Earlier quoted context omitted.
I wonder if it was this annoying living through Great Awakenings 1-3. Go peddle your Calvinism elsewhere.
Wait, doesn’t calvinism have to do with everything being predetermined? What does that have to do with vegetarianism?
Myths about cooking steak that need to go away (2013)
41–50 of 301 posts
Re: Myths about cooking steak that need to go away (2013)
#42Earlier quoted context omitted.
I wonder if it was this annoying living through Great Awakenings 1-3. Go peddle your Calvinism elsewhere.
Wait, doesn’t calvinism have to do with everything being predetermined? What does that have to do with vegetarianism?
Beats me. Maybe he meant malthusianism?
Re: Myths about cooking steak that need to go away (2013)
#43No post body was provided.
Re: Myths about cooking steak that need to go away (2013)
#44Earlier quoted context omitted.
I've done the same tests with ribeyes and strips and, in a triangle test, you can't tell the difference between a circulator cook to 54c and a toaster oven reverse-sear cook to 45c (both followed by a hard sear). I really can't see much reason to circulate steaks anymore; there isn't even really a convenience win to it.
Hard disagree on convenience: Timing hot steaks with hot sides is virtually effortless with a circulator
Not really. You have the same problem either way, because you've gotta sear both steaks. If you're going to need to hold the cooked reverse-sear steaks, bring them up to 120-124 (your final target temp is 128-132) instead of 115.
I get what you're saying (I've got like 4 different circulators here, I'm not against them!) but the reverse sear is forgiving and flexible enough that I don't really even get a convenience win from it.
(For calibration: my modal steak is a Whole Foods ribeye or strip, unmodified except for being salted ahead of time).
Re: Myths about cooking steak that need to go away (2013)
#45The only thing I disagree with is I like to pull my steaks out the fridge a few hours before I cook them so they're at room temp when they go on the barbecue. They just seem to cook more evenly (medium rare). Getting hungry....
Are you salting them right when you pull them out of the fridge? Bringing them closer to room temperature doesn't do anything to improve them, but salting them a few hours before you start cooking will make a very large difference in quality.
Always thought I got a better crust without overcooking because I’d brought them up to room temperature. But I was salting them straight away so maybe it was that!
Re: Myths about cooking steak that need to go away (2013)
#46Earlier quoted context omitted.
If the consumer had to grow the cow in complete unconsciousness without antibotics and with enough room to avoid close contact with other wild and domestic animals to prevent superbug evolution, slaughter it, cook it, and pay for all of the GHG offsets of the entire supply chain necessary to support it, then it would be fine. Or, it's not, and it's an indulgence worse and different than heroin because its widespread…
Do you really need to rain on everyone's parade? Some people like meat. Deal with it.
The animals don't like it. The environment does not like it. Eating animals is not a "live and let live" situation because you are denying others the right to live.
Re: Myths about cooking steak that need to go away (2013)
#47Doesn't matter how it's cooked as long you put enough ketchup on it.
Why buy an expensive and tasty meat and put some sugary sauce on it? No offence intended, it's just that this baffles me. The only thing I would put on a steak besides salt is black pepper if I feel feisty.
Re: Myths about cooking steak that need to go away (2013)
#48My favorite method (and no guy tasting my steaks has ever said anything but "hmmmmm"): use salt on both sides the day before (to remove moisture), keep the steak in the fridge until the last moment (to keep its temperature low and limit the risk of overcooking the inside), meanwhile put a decent amount of vegetable oil in a pan, wait until its viscosity is reduce to that of water (this indicate high temp, that will r…
Try it both ways, yours and the reverse sear. Don't just do a subjective taste test, but rather take a cross section of both steaks. You should find that your pan-grilled steaks have a much bigger band of grey meat --- a much more fluid gradation from gray/seared to pink/rare --- than the reverse-seared steak. That's the point of the reverse sear (which is the opposite of what you're doing); "cook" the steak (bringin…
> You should find that your pan-grilled steaks have a much bigger band of grey meat --- a much more fluid gradation from gray/seared to pink/rare --- than the reverse-seared steak
I like meat rare, so the grey band has been one of my concerns. But if the oil reaches a high enough temperature while the steak comes directly from the fridge, the coldness of the meat is often enough to prevent the grey band.
My method depends on a very high temperature gradient, and in my experience is indistinguishable from the reverse sear, while only taking a fraction of the time
> (Salting ahead of time probably doesn't remove moisture; the steak reabsorbs the liquid it sweats out).
Very possible; it's likely that leaving the steak in the fridge uncovered is what removes a lot of moisture.
Re: Myths about cooking steak that need to go away (2013)
#49Unfortunately, the myth about cooking steak that will be going away is that it can be done widely, at scale, into the future... beef production requires a lot of water and feed, so also a lot more land, than poultry, and still more than non-meat food. Livestock is part of the motivation for clear-cutting forested areas in South America. And of course there is the direct contribution to greenhouse gases... Sorry for b…
Some scientists have managed to make carbohydrates from CO2, several times more efficiently than plants. If it could be scaled up, that could drastically shrink the amount of land required for cattle feed.
https://cen.acs.org/synthesis/catalysis/New-method-makes-sta...
Re: Myths about cooking steak that need to go away (2013)
#50There's a reason why Myth #1 is so persistent: the action itself works, just not for the reason advertised. Most cooks who advocate for Myth #1 will salt and pepper the steak, then let it rest for 20-30 minutes. The salt draws out some of the moisture from the surface of the steak and leaves it behind on the resting surface. The less moisture that enters the pan means better browning.
>The salt draws out some of the moisture from the surface of the steak and leaves it behind on the resting surface
Unless you're using paper towels to blot the steak dry, the amount of water left on the plate is absolutely negligible. If anything salting that late is worse. For one, you don't get as good penetration of the salt, so it will taste salty on the outside but bland on the inside. Plus, drawing out the moisture to the surface means there's more water to drive off when you're searing, which means a worse sear. Taking all of that into account, I think you're better off salting hours in advance (eg. in the morning or overnight), and letting it sit in the fridge to dry off.