Head Chef Leonard Darmawan from the Eagle Hawk Hotel. Photo Eagle Hawk Hotel.
With the cyclical nature of everything old becoming new again, some things should have stayed in the early 2000s.
Super low-rise jeans, skorts and the Backstreet Boys have all crawled from the grave in recent years, and having personally peaked during this era, I’m not in support of the revival.
There is, however, one ghost from our past that I’m predicting is on the verge of a comeback, and I’m not sad about it: cook-your-own hot rock steaks. Although at one Canberra region pub, they never went away.
Head chef Leonard Darmawan from the Eagle Hawk Hotel tells me that they’ve been serving up steaks on hot rocks since the year 2000, and they’re still a popular way to dine.
“Every week we roughly sell about 30 to 40 kilos of steak either on the stone or chargrilled,” Leonard tells Region.
On any given night of the week, dozens of sizzling hot rocks march from the kitchen at the Eagle Hawk Hotel. As the volume of rocks in the dining room builds, so does the smoky haze.
My preferred cut is the rib eye fillet, which sears perfectly on the hot rock. Photo: Tenele Conway.
Logic tells me I should avoid the process of cooking my own food when I’ve paid a premium to dine out, but there’s something about the act of cooking the meat to my liking while being sprayed with hot fat that’s really appealing.
Every diner has their own technique when it comes to cooking their perfect steak, and that adds to the appeal. Some people cut off small pieces of steak and focus on cooking each one at a time, not moving on until it’s cooked and consumed. Some cut the whole steak into small pieces and set the cooked pieces aside to be consumed when the cooking is complete.
On a recent trip, I saw an experienced hot-rocker (as they shall henceforth be known) cutting off the fattier sections of their wagyu and distributing those around the hot rock. These then rendered throughout the cooking process, creating a fatty film that prevented the rest of the meat from sticking to the hot rock, an ingenious technique.
What really takes the experience at the Eagle Hawk Hotel up a notch for me is choice. There are currently seven cuts of meat to choose from, and the menu changes as the meat availability changes.
Chef Leo tells me they are currently sourcing steaks from Rangers Valley, a beef producer that specialises in long-fed pure Black Angus and Wagyu breeds, as well as Watervale Beef, which is based on the banks of the Lachlan River near Cowra.
It’s all about choice when it comes to hot rock steaks at the Eagle Hawk Hotel. Photo: Tenele Conway.
This choice, when it comes to cuts, allows you to tailor your hot rock experience and have a different experience on each visit.
You can go all in with a grade MB 7 Wagyu if you want that fatty, rich experience that comes from a heavily marbled Wagyu. There are smaller steaks like the 300-gram Scotch fillet or the 300-gram eye fillet, but who are we kidding? They aren’t exactly small. You then jump up to 400 gram rumps and rib eyes, or if you have a monster appetite, there is a 600 gram 120-day grain-fed Black Angus rump.
I’m personally a fan of the rib eye. Even at the smaller 300-gram option, this is a doorstop of a piece of meat. Its sheer height works well with the hot rock cooking process, as it’s never in danger of cooking through whilst you are still busy cutting and consuming your dinner, and the lean nature of the cut also means that it lends itself to being eaten very rare, which suits the hot rock, which sears meat beautifully.
It doesn’t stop at your cut of meat when it comes to choice. The steaks are served with your choice of two sides and a sauce with all the usual suspects on offer (the green peppercorn sauce does it for me).
A night out on the hot rocks at the Eagle Hawk Hotel will leave you with a lasting impression, one that’s tinged with a little nostalgia and lingers with the deep aroma of cooked meat that permeates your hair and clothes. Ideal for reminiscing on your meal well into the next day.
The Eagle Hawk Hotel is located at 1542 Federal Hwy, Sutton and is open 7 days a week.
