White Park Bone-In Fillet Steak

Bone-In Fillet Steak has been a holy grail pursuit of mine for some time. The only time I’ve tried it before was on the ‘other’ side (to the sirloin side) of a T-Bone steak. But then I came across Turner & George, an incredible butcher’s established by Richard H Turner (Executive Chef of Hawksmoor and Director of Pitt Cue Co.) and James George.

Their website offers many cuts I have never come across before, including these extraordinary Bone-In Fillet Steaks, available at 250g or 350g weights. But what’s also fantastic about T & G is they tell what breed of cattle their meat comes from, plus the name of the farm where it was bred – and the date the cow was slaughtered. It’s the ultimate in farm-to-fork traceability.

With a heavy hint, I nudged my wife towards buying me a Turner & George voucher for Christmas and then I waited for them to stock a breed I’ve never tried before: White Park, a magnificent white breed with long horns.

These beauties came from a cow reared on Rashleighayes Farm in Bickleigh, near Tiverton, Devon, which was slaughtered on January 27 2014.

I am very privileged to report that it did not give its life in vain. For this was a superb eating experience, for which I am very grateful, to my wife, to T & G but most of all to the White Park cow that provided it.

Here’s how I cooked these steaks, following the instructions on the T & G website.

1. Ensure the cut is at room temperature. (Remove from the fridge at least 2 hours before cooking.)

2. Get your grill or pan smoking hot.

3. At the last minute, season well with East London Steak Co. rub – don’t use oil, if the grill or pan is hot enough, it won’t stick.

4. Stick your steak on! Leave for a couple of mins to get a good colour then turn. Keep turning regularly to avoid burning. Cook for:

For this 350g steak:

Rare 6-8 minutes

Medium Rare 8-10 minutes

Medium 10-12 minutes

Medium Well 12-14 minutes