Creating steak magic with mayonnaise  - don't judge... yet! 

By The Bearded Canadian 

If you’re in a bind as to how to bring your steaks alive without resorting to adding sauce, I want to share my latest discovery with you right now. 

By the way, there’s nothing wrong with creating beautiful aromatic sauces to complement your meaty main, in fact, I believe that that is a wonderful skill, I’m now convinced Train has yet to master [Ed. And it’s on!... Yes!!!]. While reliance on the simple wonders of salt, pepper and oil and perhaps some garlic are deservedly praised, the act of maintaining a culinary curiosity is just as valuable. Also, please keep in mind that “resorting” is the key word. What I don’t want for you is to cook a piece of steak, taste it and realise that it’s bland and disappointing. That’s when you find yourself resorting to sauce. And as Train often says, “if you find yourself on the verge of despair and topping a tired steak with tomato sauce, maybe just flush it down the S-bend and retain at least a pinch of dignity.” Harsh but perhaps fair. [Ed. An olive branch?] 

Okay, back to my discovery. Train quite rightly hammers home the fact that when it comes to grilling steaks, salt, pepper and oil are mandatory, but why does he stop there? [Ed. Soooo, no olive branch?]. One of the reasons for applying olive oil is to help bind the salt and pepper to your gorgeous steak. But surely, we can think of and add other ways. I know our good friends at Cheat Meats will often apply a coating of mustard to help bind a rub to their steak dishes and that’s one of the factors that got me thinking. And if you like steak and eggs… 

Logic is a weird thing, isn’t it? If you follow the logic behind certain flavour combinations you’ll chance upon a whole lot of interesting ideas just waiting to be plated up. Take for instance that breakfast (or lunch) staple of champions, steak and eggs. What a combo. Steak and oil, salt and pepper, mustard and steak – they’re all great combos that work beautifully together. 

So speaking of combinations, here’s one that I trialled to take the place of the olive oil combination to bind the SPG: 

Egg yolk, salt, pepper and dry mustard, a touch of brown sugar, lemon juice and vinegar and yes, Train, olive oil – 100% extra virgin olive oil. And yes, those ingredients will indeed make a very nice mayo. But take a look at the images I’ve put together to see, as I did, the difference that the made-from-scratch mayo makes. 

SPG olive oil bindSPG Mayo bind SPG, coffee rub, mayo bind. And yes, I ate them all and they were delicious all in their own way. Hey Train, variety is he spice of life [Ed: and it’s on again!]. Try it for yourself and… Feast on!