Flambé finish
Flambering
A warmed spirit, lit, over the steak
You need
- 40 ml cognac, whisky or dark rum
- A knob of cold butter
- Flaky salt
Pull the steak 3 °C under your target and set it on a metal tray. It will climb the rest of the way while this happens.
Cold spirit will not light. Warm it in a small pan or a cup of hot water until it is just above blood heat. The usual response to a spirit that will not catch is to pour more on, which is how this goes wrong.
Pour it over and light it at arm’s length. It burns for fifteen or twenty seconds and takes the raw alcohol with it, leaving the sugars behind. Butter and flaky salt while the steak is still hot enough to melt them.
Measure the spirit into a cup first. Never pour from the bottle over a flame, because the flame can run back up the pour and into your hand. Outdoors, lid off, nothing overhead, and nothing flammable within arm’s reach.