Scotch fillet

Baa Moo Oink again

Posted by Gary

You can skip the introduction and jump to the recipe if you don’t care for my rambling palaver.

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Green prawns

Dear Reader,

Introduction

I hope you’ve had a good week.

I’ve spent more than a week in my new home. Almost all of the boxes have been unpacked. It will take me weeks or possibly months to go through all of the cupboards and drawers to arrange things the way I want.

I want to start this new life in Adelaide with a different outlook. I want to be more decisive about what I keep and discard. I have a “what if” and a “just in case” mindset. I must think through everything and carefully ask, “Do I really need that?”

I have finished my leave from work. I’ve had a total of four weeks of leave this calendar year. That is a record for me. I don’t like taking leave. I like to be busy at work. I confess the time off has been good.  

On Thursday, I had a National Broadband Network (NBN) technician arrive to install a NBN Network Termination Device. I now have high-speed broadband internet. This will make working from home possible.

On Friday, a plumber installed some pipes to a new laundry tub so that my washing machine hoses can be hidden from view. As a housewarming gift, Kathleen organised refitting the laundry with a new tub and tiles. It’s a magnificent looking laundry.

The plumber also reseated the taps in the bathroom to keep the taps from dripping.

The last job the plumber had was installing a new gas cooker in the kitchen. Last night, Kathleen came over and we enjoyed lamb chops which was the first thing I cooked on the gas cooker.

I’ve been eating well during the week.

Rolled leg of lamb on the Weber Q+
Rolled leg of lamb on the Weber Q+
Barbecued rolled leg of lamb
Barbecued rolled leg of lamb
Barbecued rolled leg of lamb
Barbecued rolled leg of lamb
Barbecued rolled leg of lamb
Pacific salmon poached in lamb broth and cooked in a Weber Q+
Pacific salmon poached in lamb broth and cooked in a Weber Q+
Lamb chops cooked on my new Emilia gas cooker

What have I been watching?

The Bloody Hundredth

After watching Masters of the Air on Apple TV, I watched a documentary The Bloody Hundredth which featured some of the people featured in the Apple Original Miniseries.

If you watch Masters of the Air I strongly recommend The Bloody Hundredth.

Free-to-air TV

Believe it or not, I’ve not had access to FTA TV for at least five years. I now have a new TV and an antenna which works.

I’m grateful that I can watch the rugby league coverage in Adelaide in high definition. It will be great to see the Dolphins NRL team play the next time.

Mad Max

Last night, Kathleen came over for dinner, and after eating our lamb chops, we sat on the new coach, reclined, and watched one of my favourite movies. Kathleen had never seen Mad Max before.

The movie was released while I was in high school, and because of the Restricted rating, I wasn’t allowed to see it. I’ve since watched it many times on VHS, DVD, and streaming platforms. Last night was the first time I’d seen it on a reasonable-sized TV in the comfort of my lounge room whilst reclining on a comfortable couch and sharing a favourite movie with Kathleen.

What have I been listening to?

Change your diet, change your mind.

I’ve completed Georgia Ede’s book. I enjoyed how she explained psychiatry in the context of neurology. (Ede, 2024)

The book emphasises how what we eat affects our mental health and wellbeing. This book connects naturally with other books I’ve been reading about human nutrition and metabolic health.

I found the author’s concept of “quiet” eating fascinating. The idea is to avoid foods known to cause problems while remaining in a particular eating paradigm, such as “paleo,” “keto,” or “carnivore.”

I recommend this book to anyone interested in low carbohydrate eating and how protein and fat can improve mental health.

Recipe

Baa Moo Oink bone-in scotch fillet steak.

Equipment

  • Precision cooker
  • Water bath
  • Barbecue

Ingredients

  • Bone-in scotch fillet steak
  • Prawns (raw with shell and alimentary canal intact)
Bone-in ribeye steak
Bone-in ribeye steak
Bone-in ribeye steak
Green prawns

Instructions

  1. Season the steak with cooking salt.
  2. Vacuum seal the steak with some thyme and rosemary. I have a rosemary bush in my front yard.
  3. Cook the steak at 57 °C for 3 hours in a water bath.
  4. Remove the steak from the bag and dry the surface of the meat with absorbent paper.
  5. Sear the steak on a barbecue grill.
  6. Cook the prawns on the barbecue.
  7. Carve the steak and plate up.
  8. If you’re following a meat-only diet, just the steak will be more than sufficient to satisfy your hunger. You can pick up the steak and just bite into it. This minimises washing.
  9. If you’re low-carbohydrate eating, the steak and some plant-based foods like avocado, leafy green leaves, olives, and tomatoes are a good combination.
  10. If you’re not concerned with carbohydrates, fill your boots.
  11. If you’re vegetarian or vegan, this steak won’t be suitable.
  12. Always give thanks to the Lord.
  13. Eat with whatever implements you prefer. I used a fork.
Bone-in scotch fillet steak out of the water bath
Bone-in scotch fillet steak after searing on the barbecue
Sous vide scotch fillet steak and barbecue prawns
Sous vide scotch fillet steak and barbecue prawns

Thoughts on the meal

Kathleen came over for dinner, so the meal was fabulous.

Final thoughts

  • Do you enjoy watching free-to-air TV? What are your favourite programs/shows?
  • Have you watched Mad Max? Did you enjoy it?

Disclaimer and comments

This post and other posts on this blog are not medical or health advice. I’m sharing my personal experiences from my lived experience. My opinions remain mine.

For health advice, see your regular medical practitioner. For diet advice, consult with appropriately registered professionals.

References

Ede, G. (2024). Change Your Diet, Change Your Mind: A Food-First Plan to Optimize Your Mental Health. Hodder & Stoughton.

Fantastic feasting

Posted by Gary

Introduction

I hope you’ve had a good week. I’m currently in Adelaide with Kathleen.

Restaurant review  

I don’t have a recipe this weekend because I’m in Adelaide with Kathleen, and we’re enjoying some of the fantastic feasting here.

Georges on Waymouth

Kathleen has been thinking about dining at Georges for a long time. I think the period can be measured in years. It was an honour and a pleasure to join with Kathleen in dining at Georges for the first time for both of us.

Georges is well known in Adelaide for consistently good Mediterranean-styled cuisine. The menu draws on local produce with European experience and excellence.

We decided to share two starters and went with the Hiramasa Port Lincoln Kingfish crudo, apple and shallot dressing, radish, labneh, and dill oil, along with the Vitello Tonnato, tuna aioli, pickled white anchovies, capers, pickled shallots.

The former dish was a revelation in freshness and flavour. The fish was light and delicate.

The thinly sliced veal with tuna aioli, in comparison, was a more substantial mouthful per fork. It also had the capers’ crisp texture and the aioli’s smoothness.

We enjoyed both but tipped the kingfish as the winner.

For our main course dishes, Kathleen chose the crowd-pleasing lamb press, pancetta, chickpea hummus, Mt. Zero chickpea salad, za’atar, and watercress, which is known as the Georges signature dish. I chose the 300-gram “Southern Grain” Black Angus scotch fillet (MBS 4+), café de Paris butter. I asked for it to be cooked medium rare.

Before I describe these two dishes, the standout main course special for the evening was a 1-kilogram T-bone steak with a marbling score of 4+. It is a shared dish.

When informed of this special, my eyes lit up, and Kathleen grinned in reaction to my facial expression. We discussed the arguments for and against choosing the T-bone steak and decided against it. We would swap our plates during the meal so we’d both experience a good steak tonight anyway. Going with the T-bone would be all we ate, which seemed limiting for our first time at Georges.

I think it was the correct decision. For me, a scotch fillet (or ribeye for North American readers) perfectly blends meat and fat. It is also flavourful and tender. That’s not to say a T-bone isn’t full of flavour, but I wasn’t sure if the chef would leave all the fat on the meat the way I like it. At least with a scotch fillet, there are likely to be islands of lovely fat between the large muscle bundles. This decision also meant we could both enjoy the steak and the pressed lamb wrapped in prosciutto. Our whole meal was a meat-eating dream.

We can understand why the lamb press is the restaurant’s signature dish. It was well executed in presentation; the lamb was perfectly cooked and tender and suited the chickpea accompaniment.

The scotch fillet was magnificent, especially smothered in the herb-enriched butter. I laid the sliced meat flat and then smeared the butter over the cut surfaces for greater penetration and flavour.

We decided against dessert or cheese and ended the evening watching a submarine movie, viz., Hunter Killer, on TV. It was a wonderful evening with Kathleen.

It’s been a while since I’ve written a restroom review for a restaurant. I didn’t require restroom use; however, Kathleen rates the restroom highly.

Georges on Waymouth
Georges Hiramasa Port Lincoln Kingfish crudo, apple and shallot dressing, radish, labneh, dill oil
Georges Vitello Tonnato, tuna aioli, pickled white anchovies, capers, pickled shallots
Georges signature lamb press, pancetta, chickpea hummus, Mt. Zero chickpea salad, za’atar, and watercress
Georges 300 gram “Southern Grain” Black Angus scotch fillet (MBS 4+), café de Paris butter
Georges 300 gram “Southern Grain” Black Angus scotch fillet (MBS 4+), café de Paris butter

UR Caffe (pronounced your Caffe)

Kathleen took me to breakfast this morning at UR Caffe. This is a well-patronised establishment in North Adelaide.

Walking in, it had a good vibe, and like those well-put-together places where the delicious fragrance of coffee wafts through the air, you can feel this is also a good place for breakfast.

The coffee was good, and the food was great.

Kathleen went with the fried halloumi, Swiss brown mushrooms, broccolini, crispy kale, scrambled eggs, and teriyaki sauce on sourdough bread.

I went with poached eggs, hollandaise sauce, rocket, smoked salmon, asparagus spears, bacon, and avocado. The meal came with two pieces of sourdough bread, which I elected to leave untouched.

Both meals went down well and were immensely satisfying. I can see myself wanting to regularly enjoy breakfast at UR Caffe.

UR Caffe fried halloumi, Swiss brown mushrooms, broccolini, crispy kale, scrambled eggs, and teriyaki sauce on sourdough bread
UR caffe Poached eggs, hollandaise sauce, rocket, smoked salmon, asparagus spears, bacon, and avocado

Other thoughts

Tonight, we’re dining out again. I may write about this experience next weekend.

I’m loving my time in Adelaide with Kathleen. I also love that Kathleen understands my desire to improve my health by choosing certain foods over other types of food. The places we’ve chosen have given us the freedom to enjoy and not feel restricted in choice.  

See you next week.

Oven roasted scotch fillet steak with cheesy creamy vegetables Meater review

Posted by Gary

Oven roasted scotch fillet steak with cheesy creamy vegetables

MEATER® review

[maxbutton id=”12″ url=”#photographs” ] [maxbutton id=”11″ url=”#questions-and-answers” ]

At the beginning of every January, Trevor Long, Chris Bowen and Geoff Quattromani from the EFTM podcast make their annual pilgrimage to CES in Las Vegas. EFTM is a technology, motor car and lifestyle podcast primarily aimed at blokes. It’s not safe for work (NSFW), it’s not safe for kids to listen to, and, it is very blokey. While at CES Geoff wrote a review of the MEATER®️ meat thermometer on the EFTM website.

This is a photograph of my scotch fillet steak cooked rare with the cheesy creamy horseradish flavoured vegetables in a dish. The meat is cut and obviously rare.

While I own and use very basic meat thermometers, using one requires opening and closing the oven door multiples times. I prefer not to open the door until the food is ready. The Bluetooth and wireless capability of the MEATER®️ meat thermometer sounded like a good solution. It would mean I could cook meat for the right period of time without overcooking the flesh.

I went to the MEATER®️ website and looked through all the information and decided to buy one. The manufacturers have an Australian agent and as soon as I completed the order I received an e-mail explaining the product was ordered but there would be a slight delay. About a week later I received another e-mail informing me of another slight delay. All in all, the total waiting time was about a month. This didn’t really worry me and I was grateful for the regular updates.

When my new MEATER®️ meat thermometer arrived at my post office box, I was really impressed with the no-frills packaging. It gave me the feeling of a precision instrument.

This is a photograph of the MEATER® in its box

I’ve used my MEATER®️ meat thermometer about half a dozen times now in chicken (Maryland pieces), beef (scotch fillet steak) and pork (chops). It’s been brilliant. The meat has been cooked well and each meal has been distinguished by moist, tender and juicy animal flesh. I’m yet to try lamb, but I can’t imagine there will be any problems.

The iOS app works well and I’ve not experienced any Bluetooth connection problems. On Instagram and Twitter search for #meatermade to get an idea of the sorts of meals, people are cooking with their MEATER®️ meat thermometer. After each meal is cooked, I get an e-mail survey asking me how my meal was. I’ll probably turn this feature off when the novelty wears off. Notifications in the app work well and five minutes (this can be adjusted) before the end of the cooking time a tone is emitted and it gives you enough time to prepare to get the meat out and to allow the meat to rest.

This is a screenshot from the MEATER® iOS app of tonight's cook.

Leave the MEATER®️ meat thermometer in the meat until resting is complete and then simply wash it in warm soapy water. It comes in a wooden box which houses an AAA battery which charges the probe before each use.

This is a photograph of the box which my MEATER® came in.

Recipe

This is a photograph of my scotch fillet steak cooked rare with the cheesy creamy horseradish flavoured vegetables in a dish. The meat is cut and obviously rare.
Print
Oven roasted scotch fillet steak with cheesy creamy vegetables
Prep Time
10 mins
Cook Time
30 mins
Total Time
40 mins
 
Oven roasted scotch fillet steak using the MEATER®️ meat thermometer to achieve a perfect medium rare steak which I served with some cheesy creamy vegetables.
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Australian
Servings: 1
Calories: 500 kcal
Author: Gary
Ingredients
  • 1 Scotch fillet steak seasoned with salt, pepper, and garlic powder and vacuum packed.
  • Broccoli
  • Cauliflower
  • Peas
  • Corn
  • Cream
  • Cheese grated
  • Horseradish cream
Instructions
  1. Pat the steak dry and season both sides with iodised salt, black pepper and garlic powder.
  2. Vacuum pack and refrigerate overnight.
    This is a photograph of the seasoned scotch fillet steak in its vacuum packing.
  3. Remove the steak from the refrigerator an hour before cooking to get it to room temperature.
    This is a photograph of the scotch fillet steak with the MEATER® inserted
  4. Insert the MEATER®️ meat thermometer into the steak and place on a baking sheet.

  5. Place the steak into a preheated oven (200 °C/400 °F).

  6. Cook using the MEATER®️ App.
  7. Rest the meat as per the app.
  8. While the steak was cooking put the broccoli, cauliflower, peas and corn into a microwave radiation safe container and cook using microwave radiation until the broccoli is soft.
  9. Drain the vegetables and put them in an ovenproof dish with some cream and cheese.
  10. When the steak and Brussels sprouts are removed from the oven, put the vegetables into the oven, turn the heat up to high to brown the cheese.
  11. Sear the steak with a torch or use a hot frying pan or if you want the best, go outside and use a flamethrower.
    This is a photograph of the rare scotch fillet steak which I've cut into slices.
  12. Serve the steak and vegetables on a plate.
    This is a photograph of my scotch fillet steak cooked rare with the cheesy creamy horseradish flavoured vegetables in a dish. The meat is cut and obviously rare.
  13. Shoot a photograph.
  14. Savour the meal.
  15. Write the recipe.
  16. Write the blog post.
  17. Hope your readers will share the post on social media.
Recipe Notes

I do not work out, look up or calculate the energy content of my meals. In this recipe plugin I have to add a figure, so I default to 500 Calories (500,000 calories).

Photographs

As well as some photographs of dishes I’ve previously cooked using the MEATER®.

Click on one image and then scroll through all the photographs.

Poppy and sesame seed crusted Chicken Maryland with Meater thermometer.
Scotch fillet steak with vegetables. The meat was oven baked with the MEATER thermometer.
Tuesday dinner. Poppy and sesame seed crusted Chicken Maryland with fennel and tomato lime salad.

Questions and answers

What’s the advantage of using a meat thermometer?

The most important reason is food safety. You do not want to undercook your meat. This is especially true for poultry. Always shop, prepare and cook with an assumption in your head that every chicken, duck, turkey and goose contains Salmonella and Campylobacter in its main cavity. Given the proximity of the main body cavity with the major cut of flesh, bacterial contamination is really easy.

For chicken, you want the internal temperature to get to about 75 °C/167 °F.

For mammals, most cuts are large muscle bundles and are effectively isolated from the body cavities. Mammal meat is relatively safe when it comes to pathogenic bacteria assuming the meat processing and butchering have been managed safely.

Because, most mammalian meat is best eaten rare or bordering on medium rare, precise temperature measurement is an advantage. Hence, the advantage of a meat thermometer.

What’s your favourite cut of beef?

There’s a lot of argument on what makes a good steak. In my find, a good steak tastes beefy and it is tender. The best compromise for pan frying in my limited experience is scotch fillet or rib eye fillet steak.

The flavour though of porterhouse or rump cap is really rich and if I could cook that so it was tender I’d be really happy.

There may be a change on that front soon. I’ve purchased a water recirculator and I’m going to experiment with sous vide cooking.

Should you use a steak knife when eating steak?

OMG, yes. Cutting steak effectively and efficiently adds to the whole eating experience. While you can cut a properly cooked steak with a butter knife, why would you? A well-weighted steak knife makes all the difference. A well-balanced steak knife is a thing of beauty. A well-made steak knife is a tool to treasure, protect and maintain.

You seem to like the MEATER®️ meat thermometer. Were you paid by them for this review?

No, Yummy Lummy currently receives no sponsorship or financial support. If MEATER®️ wants to send me products to try, I’m happy to discuss an opportunity.

Update (Tuesday, 13 February, 2018)

I was asked about the price of the MEATER®, I was able to buy it on-line in January 2018 for AUD$129.

Final words

So I’ve dipped my toes back into podcasting. I recently closed off my health and medical podcast so I can now focus entirely on food blogging.

I will be recording and dropping a regular weekly show soon. It will be called, “The Yummy Lummy Cooking for one podcast.”

What I’ve done recently is start a super short random show named, “Random Yummy.” I’ve dropped two shows so far. You can find them at:

https://YummyLummy.com/RY0001

https://YummyLummy.com/RY0002

Let me know what you think.

So dear reader, do you regularly use a meat thermometer? Let me know in the comments section below.

Rare steak salad from Yummy Lummy

Posted by Gary
A photograph of my rare steak salad for dinner

After a busy and long day at work I wanted something simple and yummy for dinner.

I had some steak in the refrigerator and some salad vegetables.

Rare steak salad from Yummy Lummy
 
Recipe Type: Easy Yummy Lummy dinner
Cuisine: Australian
Author: Gary Lum
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 1
A simple meal to cook after a long busy day at work
Ingredients
  • Scotch fillet steak
  • Cos lettuce
  • Spring onion
  • Radish
  • Chilli
  • Fried shallots
  • Avocado
  • Balsamic vinegar
  • Olive oil
  • Pepper
Instructions
  1. Heat a frying pan to smoking hot
  2. Rub cooking oil on the steak
  3. Put the steak in the hot fry pan and turn every 20 seconds and repeat for five minutes
  4. Rest the steak for 10 minutes
  5. Slice the lettuce, chilli, spring onion, and radish for the salad
  6. Dice the avocado
  7. Add all the salad bits to a bowl with the fried shallots, pepper and mix with the olive oil and balsamic vinegar
  8. Plate the salad
  9. Thinly slice the steak and add to the salad
  10. Shoot the photograph, for me I used a Nikon D5300 and a Tamron 90 mm MACRO lens at 1/80 seconds, f/5 and ISO 100
  11. Eat the steak and salad
  12. Wash the dishes
  13. Write a blog post
 
Notes
I love these simple types of steak dishes. I really like scotch fillet and especially the deckle.
A photograph of my rare steak salad for dinner
For non-pay day Thursday #dinner I prepared a steak salad