Upper middle class? On Piggington’s? Common! You know you are talking to some cheap mofo’s here, myself included! In all seriousness, you can’t beat the DIY route, if you ask me. I remember when I was a kid and my Italian grandfather would fry up steak in a frying pan while whistling Italian music. He’d saute the steak with fresh garlic, parsley, and olive oil and I’d never tasted (or smelled) anything better to this day. I don’t know which cut of steak he used, but I am pretty sure it was fair to middling.
IMHO rib eye steaks are the best cut. They certainly aren’t the leanest, but they have the best flavor. One friend of mine turned me on to rubbing some 1-2″ cuts of rib eyes with olive oil, salt and pepper on both sides, and in that order. He’d then pan fry them on HIGH heat for something like 5 minutes (or was it 3 minutes?) each side. He would then take them out of the frying pan and let them sit at room temp for 5 minutes.
The high heat would sear the surface and help lock in the flavorful juices, while letting them set afterward allowed some of the fats to coagulate…or some scientific explanation like that. I enjoy my steaks on the medium-well side, so you’ll have to adjust the cooking time/temp to your liking.
