Thus Let Us Drink Beer (and eat meat)
Tinnies and Tomahawks
There are many benefits to vegetarian and vegan eating and I tend to live a vegetarian lifestyle 99% of the time.
However, I love great steak and every now and then I treat myself to one. Given that I reserve steak dinners for special occasions and when choosing restaurants, look for ones that age their beef to improve the tenderness of the cut and intensify the flavour. Specifically dry aging can add depth by allowing the enzymes to break down the tissue and thereby tenderizing it and concentrating the flavours. Needless to say, it needs to be done professionals as the process poses the risk of spoilage and other undesirable side-effects.
A good steak also has delicate marbling, i.e. pockets of ideally monounsaturated fats that break down during the cooking process to add to the juiciness.
However, an integral and vital component is the way the steak is cooked and seasoned, which is where the expertise of the chef comes in.
Enter Chef, restauranteur, ‘paddock to plate’ evangelist and Australian icon Matt Moran and his Chophouse, whose team has not only perfectioned ticking all the boxes when it comes to the aforementioned elements, but whose pedigree is in farming and whose expertise is informed by a lifetime of produce passion, rearing ethically farmed hormone-free beef, lamb and pigs.
An epic collaboration between one of our favourite breweries, i.e. Young Henrys (the delicious liquid emissions of which we have covered numerous times as part of our beer-centric series), and the Chophouse, appropriately titled ‘Tinnies and Tomahawks’ saw a three-course dinner eventuate with a tomahawk steak taking centre stage, flanked by five YH tinnies and their Noble Cut gin, which we have individually reviewed before as part of this series.
For the uninitiated, a Tomahawk steak is a behemoth of meat and visually impressive the extent that it looks like it has been lifted straight out of an episode of the Flintstones, with the large bone handle. Comprised of a thick chunk of ribeye at one end and a minimum thickness of two inches, this is a steak which should be preferred by experts and in that regard we were in the best hands at the Chophouse. Using a simple indirect heating method, Chophouse’s head chef absolutely nailed the perfect medium rare of this impressive meat experience.
All the meaty expertise aside, what made the evening was the genuine hospitality extended by the each constituent of the Chophouse team, which saw us being invited to the kitchen to witness the team up close channelling their alchemy.
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photos by @k.a.vv
