great one to go with steak. This works very well as a marinade, but is also a good condiment for dipping. There are many variations on the BBQ sauce recipe but it is often made with a slight spicy flavour – perfect to go with meat like steak.

What’s your favorite steak sauce?

What are some of your favorite steak sauces? Elsewhere, there are plenty of other recipes which go really well with red meat like steak – red wine sauces beautifully bring out the juiciness of a prime cut, and a rich tasting marinade goes really well with a sirloin steak. Find many recipes for steak sauces on Recipebridge.

July 27, 2012
Kabob Recipe From Al Fresco

Susannah from Al Fresco shares kabob recipe with Alfresco chicken sausage. She pairs the kabobs with a healthy brown rice salad to which she also adds some quinoa and vegetables.

Try this and find more kabob recipes on Recipebridge.

July 23, 2012
Chef Tom’s Recipe For Cooking Fish

Chef Tom shares fish recipes, suitable for cooking trout, halibut or salmon!

Find more fish recipes on Recipebridge.

July 21, 2012
Paleo Diet Chicken Recipe

Jeff Blumer from Bellyfire Catering cooks up a delicious chicken dish that’s perfect for the Paleo diet.

Find more chicken recipes to compliment a Paleo diet on Recipebridge.

July 20, 2012
Yummy Popsicle Recipes

This video features cooling popsicle recipes, gathered from Pinterest.

Find more popsicle recipes on Recipebridge.

July 19, 2012
How to Choose the Right T Bone Steak
Choosing one of the most popular beef cuts – T bone

The T-bone steak is one of the most popular cuts of beef from the cow – cut from the short loin, the T-bone is the meat the surrounds a T shaped bone (hence the name!). Considered the highest quality steak, they are generally quite big and can be served with a multitude of dressings and side dishes to further enhance their lovely flavour.

There are 16 cuts of beef which are:
- Blade – also known as braising steak
- Brisket – used in slow cooking or in corned beef
- Chuck – used in casseroles for stewing
- Fillet – also known as tenderloin and used in Beef Wellington
- Flank – thin and usually minced
- Fore Rib – sold on the bone and great for frying
- Leg – best used in slow cooking
- Neck – tough meat, often minced
- Rump – great flavour and good on barbeques
- Shank – tough, usually sold minced
- Shin – tough, made into minced meat, great for slow cooking
- Silverside – lean meat, great for boiling
- Short Loin (Sirloin) – great for roasting, usually sold on the bone
- Thick Rib – also used as braising steak , great for casseroles
- Thin Rib – tough cut, often minced
- Topside – lean, can be roasted, grilled or fried.
Choosing the best meat will have the biggest effect on whether your dinner is a success or not. When buying T-bone steak, look for colour – a T-bone steak is a bright red colour and it should be reasonably firm to the touch. Obviously check for the ‘Use By’ date and try and eat it within 3 or 4 days after purchase.

A scrumptious T bone steak recipe

A simple yet delicious T-bone steak recipe is to fry the steaks and serve with a Dianne sauce and chips. You will need:
- 2 tsp olive oil
- 4 t-bone steaks
- 30g butter
- 3 shallots, finely chopped
- 3 garlic cloves, crushed
- 1 tbsp Woolworths Select Worcestershire Sauce
- 1 tbsp brandy, optional
- 1/2 cup thickened cream
- 1 tbsp finely chopped parsley
Heat the oil in a large non-stick frying pan over medium heat and season the steaks. Cook steaks for 2 minutes each side for medium or until cooked to your liking. Remove from pan and cover to keep warm.

Melt butter in the same pan. Add shallots and garlic. Cook for 2 minutes or until soft. Stir in sauce and brandy. Simmer for 2 minutes. Add cream and simmer for a further 2 minutes or until slightly thickened. Remove from heat and stir through parsley. Place steaks and chips on serving plates. Pour the sauce over the steak to serve. Alternatively, served with garlic butter, bacon mushroom sauce or salsa verde and onion rings – keep the steak nice and juicy and you’ll want to cook it again and again!

Find more T bone steak recipes on Recipebridge.
July 19, 2012
Fresh Sweet Pea Salad

Katie Clavey shares recipe for a fresh sweet pea salad. It’s a healthy recipe as well as affordable, and takes no longer than 30 minutes to prepare. This featured recipe comes from 513- eats.com, which is a food blog containing a collection of fabulous food related goodness that exists in the 513 area ingredients include fresh shelled peas, greens of your choice, mint, baguette bread, cheese and garlic.

Find more sweet pea recipes on Recipebridge.

July 18, 2012
5 Caviar Dishes To Celebrate National Caviar Day
The luxury of Caviar

Caviar is a delicacy not everyone has tried. Nevertheless, it’s National Caviar Day, and the perfect day to try these delicate roe. Caviar is the processed, salted, and non fertilized roe of fish. Many people think caviar is any type of fish eggs, but the true roe comes from just four species of sturgeon found in the Caspian Sea, hence the luxury of caviar. Though sturgeon is now endangered in the Caspian Sea, so roe from many other fish are used for caviar. Some of the most popular ones include roe from lumpfish, salmon, smelt, flying fish, trout, and carp.

Usually caviar is enjoyed as is since it’s quite salty. It’s often served as hors d’oeuvre, or as garnish to many dishes. You can find caviar at local grocery stores or specialty food stores. Here’s our top 5 picks for caviar dishes to try:
Have you tried caviar?

As always we love to hear from you. Post how you like caviar on our Facebook page or Tweet us!

Find more caviar recipes on Recipebridge.
July 18, 2012
8 Delicious Ways To Green Beans
Healthy goodness of green beans

With many different varieties across the world, green beans are fast becoming one of the most used vegetables worldwide. Packed full of healthy goodness, these long and thing beans don’t just taste great, but they are good for us too!

Surprisingly, green beans are a great source of carotenoids – a healthy pigment found in various health foods and usually associated with carrots and spinach. However, it is the high carotenoid content of green beans that makes them such a great health food.

With many antioxidants, and lots of nutrients such as Vitamin C, green beans are a great way of boosting your antioxidant intake in order to help improve digestive health and support your immune system. These antioxidants have also been proven to help reduce inflammation and to help your cardiovascular health, and the omega 3 found in the green beans is an essential part of promoting health hearts.

Recipes using green beans

A very versatile vegetable, green beans are grown in abundance over the summer months and appear in a lot of recipes whatever the season!

Here’s our pick for recipes using green beans:
To keep your green beans fresh, store them in a zip lock bag at the bottom of your refrigerator where it is coolest – they can last up to 5 days when stored.

Find more recipes for green beans on Recipebridge.
July 17, 2012
The Aroma Of Basil
The culinary delight of basil

The ever popular basil is a herb grown in abundance in the summer months and although it is generally found in every good kitchen’s herb and spice rack, it is best served when fresh. Part of the mint family, basil is generally found in Mediterranean cuisine but actually originated in Asia.

Believe it or not there are actually many different types of basil, and the herb also has a range of uses across the globe. Usually found in Indonesia, lemon basil has a fragrant citrusy smell and is usually used as a salad dressing. The Chinese also cultivate a different type of basil, and the Asian basils in particular are known for their distinctive clove flavour.

Health Benefits of Basil

Packed full of flavonoids which are nutrients found in a variety of fruits and plants, basil can help build up your immune system, protect you against heart disease, cancer and is packed full of antioxidants. These antioxidants are great for detoxification and improving cardiovascular health. A good source of calcium, iron, vitamin, C, potassium and magnesium, basil is high in a variety of nutrients and is also great for regulating blood flow.

Delectable Basil Recipes

Lemon and Basil Crusted Salmon:

If you want to try your hand at some delicious recipes which use basil, then why not experiment with something elegant such as a Lemon and Basil Crusted Salmon? Light and flavourful, this makes a perfect light meal or lunch. You will need:
- 4 salmon fillets
- 8 slices pane de casa bread – crusts removed
- 1/3 cup basil leaves
- 1/3 cup parmesan cheese – grated
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- Rind of 1 lemon – finely grated
- Baby truss tomatoes
- Lettuce leaves and lemon wedges to serve
Preheat oven to 200C. Line a baking tray with baking paper.

Place bread in a food processor until it is roughly chopped. Add lemon rind, parmesan and basil. Process again until mixture is ground into fine crumbs. With motor running, add 1 ½ tablespoons of the oil and process until combined.

Coat the salmon fillets in the crumb mixture and press in, coating evenly and place salmon on baking tray. Bake for 25-30 minutes until fish is cooked through.

Meanwhile, place tomatoes on a second tray, drizzle with remaining oil and lightly season with salt and pepper. Roast for last 10 minutes of cooking time. Serve salmon with the roasted tomatoes, salad leaves and lemon wedges.

Basil Pesto:

If you love Italian cuisine then you will love your own homemade basil pesto – you will need:

1 cups fresh basil leaves firmly packed
2 cloves garlic, crushed
¼ cup pine nuts
½ cup extra virgin olive oil (extra to seal)
60g freshly grated Parmesan
Salt to taste

In a mortar and pestle mix together the basil, garlic, nuts, salt and about half the oil.
Continue to grind, and then gradually add the rest of the oil. Add additional oil if you prefer a thinner mixture. Stir in the parmesan by hand. Toss with some pasta and you have yourself a delicious dish!

Find more basil recipes on Recipebridge.
July 16, 2012