# General > Recipes >  Upper Deck Steak

## theone

Let's face it, you can't beat it, but spend a friday night in any pub in thurso and you'll be told the "secret" recipe from many an expert who "knows 'cos I know the guy who cooks them'............."

My understanding is the marinade is 1 part garlic granules, 1 part paprika and 1 part aromat, a seasoning from Knorr.

You put a sprinkle of this over your steak, wrap it in foil and leave it overnight in the fridge. Next day, heat the gas oven to max, it's gotta be REALLY hot, then throw the steak in on a grid. Hey presto! Upper Deck Steak! Apparently Electric ovens are a no-no and forget about grilling it?

People of caithness.org, enlighten me!

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## Naefearjustbeer

ahh ha ! you have missed out the vital "SECRET INGREDIENT"   :Wink:

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## sids

Last one I had there was tough as old boots.

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## Fifi

Last one I had there (12th July) was tender and juicy  - fab!  

The decor is such a change (although not sure about the carpet!) although I was disappointed that they had not made any change to the menu for their 're-launch'.  Also, the wine we wanted was not available - but I guess that all comes down to the Caithness standard of service!

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## Rubha_an_Tuir

*Recipe for Upper Deck Steak*

Ingredients:

Fillet Steak
Aromat seasoning
Paprika
Garlic Salt
Beef Stock Cubes
English Mustard
Salt
Pepper

Mix together about a teaspoon of paprika, garlic salt and aromat and rub well onto both sides of the fillet steak and put into an ovenproof dish. Make up, half a pint of beef stock using two beef stock cubes and add half a teaspoon of paprika, garlic salt, aromat; a teaspoon of English mustard and season with salt and pepper. Mix well and pour round the steak. Cover and turn steaks every half-hour. The longer you leave the steak marinating in these juices the tender the steak will be.

After marinating get a frying or griddle pan very hot and add a couple of knobs of butter and a small drop of olive oil. Take the steaks out of the marinade and cook them about 1-2 minutes on each side. Put the steaks into an ovenproof dish. Add the marinade to the frying pan and heat for about 2 mins and add this to the steaks. Seal the dish with foil and cook at 180 degrees for approximately 20 mins (this is for a medium steak) until the steaks are cooked to your liking. You can use the marinade as a base for gravy if you wish.

To make stringy onion rings take a couple of large onions and slice thinly. Separate the rings and put in a bowl with some cold milk turning so they are coated. In a separate bowl add some plain flour, half a teaspoon of garlic salt and season with salt and pepper. Take the onions out of the milk and coat with the flour mixture. It will be quite sticky!!. Put these in your basket of the deep fat fryer and fry for about 3-4 mins until they are crispy. Drain in some kitchen paper and serve on top of your steak.

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## George Brims

I believe Aromat is monosoodium glutamate, so if you are trying to keep down your sodium intake, for high blood pressure for instance, you better stay away from it.

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## hereboy

Rubha_an_Tuir,

Thanks for that, thats tonights dinner sorted then, I'll let you know how it panned out tomorrow...

brammer!!

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## Lavenderblue2

Rubha_an_Tuir  -  I don't rememeber all that carry on when I worked in the upper Deck!!  
I think that 'theone' has just about got it right although the steaks were grilled under a gas flame in my day.
If the menu hasn't changed for the relaunch then its a crying shame - it's been the same for 30+ years now!  BORING!

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## Rubha_an_Tuir

Yeah, never claimed it was genuine, just a recipe that I'd had passed to me from "someone who worked there" ha ha, read into it what you will.
I've tried it and it's very nice, but have found the timings a bit long for a good medium/rare Steak. But With a wee tweak it's well fine.
Best of luck

RaT

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## hereboy

reporting back - all went well  - a tasty meal indeed but not as upper deckerish as I had hoped...but here are my thoughts...

the secret is in the searing- super high heat for a minute and half each side - this locks the rub mixture onto the surface of the steak and makes it well tastey...

I agree the 20 minutes in the oven is too long - but I'll tweak next time...

my major grumble is I could not find aromat at short notice, I found hens teeth, rocking horse salt and albino tiger cubs, but no aromat  - so I made do with McCormicks Steak Rub which includes half the other ingredients anyway..

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## hereboy

thankyou to the kindly person who noticed my spelling aberration...
 :Wink: 

Its all good now...

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## Tristan

> my major grumble is I could not find aromat at short notice, I found hens teeth, rocking horse salt and albino tiger cubs, but no aromat  - so I made do with McCormicks Steak Rub which includes half the other ingredients anyway..


This is probably too late to help, but I found Aromat in Thurso at Mackays on Traill Street...they always seem to have stuff outside the usual supermarket dross...especially some very nice single malts!

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## hereboy

Thanks Tristan,

Next time I am in town I'll get some...  ::

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## The Pepsi Challenge

A friend had heard about the Upper Deck's famous steaks, so we went there. Two days later she was suffering from food poisoning. Turns out it was the steak that did it. Caithness is (sadly) not renowned for having great cuisine on its doorstep.

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## Moira

> *Recipe for Upper Deck Steak*
> 
> Ingredients:
> 
> Fillet Steak
> Aromat seasoning
> Paprika
> Garlic Salt
> Beef Stock Cubes
> ...


I obviously printed this recipe off when it appeared here - came across it this week & gave it a go tonight.  Verdict - absolutely "delish" - the onions are a bit messy to make but well worth the effort.  I too, think the oven time is over generous & would cut it back by at least five minutes.

The best part of it was - no-one had to drive to the Upper Deck in Scrabster, so we both were able to partake of the wine  :Grin:   By what I've read on other threads here recently, we also saved a fortune by cooking at home.  

A very much recommended recipe - steaks from George Harper, Butcher, Wick - Aromat Seasoning available in Tescos  :Wink:

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## buggyracer

> A friend had heard about the Upper Deck's famous steaks, so we went there. Two days later she was suffering from food poisoning. Turns out it was the steak that did it. Caithness is (sadly) not renowned for having great cuisine on its doorstep.


pepsi thats a bit of a sweeping statement even for you! plenty of nice places to eat up in caithness!

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## gary.b

> I believe Aromat is monosoodium glutamate, so if you are trying to keep down your sodium intake, for high blood pressure for instance, you better stay away from it.


Your right George.

This product is so full of salt and MSG I'm surprised people will even go near it. Anyone interested to find out more about MSG - click on the link below. 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monosodium_glutamate

I wouldn't suggest using this product, rather use dried herbal seasoning and fresh herbs to add flavour to your food - not a chemical one! 

I think the reason it is not that commonly available is because of the nature of the debate surrounding MSG and it's effects. Those with an MSG intolerance can expect to experience the following symptoms:

burning sensation in the back of the neck, forearms and chest 
numbness in the back of the neck, radiating to the arms and back 
tingling, warmth and weakness in the face, temples, upper back, neck and arms 
facial pressure or tightness 
chest pain 
headache 
nausea 
rapid heartbeat 
bronchospasm (difficulty breathing) in MSG-intolerant people with asthma 
drowsiness 
weakness  

You may also suffer these symptoms after eating Chinese Takeaway as they add MSG to a number of their dishes.

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## Buttercup

> I believe Aromat is monosoodium glutamate, so if you are trying to keep down your sodium intake, for high blood pressure for instance, you better stay away from it.


Just to set the record straight: Monosodium Glutamate is only 1 ingredient of Aromat.
*Ingredients:* Salt, Monosodium Glutamate, Lactose, Wheat Starch, Yeast Extract, Vegetable Oil, Onion Powder, Herbs, Garlic Powder, Anti-caking ingredient (Calcium Silicate), Spices, Mushroom Extract, Spice extracts (with celery).

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## WeeBurd

My name's WeeBurd, and I'm an Aromat addict... ::

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## Rampant Rabbit

There meals are over priced its nearly 100 quid for meal for two

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## Rheghead

> There meals are over priced its nearly 100 quid for meal for two


Crikey, is that right?  Is there a few bottles of wine in with it?? ::

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## Max

Must be extra for the monosodium glutamate!! he he

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## Moira

> Just to set the record straight: Monosodium Glutamate is only 1 ingredient of Aromat.
> *Ingredients:* Salt, ...... <snip >





> My name's WeeBurd, and I'm an Aromat addict...


Glad to hear it Buttercup & WeeBurd - I'd hate to think I was encouraging "unhealthy eating".




> There meals are over priced its nearly 100 quid for meal for two





> Crikey, is that right? Is there a few bottles of wine in with it??


Rampant Rabbit - I've not been at the Upper Deck for a while but I believe the main course fillet steak is priced according to the size of steak you order. I've never found the meals there to be overpriced - nor the wine selection either.

Rheghead - I reckon you would have a good few bottles of wine in there.

Heavens above folks - this is the recipe forum - I found an old recipe here, tried it & thought it worth sharing. This is not ordinary food - this is Caithness.org food - the ingredients are universal - the effects are - priceless  :Grin:

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## ©Amethyst

> Just to set the record straight: Monosodium Glutamate is only 1 ingredient of Aromat.
> *Ingredients:* Salt, Monosodium Glutamate, Lactose, Wheat Starch, Yeast Extract, Vegetable Oil, Onion Powder, Herbs, Garlic Powder, Anti-caking ingredient (Calcium Silicate), Spices, Mushroom Extract, Spice extracts (with celery).


Ah, but there it is, the first ingredient listed and therefore the mostest... salt... pure icky sodium.  The only good thing about salt is the 0 calories!

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## denise

Hi many years ago when lived in Thurso I was the head chef in the Royal Hotel and we had a secret covering for the steaks and it was much about the same as the Upper Decks.

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## Soor Ploom

We were told Upper Deck steaks now come from the Argentine as they are cheaper & better quality than scottish beef!

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## gem1982

> We were told Upper Deck steaks now come from the Argentine as they are cheaper & better quality than scottish beef!


We were on holiday in the Canarys  earlier this year and my husband was on a mad hunt for a good steak! We found this restaurant and the owner was English, really nice but a bit heavy on the patter, anyway he said the steaks were Argentinean apparently every steak you eat in the canarys is but his dad is a butcher and whilst scottish beef is great even his dad admits to argentinean steaks being far better so we tried it and my husband agreed he said it was one of the best steaks he had ever had. But on another note - the upperdeck using it? I always assumed when I dined there (which I haven't for donkeys now cos I just dont rate it anymore) that the steaks were locally produced! How can a steakhouse in the Highlands of Scotland seriously not use Scottish Beef! Especially for the price they charge for it too!!!!!!!!! Maybe next time someone is in they could ask where the steaks come from and see what they say?

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## thebigman

> A friend had heard about the Upper Deck's famous steaks, so we went there. Two days later she was suffering from food poisoning. Turns out it was the steak that did it. Caithness is (sadly) not renowned for having great cuisine on its doorstep.


I'd be most surprised if steak was the cause of the food poisoning. Steaks are probably the safest form of cooked meat as the bacteria only exist on the surface and the cooking temperature of even a blue steak will destroy most organisms on the surface.

Now if it had been a burger.....

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## alanatkie

> A friend had heard about the Upper Deck's famous steaks, so we went there. Two days later she was suffering from food poisoning. Turns out it was the steak that did it. Caithness is (sadly) not renowned for having great cuisine on its doorstep.


Food poisoning can take several days to surface - could it not have been something else your friend ate or did she not eat for 2 days after  ::

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