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Barbecued T-bone steak with home-made barbecue sauce

Neil Perry
Neil Perry

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Big-flavour: T-bone steak with barbecue sauce.
Big-flavour: T-bone steak with barbecue sauce.William Meppem

This is really all about doing the simple things well. Go to a butcher and get them to cut big T-bones for you; if it's dry-aged beef, even better. Medium rare is the best cooking temperature for this cut but, if you like it more well done, go ahead – it just loses the best part of it as the juices disappear. Begin preparing the sauce the day before your barbecue.

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Ingredients

  • 4 x 500g T-bone steaks

  • sea salt and freshly ground pepper

  • extra virgin olive oil

  • lemon wedges

For the barbecue sauce

  • 20g whole dried chipotle​ chilli

  • 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

  • 1 brown onion, chopped

  • 5 garlic cloves, chopped

  • 2 tsp sea salt

  • ¾ cup packed brown sugar 

  • ⅔ cup red wine vinegar

  • 1kg tinned Italian tomatoes

  • 2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce

  • 4 tbsp tomato ketchup

  • 1 tbsp honey 

  • 1½ tbsp mild chilli powder

  • ½ tsp ground white pepper

  • juice of two oranges

  • ⅛ tsp liquid smoke

Method

  1. 1. For the barbecue sauce, soak the chipotle chillies in a quarter cup of hot water overnight. Drain the liquid and keep to one side. Pat dry the chipotles, then slice. 

    2. Warm two tablespoons of oil in a saucepan over low heat. Fry the chipotle for a few minutes until they become brittle, then add the onions, garlic and salt, and cook until soft.

    3. Add the brown sugar and vinegar. Bring to a boil and simmer for 10 minutes. Add the remaining ingredients and the water set aside in step one. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to a simmer and cook until the tomatoes are soft, about 40 minutes. Process with a hand-held blender then push through a fine metal sieve with the back of a spoon. Return sauce to a pot and put on the stove. Cook on a low heat for another 15 to 30 minutes until the flavours combine and sauce becomes glossy.

    4. For the steak Remove the steaks from the fridge two hours before cooking and season liberally with salt.

    5. Preheat the barbecue to hot. Rub steaks with a little extra virgin olive oil. 

    6. Place the steaks on the grill and cook, turning half way. For a rare steak, allow about six to seven minutes on each side depending on thickness; add a couple of minutes each side for medium.

    7. Put the steaks on a plate, cover with foil and keep warm. Rest for 10 minutes.

    8. Place a T-bone on each plate and give a good grind of pepper. Put a lemon wedge with each steak and serve the barbecue sauce at the table to share.

    Serving suggestion: Serve with a salad and Neil Perry's onion rings.

    Leftover sauce: You can keep the leftover sauce in the fridge for a few weeks but, it won't last long! You can use it on all barbecued foods, sandwiches and even try it on a breakfast egg dish.

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Neil PerryNeil Perry is a restaurateur, chef and former Good Weekend columnist.

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