Carpetbag steak
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Carpetbag steak is a uniquely Australian dish that was first popularised in Sydney, around 1950.
It consists of an end cut of scotch fillet steak, served standing up like a miniture mountain. Pockets in the meat are made by small cuts, into which an exceptionally rich and creamy species of Sydney rock oysters are stuffed and sutured with toothpicks. As the dish is broiled, the flavour of the fresh oysters permeates and delectably blends with the juice of the tender meat. A strip of bacon may be wrapped around the serving and surrounded by peeled and browned baby potato halves.
Most steak and oyster lovers have one of two reactions to this dish: either delight or disgust. In a scene from Richard Condon's novel The Manchurian Candidate, the villainous Eleanor Shaw Iselin eagerly consumes a carpetbag steak, while her son Raymond Shaw remarks on the vulgarity of both the dish and the diner.