A caveman or dirty steak – meaning it is cooked directly on the coals – is just about my favourite way to cook a steak. I went with a lovely dry-aged sirloin with creamy fat for this dish.

Ingredients

Serves 2

500g sirloin steak

A handful of Swiss chard

1 large sub roll or 4 slices sourdough bread

Coarse sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

DIRTY BASTE 

2 cloves garlic

3 sprigs rosemary

3 sprigs thyme

A handful of flat-leaf parsley

60ml olive oil

1 anchovy fillet

A squeeze of lemon juice

3 tbsp coarse sea salt

Cast iron or heavy-duty pan

Method

1. Set up your BBQ for direct cooking on the coals with best-quality lumpwood charcoal.

2. For the dirty baste, blitz up the garlic, herbs, olive oil, anchovy, lemon juice and salt in a blender.

3. Get the coals red hot. Give them a quick blow to remove any surface ash, then place the steak directly on to the coals. Don’t fiddle with it. Let it cook for 3-4 minutes, then flip it over and baste with the dirty baste.

4. Cook for a few more minutes until the internal temperature of the steak hits 47°C/117°F (this will give you a rare steak when rested).

5. Allow the steak to rest for 5 minutes. Meanwhile, sauté the Swiss chard with a little of the dirty baste in the cast iron pan.

6. Slice the rested steak and place on the bread. Pile the Swiss chard on top and serve.

BBQ for All by Marcus Bawdon, published by Dog ‘n’ Bone Books (£20)

Photography by Marcus Bawdon © Dog ‘n’ Bone