Ember-Cooked Denver Steak with Pickles and Rainbow Slaw

Method

Make the beef rub

1. Mix the salt, black pepper and granulated garlic thoroughly.
2. This makes more beef rub than you will need for the steak. Store the remainder in a sealed container somewhere cool and dry, ready to use again.

Prepare the steak

1. Trim away any external fat and silverskin from the Denver steak.
2. Season the 1kg steak evenly on every side with 15g of the beef rub.
3. Cover and refrigerate overnight if possible. Remove it from the fridge before lighting the Charlie.

Make the pickles

1. Bring the water to the boil in a large pan. Add the caster sugar and stir until completely dissolved.
2. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the cider vinegar.
3. Allow the pickle liquor to cool, then refrigerate overnight.
4. Once the pickle liquor is completely cold, pour enough over the 500g sliced pickling vegetables to cover them. Use red onions, cucumber or grilled peppers.
   Why this mattersThis recipe makes a large quantity of pickle liquor. Keep any unused liquor refrigerated in a clean, sealed container.

Make the rainbow slaw

1. Put the cider vinegar, apple juice, brown sugar and hot sauce into a saucepan.
2. Bring the dressing to a gentle simmer, stirring until the sugar has dissolved.
3. Remove it from the heat and leave it to cool completely.
4. Finely slice the white cabbage, red cabbage, carrots, red onions, hispi cabbage, yellow beetroot and spring onions. Roughly chop the coriander.
5. Put all the vegetables and coriander into a large bowl and mix thoroughly.
6. Start with 150ml of the cold dressing and work it through the slaw with clean hands. Add more only if needed to coat the vegetables evenly.
7. The dressing makes a large quantity, so add it gradually rather than pouring it all in at once. Refrigerate any unused dressing in a sealed container.

Set up your Charlie Oven

1. Light the Charlie using lumpwood charcoal and allow the fire to become well established.
2. There is no need to wait for the charcoal to burn down; once it is lit and glowing hot, you are ready to cook.
3. Spread the embers into a single layer large enough to hold the steak.
4. Position a clean cooking rack close above the charcoal, ready for the second stage of cooking.
   Why this mattersThis recipe is cooked according to the heat of the embers and the internal temperature of the beef, so a set oven temperature is not required.

Cook the Denver steak

1. Lay the steak directly onto the clean, glowing embers.
2. Cook for 1 minute, then turn it.
   1 min timer
3. Continue turning regularly until the outside has developed an even, deeply coloured crust.
4. Lift the steak from the embers and place it on the rack directly above the charcoal.
5. Continue cooking, turning when needed, until the centre reaches 52°C (125°F) for medium rare. Insert the temperature probe into the thickest part of the steak.
6. Transfer the steak to a board and rest for 10 minutes. Its temperature will continue to rise slightly as it rests.
   10 min timer
7. Identify the direction of the grain, then carve the steak across it into slices.
8. Serve with the pickles and a good spoonful of rainbow slaw.