Food Thread

[saevel25]

Why does that article keeping saying "sealing the meat?" The whole thing about high heat sealing in the juices has been debunked.

Yep, cooking is like golf in the way some people just like to keep to some old school myths.

[Spyder]

Why does that article keeping saying "sealing the meat?" The whole thing about high heat sealing in the juices has been debunked.

I sear steak for flavor and texture. Seared crisp outside and med. rare inside. Perfection. Also, perfect grill marks or bust in my opinion!

[jamo]

I sear steak for flavor and texture. Seared crisp outside and med. rare inside. Perfection. Also, perfect grill marks or bust in my opinion!

Oh, right. You still want to sear steak to get that crust. Just saying that it doesn't do anything for the juices and it's annoying that even big-name chefs still seem to think it does.

[Ernest Jones]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jamo

Oh, right. You still want to sear steak to get that crust. Just saying that it doesn't do anything for the juices and it's annoying that even big-name chefs still seem to think it does.

http://culinaryarts.about.com/od/cookingmethods/a/sealinjuices1.htm

Quote:

Ironically (though not, perhaps, surprisingly), they've bought into this supposed debunking with the same blind credulity they attribute to those on the other side of the argument: They've simply heard or read that searing doesn't seal in juices, found the argument to be compelling, and then just filed it away under "things I've decided to believe."

[saevel25]

http://culinaryarts.about.com/od/cookingmethods/a/sealinjuices1.htm

The issue with their experiment is that they tried to compare two similar steaks with each other. I remember Alton Brown doing the same experiment, but his way was to cook one steak by roasting it. Then cook the other steak searing first. Then he took the before and after weight of both steaks and compared them to their each pre-cooking weight.  He found that roasting took out 11% weight, while searing then roasting took out 19%.

I think it was roughly 40 grams of weight loss for the non-sear, and near 60 grams of weight loss for the sear. Now how much is that fat loss due to cooking, probably minimum.

130-140°F (54-60°C). Fats begin to liquefy, a process called rendering. This is a slow process and can take hours if meat is held at this temp.

Alton cooked his steaks to an internal temperature of 135 degrees. Assuming that both steaks were at room temperature before cooking. Alton is big on properly cooking a steak, I doubt he would forget such a thing. Then I would presume the external temperature, probably being hotter than the 135 degrees, would not be applied long enough to render the fat.

So I could say that majority of the loss is moisture loss, still is an 8% difference that big of a deal. Just under 20 grams of moisture loss is about 0.7 ounces. So less than an ounce of moisture loss between methods of cooking.

[Ernest Jones]

The issue with their experiment is that they tried to compare two similar steaks with each other. I remember Alton Brown doing the same experiment, but his way was to cook one steak by roasting it. Then cook the other steak searing first. Then he took the before and after weight of both steaks and compared them to their each pre-cooking weight.  He found that roasting took out 11% weight, while searing then roasting took out 19%.

I think it was roughly 40 grams of weight loss for the non-sear, and near 60 grams of weight loss for the sear. Now how much is that fat loss due to cooking, probably minimum.

Alton cooked his steaks to an internal temperature of 135 degrees. Assuming that both steaks were at room temperature before cooking. Alton is big on properly cooking a steak, I doubt he would forget such a thing. Then I would presume the external temperature, probably being hotter than the 135 degrees, would not be applied long enough to render the fat.

So I could say that majority of the loss is moisture loss, still is an 8% difference that big of a deal. Just under 20 grams of moisture loss is about 0.7 ounces. So less than an ounce of moisture loss between methods of cooking.

FWIW, I believe in cooking steaks at the highest possible temperature with no second stage cooking at a lower temp . Always have, always will. They are nice and juicy but you have to let them rest or you'll lose all the juices when you cut into it. I have no idea which side of this debate is scientifically correct (I only posted the link to present another POV) but I do know this, cooking a steak without a hard sear will produce a shitty steak.

[saevel25]

FWIW, I believe in cooking steaks at the highest possible temperature with no second stage cooking at a lower temp. Always have, always will. They are nice and juicy but you have to let them rest or you'll lose all the juices when you cut into it. I have no idea which side of this debate is scientifically correct (I only posted the link to present another POV) but I do know this, cooking a steak without a hard sear will produce a shitty steak.

I think that is mostly because steaks are leaner cuts of beef.

Yea I agree, high heat is the way to go.

That is why I cringe every time I hear someone say, "Well Done" for a steak.

[nevets88]

So I have to thank @mvmac for the green squash chips idea. These are very tasty and the calorie count is low. Will have to try variants on the recipe. Perhaps basil or Chinese hot sauces mixed with the olive oil. I used not the best cheese and bread crumbs and it still tastes awesome.

[mvmac]

So I have to thank @mvmac for the green squash chips idea. These are very tasty and the calorie count is low. Will have to try variants on the recipe. Perhaps basil or Chinese hot sauces mixed with the olive oil. I used not the best cheese and bread crumbs and it still tastes awesome.

Nice!

[cipher]

Great great Grandma's famous Golden Griddle pancake recipe from her restaurant.

[nevets88]

Made some oatmeal raisin cookies. Baking in August because it's not crazy hot like it normally is. Usually I'd be making a smoothie.

[trickyputt]

Just a little margine..thats it.

[trickyputt]

I am looking forward to football grilling.

[Ernest Jones]

I am looking forward to football grilling.

Awesome! My old man made a smoker out of an old steel drum and some cinder blocks. We'd smoke whole chickens for hours! Heavenly. I'm thinking of getting one of those little Bradley Smokers, about the size of a large toaster oven, runs on pucks of compressed wood shavings. Seemed kinda dinky at first but they've gotten great reviews and it's big enough to do ribs, sausages and chops and stuff. Maybe a small chicken with the racks out.

[trickyputt]

Chip or pellet smokers are awesome for fish like smoked salmon. This thing is a brinkmann. I have a horizontal brinkmann cimmaron too, but its heavy guage and mostly I find it best to make custom wood charcoal in. Have you looked at a weber bullet?

[David in FL]

Awesome! My old man made a smoker out of an old steel drum and some cinder blocks. We'd smoke whole chickens for hours! Heavenly. I'm thinking of getting one of those little Bradley Smokers, about the size of a large toaster oven, runs on pucks of compressed wood shavings. Seemed kinda dinky at first but they've gotten great reviews and it's big enough to do ribs, sausages and chops and stuff. Maybe a small chicken with the racks out.

I've got a Bradley.  Love it.  Damn Canadians make a real good product!  Mine is the 4 rack size.....plenty of room for a couple of chickens, some pork butts, or about 4 racks of babybacks.  Great for salmon, or cold smoked prime rib too.

As close as you can get to set it and leave it alone smoking.

Chip or pellet smokers are awesome for fish like smoked salmon. This thing is a brinkmann. I have a horizontal brinkmann cimmaron too, but its heavy guage and mostly I find it best to make custom wood charcoal in. Have you looked at a weber bullet?

I replaced my bullet with the Bradley a couple of years ago.  Very pleased to have done so.

[Ernest Jones]

Chip or pellet smokers are awesome for fish like smoked salmon. This thing is a brinkmann. I have a horizontal brinkmann cimmaron too, but its heavy guage and mostly I find it best to make custom wood charcoal in. Have you looked at a weber bullet?

I don't think I'd use it enough to justify getting a unit that big.

I've got a Bradley.  Love it.  Damn Canadians make a real good product!  Mine is the 4 rack size.....plenty of room for a couple of chickens, some pork butts, or about 4 racks of babybacks.  Great for salmon, or cold smoked prime rib too.

As close as you can get to set it and leave it alone smoking.

Yeah, real tempting. I believe it has an exhaust tube too so you can do it right on the kitchen counter and just put the hose out the window. I'm going to keep my eyes open for a big sale as we head into winter.

[saevel25]

That 2 Rack Compact smoker looks awesome!!!

It's only 18 inches x 12 inches x 12 inches!! Apartment APPROVED!!!