In the end I got my hands on a couple of Cowboy Steaks of the brand SCOTLAND HILLS by chance at EDEKA and was really surprised for a long time again. It had been a while since I was allowed to cook in a home environment with beef of such excellent quality.

Not only was the meat easy to process and it hardly lost any volume when grilled or roasted – it had a breathtaking taste of its own, and this with a tenderness that otherwise only “boring” fillets got.

Since this chance purchase I have of course already processed many, many kilos of this premium meat with its fine, even marbling and great texture. At this point I would like to show you briefly what I think is the ideal procedure for preparing this gourmet meat.

First of all, of course BBQ is the method of choice for this meat – but I too was already forced to use a pan for weather reasons. In any case I recommend you to choose a “cast-iron pan” – best with strong “ribs” and almost make it glow, so that the result is as close as possible to that of grilling.

First, I let the Cowboy Steaks on the bone come to room temperature and only then I divide the rack into slices with a thickness of 4-5 cm each. Then I salt them only very lightly with coarse crystal salt (with preference Himalayan salt from Pakistan) before grilling and provide each slice with a light film of virgin olive oil before they land on the very hot grill.

The oil causes the surface of the meat to briefly flare up and “seal” it. Once this is done, I close the grill so that the smoke can settle sufficiently on the meat and the burned oils can convey the desired grill taste.

Depending on the thickness of the slices, I turn them over as soon as – and this is important – they can be lifted off easily by themselves. Then you have already got the desired drawing of the grill grate. Up to the plate each side should have been heated at least twice and ideally – for optical reasons – show a cross pattern.

I still check the cooking degree traditionally with my finger – the Australian method. Of course, you can also use meat thermometers. It’s also a nice thing to grill the edge of the steaks first – I do that sometimes when time permits – but that’s up to you.

Of course, you can also work with Sous Vide – whether forwards or backwards – but then I would advise you to debone the rack of Cowboy Steaks and prepare them as a whole to get the best result.

You should always remember to let the meat rest for a while (5-10 minutes) after grilling or roasting – for example on the resting area of your BBQ, or in the preheated oven at a maximum of 55°C. This way the “juices” stay in the meat when you cut it and that makes the real difference!

If you have got an appetite now, go to EDEKA or if the barbecue event is still a few days away, order online from Genusswelt – the Cowboy Steak will not disappoint you!

Oh yes, and don’t forget to serve a decent wine with it – of course I recommend a Shiraz from my favourite winery – Mollydooker from Australia! We had a 2016 Boxer and a 2015 Blue Eyed Boy for the Cowboy Steak and that more than matched…