High Steaks: Andreas Block Talks Brews and Beef

Chef Block, chef de cuisine at The Cut, is a man who knows his meats and marbling. He also loves his beer and has teamed up with Great Leap Brewery to create a beer degustation tasting menu in April. He recently gave us the low-down on steak, his favorite Beijing brews and his wife’s cooking.

How do you prefer your steak?Depends on the cut. My credo is: The fattier a piece of meat is, the more I like it cooked to make sure that the fat melts and adds its flavor to the meat. I would never go further than medium.

What’s the most important technique in cooking a great steak?It’s all about patience. Take your time to give it a really good sear, which gives you the flavor.

What’s the biggest mistake?The biggest mistakes start when people try to save money and buy a cheaper quality beef. The other big mistake is when people are too rushed and do not let it rest enough before eating.

How does creating a beer and food-pairing menu differ from, say, wine pairing?First, I sacrificed myself (with pleasure) by undertaking three beertasting sessions. It’s different from wine pairing because beer has deeper flavors. Whereas with wine, it’s primarily about sour or sweet, with beer it is also about bitter or mild (based on the amount of hops).

Do you prefer your wife’s homestyle version of pork adobo or your more refined variation?I love the way my wife cooks it at home, especially love the flavor combination of sweet, sour and salty without drifting into Chinese sweet-and-sour. I can honestly say I probably prefer my wife’s version because it’s pure comfort food.

Favorite place for a beer in Beijing?Apart from Great Leap Brewery, it would be one of the German microbreweries, especially Drei Kronen 1308.

What food do you miss most?There is actually not much that I miss from home.

What would you most like to cook in Beijing, but can’t? In Germany, we had a calf ’s head cheese on the menu but I am notable to get it here. I also would love to make blood sausage but cannot buy fresh pig’s blood (that I can trust).

If you could only eat one dish for the rest of your life, what would it be? Any kind of sandwich! Bread, meat and cheese is the best dish there is.

Sample Chef Block’s steaks along with Great Leap’s brews at The Fairmont Beijing on Apr 19.

This article originally appeared on page 38 in the April 2013 issue of the Beijinger.