Ingredients:

• 2x250g Sirloin Steaks
• Olive oil
• Salt and pepper

For the Béarnaise sauce

• 1 tbsp white wine vinegar
• 1 ½ tbsp. of finely chopped tarragon
• 15g of finely chopped shallots
• 5 peppercorns, crushed
• 2 egg yolks
• 125g clarified butter cooled
• 1 tbsp of finely chopped flat leaf parsley
• Juice of ¼ lemon
• Salt and pepper to taste

Preparation:

Cooking the steak

1. Heat a griddle or frying pan until it is smoking hot.
2. Brush the steak with a little olive oil and season with salt and pepper.
3. Put the steak on the griddle/frying and cook; for rare 1 ½ minutes each side; medium-rare 2 minutes each side; medium 2 ¼ minutes each side; medium-well 2 ½ – 3 minutes each side. (These timings are based on a sirloin steak 2cm thick. Cooking time will vary depending of the thickness or how hot the pan is.)
4. Once cooked, place on a warm plate and allow to rest for 3 minutes in a warm place before serving
5. Add the vinegar, two thirds of the tarragon, shallots and peppercorns into a small pan and reduce by half on a low heat. Remove from the heat and allow to cool.
6. When the vinegar mixture is cold, add the egg yolk and 1 ½ tbsp. of cold water in the pan and return to a low heat whisking continuously. Make sure the whisk gets into all areas of the pan. As you whisk, gradually increase the heat. The sauce will emulsify. This will take about 4-6 minutes important not to allow the temperature to get hotter than 65c or the sauce will spilt.
7. Turn off the heat and whisk in the clarified butter, a little at a time.
8. Season with salt and pepper and sieve into another pan. Stir in the rest of the tarragon, parsley and lemon juice. Check seasoning once again.
9. Place your steak on a warm plate and pour over the sauce.

Chef’s tip: Resting your steak is as important as cooking it as this will allow the steak to relax and therefore be as tender as possible.