Nothing hits the spot like a plate of Surf and Turf! Perfectly cooked steak topped with grilled lobster and creamy garlic sauce
Surf and Turf is up!
What to do when you can’t decide to have steak or seafood? You ask for a ‘Surf and Turf’ of course! But in this case, you’ll be making it and the good news is, it’s not too difficult.
Surf and Turf is a steak and seafood dish, the steak can come with different cuts but the seafood is usually prawns. I’ve fancied up my homemade Surf and Turf dish for this dedication post to Father’s Day. I bought a thick 450gm (16oz) of excellent quality grass-fed rib-eye steak and lobster tails to cook for my dad on Father’s day. However, we have a problem. I can’t cook this for him because we’re still in lockdown!
I made the dish anyway because I have another father in my life, my husband, Tomasi. He was more than happy to gobble up the rib eye steak but was kind enough to leave the lobster tails for us. Tomasi isn’t a big fan of seafood!
Unfortunately, because of lockdown, we’re limited to where we can shop due to the 5-kilometre restriction. The seafood near us is not that great, so I could only get hold of tiny frozen lobster tails from my local supermarket. Even with this hiccup, this dish turned out incredible!
I cooked this premium rib-eye steak using Heston Blumenthal’s technique, where we fry the steak on high heat and flip it over every 15 seconds. This made the steak exterior brown evenly and gave it a beautiful colour and the inside of the steak was perfectly medium-rare, so juicy and tender. Throw on some nicely grilled lobster tails and pour on loads of that irresistible creamy garlic sauce all over! This Surf and Turf will guarantee to put a huge grin on your dad’s face!
Here’s to more lobster love!
Lobster Mac & Cheese
Lobster Mornay
Buttery Lobster Rolls
Happy Father’s Day!
My dad called my sister, Nara, a few days ago to warn us not to do anything for him for Father’s day. He didn’t want us to get fined $5,000 (US 3,680) for breaching lockdown restrictions. That’s so funny that he thought we would break the law for him! We love you, dad but we’re good law-abiding citizens, so the thought had never crossed our minds.
My dad is a quiet and proud man. Unless he’s drunk, if so, he can be very sociable and won’t stop talking. He is also very stubborn and has a bad temper. That temper runs in the family because all 5 of us have inherited it from him. I don’t blow up easily, but oh boy, when I do, you better find a place to hide quickly! Thankfully, we have grown older and mellowed out a bit, but it was sheer madness in that household.
Steak and Heston Blumenthal
Even though my dad has never told me this ever, I know he absolutely loves my cooking. Maybe even just a bit more than my mum’s, but that’s our little secret. We don’t want world war 3 happening if that got let out. Each time I invited my parents over for dinner, his eyes would sparkle in delight but he would say something modest like “Don’t trouble yourself and cook too much food”.
Dad doesn’t believe in paying high prices for fancy-schmancy food. If he ever found out that Nara and I have paid over $300 (US 220) per person once or twice each year to eat at fine dining restaurants, he would probably disown us. I remembered when we were little, he told us to “Never spend too much money on food as it’ll all turn into the same smelly poop”.
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I have never been a big steak eater. In fact, before I met Tomasi, I didn’t cook or eat steak at all. That had to change because Tomasi loves steaks and because my doctor warned me I was close to being anemic if I didn’t eat more red meat. Honestly, I don’t eat that much steak still, but I do cook and eat more than I used to.
If we’re eating at a steakhouse, I would choose the lightest cut or if they have Surf and Turf I would always order it. What can I say, I love having the best of both worlds, a gorgeous steak and some scrumptious seafood!
How ironically, here I am writing a recipe on how to cook steak and I’m telling you I don’t love steak that much! But stay around because I am actually pretty good at cooking steak. Tomasi and my dad would vouch for me!
Thanks to Heston Blumenthal, I always cook my steaks brilliantly. ‘Heston’s feasts’ were playing on SBS and I caught an episode. Heston’s cooking style fascinated me as he combined science with culinary to create extraordinary dishes.
I instantly became a big fan and have watched many of his shows since. That’s how he taught me how to cook the perfect steak! Heston basically cranks up the heat, throws the steak in some oil and flips it every 15 seconds. There I was thinking we’re only supposed to turn the steak once or it’ll be dry and tough! I can’t recall Heston’s scientific reason behind doing this, but it totally works! I’ve always cooked my steak this way since and it’s never failed me.
It probably sounds tiresome flipping over the steaks every 15 seconds, but it doesn’t take that long at all because you cooking the steak over very high heat. It only takes 2-3 minutes to get the steak at medium-rare.
Ingredients for Surf and Turf
Steak – I bought my husband a 450gm (16oz) grass-fed rib-eye steak and 2 x 250gm (9oz) porterhouse steaks for my sister and me. Other ideal cuts to use for Surf and Turf are T-Bone, eye fillet, sirloin and scotch fillet. If I’m cooking an expensive steak, I always use a meat thermometer because it’s too easy to overcook a steak.
Raw lobster tails – The ones we had were so tiny, just weighing approximately 200gm (7oz) each. If you can’t find small lobster tails, you can use a medium-sized tail and halve them for 2 servings. There’s no need to add butter or other toppings before grilling the lobster as it will be served with the creamy garlic sauce.
Dry white wine is lower in sugar levels than other varieties of white wine. Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay and Pinot Grigio are popular dry white wine varieties.
Thickened cream (whipping cream) has gelatine added to it and contains 35% milk fat. To maintain a rich taste and consistency, I don’t recommend using low-fat cream.
How to make Surf and Turf
Step-by-step guide with photos
For the creamy garlic sauce:
Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat, then add in the garlic and stir quickly until fragrant. Pour in the wine and cook until the alcohol smell dissipates, then add in the stock. Once the mixture bubbles, reduce the heat to low and mix in the cream. Gently cook the sauce for 10 minutes, then stir in the parmesan cheese until it has completely melted into the sauce. Give it a taste and add salt or pepper if needed. Stir and sauce and remove it from the heat. Stir in the parsley, then carefully pour the sauce into a jug or bowl and set aside. The creamy garlic sauce will look thin but it’ll slightly thicken once it cools down.
For the lobster:
Preheat the grill on high. Using a pair of sharp scissors, cut through the lobster shell lengthwise down to the tail. Run a sharp knife lengthwise into the flesh of the lobster approximately 1cm deep. Remove any dark gunk from the lobster, then use your finger to detach the flesh from the shell. Push the flesh up so it sits on top of its shell. Season the lobster lightly and grill for 5 minutes on each side or until the flesh is opaque. Whilst the lobster tails are grilling, prepare the steak.
For the steak:
Pat the steaks dry with paper towels and leave them at room temperature for 30 minutes. Pat the steaks with paper towels once more, then sprinkle the entire steak generously with salt. Pour a thin layer of oil into a heavy-based frying pan and place it over very high heat. Once the oil is smoking hot, carefully place the steaks into the pan. Every 20 seconds, turn over the steaks, repeat this process until it’s cooked to your liking. It takes approximately 2 to 3 minutes for the steaks to cook to medium-rare. I recommend using a meat thermometer to help determine the ‘doneness’ of your steak. Place the steaks on a wire rack to rest for 5 minutes before serving.
Serve with your choice of sides. I recommend mashed potatoes, steamed veggies, crusty bread or chunky steak chips. Oh, and a few cold glasses of wine or beer will go down well, of course!
I’ve used a third-party application to calculate the calories and nutritional information, so please use this as an approximate guide only.
Cooking measurements are in Australian standard spoon and cup measurements. For specific details and conversions, visit our Australian Cooking Measurements page.
I would love your feedback and support if you made this recipe. To do this, please rate this recipe and provide a comment by scrolling down this page or by clicking that green circle on the bottom left. An email address is required (for spam), but it won’t be published. I would also love to see your dish, so don’t forget to tag me on my Instagram account ‘3catsfoodie’
Cheers – Cat T
Watch my Easy Fettuccine Boscaiola video
Surf and turf with Steak and lobster
Ingredients
For the creamy garlic sauce
- 20 gm butter
- 3 clove garlic (minced)
- ¼ cup dry white wine (NOTE 1)
- ½ cup chicken stock
- 1 cup thickened cream (NOTE 2)
- ½ cup grated parmesan cheese
- 2 tbsp finely chopped parsley
- salt and pepper to taste
For the lobster
- 4 small raw lobster tails (approx. 200gm -7oz each) (NOTE 3)
- salt and pepper to taste
For the steak
- 2 good quality steaks (approx. 400-500gm 14-17oz) (NOTE 4)
- vegetable oil
- salt
Instructions
For the creamy garlic sauce
- Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat, then add in the garlic and stir quickly until fragrant. Pour in the wine and cook until the alcohol smell dissipates, then add in the stock. Once the mixture bubbles, reduce the heat to low and mix in the cream. Gently cook the sauce for 10 minutes, then stir in the parmesan cheese until it has completely melted into the sauce. Give it a taste and add salt or pepper if needed. Stir and sauce and remove it from the heat. Stir in the parsley, then carefully pour the sauce into a jug or bowl and set aside. The creamy garlic sauce will look thin but it'll slightly thicken once it cools down.
For the lobster
- Preheat the grill on high. Using a pair of sharp scissors, cut through the lobster shell lengthwise down to the tail. Run a sharp knife lengthwise into the flesh of the lobster approximately 1cm deep. Remove any dark gunk from the lobster, then use your finger to detach the flesh from the shell. Push the flesh up so it sits on top of its shell. Season the lobster lightly and grill for 5 minutes on each side or until the flesh is opaque. Whilst the lobster tails are grilling, prepare the steak.
For the steak
- Pat the steaks dry with paper towels and leave them at room temperature for 30 minutes. Pat the steaks with paper towels once more, then sprinkle the entire steak generously with salt. Pour a thin layer of oil into a heavy-based frying pan and place it over very high heat. Once the oil is smoking hot, carefully place the steaks into the pan. Every 20 seconds, turn over the steaks, repeat this process until it's cooked to your liking. It takes approximately 2 to 3 minutes for the steaks to cook to medium-rare. I recommend using a meat thermometer to help determine the 'doneness' of your steak. Place the steaks on a wire rack to rest for 5 minutes before serving.
- Serve with your choice of sides. I recommend mashed potatoes, steamed veggies, crusty bread or chunky steak chips. Oh, and a few cold glasses of wine or beer will go down well, of course!
