Negroni-Aged Steak: Viral Food Trend Makes Meat Lovers Drool

Booze and beef.

Negroni-Aged Steak: Viral Food Trend Makes Meat Lovers Drool

Image: @andyhearnden

Booze and beef are a timeless combination and the stuff of most men’s dreams. However, you might be used to enjoying them as complementary but entirely separate components of one delicious meal. Now, one daring chef has brought them together with unexpected results…


It’s no secret: we love a steak here at DMARGE. We’ve tried Sydney’s best steaks, best surf ‘n’ turf, and even unlocked the secrets to cooking the perfect steak right at home.

But just when you think you’ve seen it all, someone comes along and does something totally unexpected, changing everything you thought you knew about your favourite grub.

This week, one such incident occurred: Andy Hearnden, the Kiwi chef turned social media sensation, unveiled a creation that none of us saw coming – a negroni-aged steak.

Taking to social media, Hearnden – who guys by “Andy Cooks” online – unveiled a piece of meat that had been stored away for 65 days, marinating in a carefully concocted negroni.

After being soaked in the cocktail for twenty-four hours, the hefty piece of meat was then covered in tallow before being placed into a fridge to let the flavours intertwine.

On removing it from the fridge, Hearnden is quick to give the steak a sniff, remarking on the incredibly strong fragrance the meat has taken on.

He then goes on to cook it up and take it for a taste test… with fascinating results. Fans of the online chef are hooked on this new idea, which puts a novel spin on the somewhat more expected whiskey-aged steaks that he has produced before.

Some ask for tips on making their own at home, somewhat lazier fans skip straight to asking where they can find Hearnden so he can make it for them, and others simply sum up what we’re all thinking:

“I think you may have the best job in the world”.

@originalkat_od83

I think it’s pretty hard to argue with that. However, the discipline it must take to leave it in there for 65 whole days – or even to resist the Negroni before it hits the steak – might be a little beyond my skillset.