Hawksmoor at Home: Recipes

Allergens: sulphites

When we were in New York trying (and, due to Covid, failing) to open a Hawksmoor an olive’s throw from the birthplace of the Martini we delved deep into the drink’s history, taste-toured its evolution and tried dozens of variants with different gins and vermouths. We think this really is ‘The Ultimate’. Made with Hepple gin, a (top secret) blend of vermouths and a few drops of lemon oil made for us from amazing lemons grown on a tiny Sicilian island. It’s at the perfect dilution so you don’t need to do anything, simply stick it in the freezer for an hour and a half (or up to three), pour and serve. No shaking, no stirring, the perfect Martini every time.

Allergens: gluten

Brewed for us by Cornwall’s Harbour Brewery. Light, fresh, hoppy, perfect for cooling you down as you toil over the barbecue. We recommend putting a couple of your favourite beer glasses in the freezer for half an hour for the authentic Hawksmoor beer experience.

Allergens: sulphites

This has long been our most popular wine at the restaurants as it pairs so perfectly with good steak. We’ve worked with Eduardo Pulenta for many years, and they made this Hawksmoor Blend for us in 2018. Cool nights in the mountains of Mendoza help keep the freshness in a grape that can be overly alcoholic and a bit clumsy if grown in too much heat. We recommend opening the bottle half an hour before you’re ready to serve and don’t be afraid to pop it in the fridge at the same time if it’s a particularly hot day.

Porterhouse steak
Maldon sea salt pinch tin

See instructional video on how to cook the perfect steak here.
See how to cook your steak in a pan here.

1. TAKE THE MEAT OUT OF THE FRIDGE AT LEAST AN HOUR BEFORE YOU COOK IT, to bring it up to room temperature.
2. FIRE UP THE BARBECUE Or, if it’s raining, dig out a heavy cast-iron griddle pan. If you’re using a barbecue we recommend lumpwood charcoal from sustainable sources, and make sure you use eco-friendly non-impregnated firelighters, to avoid any fuel tainting the flavour of the meat. there are three ingredients in a steak: beef, charcoal and salt. Getting all three right is crucial – there’s no point buying a beautiful piece of beef and using lighter-fuel-impregnated briquettes from the local petrol station.
3. GET THE BARBECUE OR THE PAN REALLY, REALLY HOT You’re looking for white-hot coals on the barbecue, which will take about an hour from lighting. the grill pan needs 5 minutes over a high heat. It should be painful to hold your hand anywhere near the heat source, which is why our grill chefs have to drink so much water
4. IF YOU’RE INSIDE, OPEN THE WINDOW – there will be lots of smoke.
5. IF YOUR STEAK IS WET,PAT IT DRY WITH KITCHEN PAPER, otherwise it will struggle to form a decent crust and can pick up some unpleasant boiled-meat flavours. and then, at the last minute, season the meat well with maldon sea salt. You will need to use more than you probably think sensible, but it will help build up a delicious salty crust. Pick up a handful of salt in your right hand and your steak in your left. Throw the salt at it and whatever sticks is the right amount. move the steak around so every surface is coated. If you’re cooking a large sharing steak you’ll need to pat the salt in a little to give you more (yes, more).
6. DON’T USE ANY OIL ON THE MEAT OR IN THE PAN – if the grill is hot enough the meat won’t stick. as well as being unnecessary, oil tends to add a hint of flavour that doesn’t sit well with good beef. If you’re really worried, you can cut a small piece of fat off your steak (or ask your butcher for a piece) and rub it over the grill with a pair of tongs.
7. STICK THE STEAK ON Leave it for a couple of moments to start building up a crust, then flip. Carry on turning every couple of minutes until it’s the way you like it, and don’t forget to sear the edges. If the heat is as fierce as our charcoal grill at Hawksmoor you may need to move it more regularly to avoid burning – our grill chefs say every 5 seconds. Don’t overcrowd the grill or the pan – make sure there’s plenty of space between the steaks.
8. TO CHECK IF YOUR STEAK IS COOKED you can use touch, which our grill chefs do, or you can use a probe, which our grill chefs also do to make sure every steak is perfect. Cooking temperatures are subjective and perceptions even vary from country to country.
   These are Matt’s recommended temperatures, and are a touch more cooked than they might be in France or Spain. the internal temperature should be at the bottom end of each range at the end of cooking and towards the top end once rested.
   — medium rare 55°c to 60°c
   — medium 60°c to 65°c
   — medium well 65°c to 70°c
9. WHEN YOU’RE HAPPY WITH HOW IT’S COOKED, put the steak on a warm plate and leave it to rest. In the restaurant we rest meat at 56°C (in a thermodyne – a special low-temperature oven) to ensure it doesn’t get cold, which means we can rest it for longer. at home, 5 minutes for a single steak or 10–15 minutes for a large sharing steak on a warm plate should do it. Serve on hot plates.

Allergens: milk, sulphites

See instructional video of how to cook our very own Hawksmoor Bone Marrow Gravy here.

The pouch in your box is our gravy base, you just need to add bone marrow. In the words of Matt Brown, our Executive Chef and a former Head Chef of not one but two restaurants with three Michelin stars:

1. Take your bone marrow from the fridge about one hour before you use, this will allow you to remove the bone marrow easier than when fridge cold
2. With a teaspoon remove the bone marrow, try to keep it as chunky as possible so the end result will show floating nuggets of goodness in your gravy
3. Bring the gravy base in the pouch to the boil, stir in the chunks of bone marrow and gently whisk so as not to break them up too much
4. Simmer for 2-3 minutes to cook the bone marrow but not dissolve it and give the gravy a rich unctuous consistence
5. We like to finish ours with a teaspoon of English mustard to taste which gives it a gentle kick up the backside but the choice is yours
   Note … don’t be tempted to scrape the bone marrow aggressively as you may disturb small pieces of unwelcome bone that could end up in your gravy. Any excess gravy should be used to cover your beef dripping potatoes without shame…

See instructional video on how to cook the best beef dripping potatoes here.

Koffman Potatoes
Beef Dripping Jar

Making our triple-cooked chips at home is a tall order so we suggest you use the jar of beef-dripping (no additives or preservatives, exactly what we use in the restaurants) to make chip-like roast potatoes, our go-to when making a steak supper at home. The potatoes in the box are ‘Koffmann potatoes’, a range developed for top restaurants selected for their chipping and roasting properties that uber-chef Pierre Koffmann has put his name to. These really are the best out there (and we’ve tasted A LOT of potatoes…). Back to Matt:

1. Peel the potatoes and cut into wedge-like quarters, cutting like this gives you more edges to rough up so more crispy bits and also resembles a big chip
2. Wash for a couple of minutes until water runs clear to remove excess starch
3. Place in a pan and cover with water allowing enough room for the spuds to swim around
4. Bring to the boil then reduce heat until the edges of the spuds start to break away
5. Gently pour into a colander and toss around giving the spuds as much chuff as they’ll take without breaking up too much,
   don’t worry if you have some casualties, the broken small nuggets will be the bits your fighting over
6. Place on a plate or tray and leave to steam away for 30 minutes or so
7. Spoon all the dripping into a roasting tray and gently heat, don’t be tempted to get this smoking as you may end up burning your
   roasties, all you want to hear is a light sizzle when you add your spuds…not a terrifying sssssssssshhhhhhhzzzzz sound!
8. Roast on 180c for about 30 minutes, turning occasionally so they turn an even gold and you see the edges crisp up
9. Season generously with sea salt and serve…

Note … halfway through roasting I like to add a couple of cloves of garlic, a sprig of rosemary and thyme which helps add a little bit of posh.

Allergens: milk

See instructional video of how to make our broccoli here.

Back to Matt: Perfectly cooked bang-in-season British tenderstem with spiced anchovy butter inspired by that old school classic Gentleman’s Relish is a great steak side. Why not save a piece of softened butter and smear it all over your steak…

1. Take the anchovy butter from the fridge and allow to soften slightly
2. Trim ends and steam broccoli (sprinkle with a pinch of sea salt before steaming). They should take around 3 to 5 minutes depending on
   thickness – to check just remove a piece, take a slice off the end and eat
3. Once you’re happy toss with the softened anchovy butter and serve…