Nigella Lawson says cheap steak will taste 'magnificent' if cooked with 1 vital ingredient

Cookery icon Nigella Lawson has shared a timeless tip for cooking steak for a 'magnificent' flavour with just two added ingredients - even if you use cheap cuts of beef.

Steak is one of the most popular indulgences for British foodies, despite the fact that the price can be as eyewatering as the flavour is mouthwatering. But has shared a method to turn even cheap and less prized beef cuts, like flank steak, into delicious cuisine. She told ABC News: "The thing about when a steak is expensive, the thing you can do is cook it very fast and it needs nothing done to it. Now these are two different cuts: that's a flank steak, and that's skirt.

"But as you can see they don't look quite as good. But the taste, I think is better. It's magnificent.

"These cheaper cuts are often denigrated, but the cheaper cuts, as all our grandmothers knew, the flavour is better."

The main thing when using a cheap cut though, is to add an ingredient which cannot be bought - time.

When using a cheaper cut of beef, you need to spend more time marinading it to allow it to become more tender. If you can spare the time, you can save money on the meat and make beef steak even more delicious and tender than a high-price slice.

She added: "A thinner steak [is] half the size, therefore half the price, and faster.

"The difficulty is, in a way, you can only save money when you've got one vital ingredient: and that vital ingredient is time.

"On the days you don't have time, you can't use a cheaper cut because it's going to be tough."

To make Nigella's budget steak, heat a teaspoon of oil in a large frying pan, then cook the steak on high for one and a half minutes a side.

Serve onto a warm plate, then sprinkle salt and pepper over to taste. Finally, squeeze the lemon juice into a hot pan and let it bubble up with the meat infused oil, before pouring over the steaks.

Nigella added: "What you really need to do though, I think, is marinade it a bit, and put it with a bit of oil and a bit of soy sauce, maybe a spritz of lemon and leave it like that for a while. That slightly tenderises the meat, and then it's best cooked slowly.

"You can grill them, but it's best to tenderise them first."