Beef Steak with Herbed Marble Potatoes

Here’s another dish where I felt like I spent a small fortune. Three hundred bucks for a slab of beef? Doesn’t it taste the same as a fifty peso can of corned beef? But it was New Year and Jan wanted to have a taste so I agreed to one slab only.

I believe they call this the t-bone.

The truth is, this dish wasn’t supposed to happen at all. Jan and his dad both agreed on beef steak but what dad had in mind was the traditional Filipino beef steak where thin strips of meat are sauteed in onions and soy sauce. Jan wanted the kind of steak we only see and salivate over in American movies.

To appease both parties, I bought beef for both kinds of steak. I had to ward off attackers with a meat clamp to get my share. It was New Year’s eve, the last day to panic for media noche fare, and shoppers had turned into meat cleaving zombies.

For his steak, Jan rubbed salt and whole peppercorns on the t-bone, poked holes on it with a fork and marinated it in store bought barbecue marinade with tenderizer. 

Three hours would have been enough for marinating but alas, after watching people trying to blow off their fingers with firecrackers on New Year’s eve, I fell asleep. Days later the beef was ready to defrost and grill.

For the side dish, he drizzled the potatoes with olive oil and added oregano, peppermill, rosemary and all spice and wrapped it in aluminum foil. I would’ve wanted to go all Jamie Oliver and bury the potatoes in sand to cook but all we had was a grill so that’s where they went to cook beside the t-bone.

Right before serving, Jan poured gravy over the steak for added flavor.

I’d say the small fortune was well spent. It tasted better than corned beef, but I’m not about to break the bank. It’ll be next year until you see another piece of steak here.