Simmer the wine and vinegar till reduced to <60ml. 30 minutes. Remove from the heat and add in the finely chopped tarragon and stand 30 minutes. You can do this step well ahead of time.

In a double boiler bowl whisk egg yolks. Keep whisking till it thickens. 3 minutes. Do not allow to get too hot and scrap the edges constantly. Add in the wine mixture slowly while whisking.

Remove the saucepan with the bowl still on top to the bench and whisk in the butter at about a teaspoon full at a time. This process should take 3 - 4 minutes. Serve immediately.

Its really important that you add a small amount of butter and whisk this into a stiff emulsion first. If this is not done correctly you will have a runny sauce rather than the spongy, fluffy texture that makes a real Bearnaise.


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So many ways produce a great steak but try this. One very hot ribbed cast iron pan. Smear the grill with a small amount of Tallow or Ghee. You can use a peanut oil or like but never ever use Extra Virgin Olive Oil. Pat dry the steaks with paper towel. Put the steaks at a 45 degree angle into the pan and char for 45 seconds. Push down harder onto the pan with a spatula. Flip over, keepin the same angle and cook 45 seconds. Season the top side with salt. Remove from the pan and rest a few minutes or so while doing the same to more steaks. Allow the pan to reheat between steaks. Return the first steaks top side down to the pan rotated 90 degrees to create the cross hatch pattern. Cook 45 seconds and then flip over. Paint the now crosshatched top surface with clarified butter. Cook at least 45 seconds more. Remove from the pan and rest 5 minutes before serving. The thickness of the steak will have a bearing on the cooking time. This is for a half an inch thick. Don't be afraid to put it back in the pan if need be, bottom side down to keep that great cross hatch look.

Myth Buster:: The idea that you only ever turn a steak once is incorrect. Always cook steaks from cold. No more than 10 minutes out of the refrigerator. So much safer and the best way to get medium rare
45 seconds a side    x 4   is  3 minutes cook time   Rare
60 seconds a side    x 4   is  4 minutes cook time   Medium Rare
90 seconds a side    x 4   is  6 minutes cook time   Medium
120 seconds  side    x 4   is  8 minutes cook time   Well Done.
 
50ml white vinegar
250ml Lambrusco wine
Touch of chopped Tarragon
4 egg yolks at room temp
80g salted butter at room temp

Grass Fed Rump Steaks

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I have been a big fan of King Island Rump for so long, but in recent years I felt that the quality level declined ever so slightly. Now my local source can no longer get it. What a shame. Seemingly, it turns out that King Island has changed from a destination or source location to a brand. This might mean the King Island product you paid a premium for could have come from Victoria or Tasmania or wherever and simply be branded King Island but not actually be from King Island. You gotta love MBA's in suits.

High heat breaks down extra virgin olive oil and it tastes disgusting. Tallow and Ghee will work best. Any good oil will work inc cheap olive oil that has been steamed from the pulp. It will have a much higher smoke point.
A great Bearnaise Sauce must be spongy and delicate. Stand a teaspoon in it thick. If the sauce is runny it has failed. Once mastered this is really easy to do. Do not overheat the eggs while thickening. Put a small amount of very soft butter and whip longer than you might think to get the emulsion started correctly.

Its amazing how much influence one man can have. In the early 1990's The Keg (a Canadian chain restaurant) opened a pilot restaurant near my home. I really didn't think much of their menu so I settled into having a Rump steak and insisted on Butter, Hot English Mustard and Worcestershire sauce on the side. When I first ordered this I made them run across the road and buy the mustard and sauce. The maitre D took great interest in how I would spread the steak with butter and as this melted add the sauce and then dabbed on mustard. (suedo Steak Dianne.) Anyway a little later this is what they were advertising on TV. Thinking this is how Australians eat steak. I am the only person I have ever seen eat steak this way. And it is good. Not so much a recipe as an over use of condiments. Needless to say the Keg didn't last long in Australia.
Rump steak with bearnaise sauce

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