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Myths about cooking steak that need to go away (2013)

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Re: Myths about cooking steak that need to go away (2013)

#101

Post by contravariant »

Myth #3 (Bone-in steak has more flavor than boneless) seems a bit of a strawman, the version they disprove is "the bone somehow imparts flavour onto the meat", but they then go on to say that:

> I personally find the tiny bits of connective tissue-rich meat, fat, and gristle stuck to the bone to be the tastiest part of the steak

So yeah, unless you can get the bone out perfectly you'll get more flavoursome meat if you leave it in.

Also it's not entirely insane to believe bones impart flavour, since marrow is incredibly flavoursome, though you probably won't be able to cook bones enough to get the marrow out.

Re: Myths about cooking steak that need to go away (2013)

#103

Post by Zigurd »

Almost all the myths busted in this article I have seen busted in other places and for good reasons. There are one points on which I disagree: The "poke test" is not trivially easy, but it is easier than most people think. Squishy is too raw. The moment after it stops being squishy is just right. If you can grok that, you can do the poke test.

Secondarily, while it is true that letting meat come up to room temperature does not make a difference by itself, the article does point out that one effective option for seasoning meat is to do it at least 45 minutes before cooking. You might as well let it come up to room temperature in that time, too.

Re: Myths about cooking steak that need to go away (2013)

#104

Post by weeksie »

tptacek wrote: post #82
gruez wrote: post #67

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>A strip is not a "cheaper" steak than a filet. But objectively speaking a strip steak is cheaper. Based on my observations of supermarket sale prices, the ranking goes: fillet > ribeye > strip > others that I don't bother with (sirloin/round)

You are missing out on some truly excellent steaks: the hanger is like a cross between the ribeye and the skirt; the skirt is no slouch either! and if you've got some Activa RM handy, you can make a triple-thickness skirt, which is incredibly good; the spider steak (compare to the "oyster" of a chicken leg) is maybe the world's greatest sandwich steak; the tri-tip, which takes a marinade far better than any of the ex…

Another fun rather obscure cut is the Newport steak, which is a different cut of the tri-tip. It's a cheap steak, but surprisingly good. NY butchers tend to have them for pretty cheap, 8-12 bucks.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Ubaldi

Re: Myths about cooking steak that need to go away (2013)

#105

Post by tptacek »

contravariant wrote: post #101

Myth #3 (Bone-in steak has more flavor than boneless) seems a bit of a strawman, the version they disprove is "the bone somehow imparts flavour onto the meat", but they then go on to say that: > I personally find the tiny bits of connective tissue-rich meat, fat, and gristle stuck to the bone to be the tastiest part of the steak So yeah, unless you can get the bone out perfectly you'll get more flavoursome meat if yo…

There's not much marrow to recover from a rib bone, which is why they don't sell rib bones as marrow bones.

Re: Myths about cooking steak that need to go away (2013)

#106

Post by valgor »

serf wrote: post #83
valgor wrote: post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

>The animals don't like it. as opposed to the plant that longs for death? there are plenty of nervous-system-like responses from plants that are undergoing destruction, why not just admit that the reason behind these complaints is a selfish human-empowering reason rather than the emotional appeal of "what about the animals?" ? Won't anyone think of the plants? "...you are denying others the right to live." Isn't this…

If you are concerned about the plants, you will be happy to learn that a plant-based diet kills far fewer plants than a meat eating diet. It takes a lot of plants to grow animals, and we only get a fraction of the total calories the animal consumes.

Now that you understand, I highly recommend one of the two to get you started: https://challenge22.com/ or https://7dayvegan.com/ Let me know if I can help!

Re: Myths about cooking steak that need to go away (2013)

#107

Post by jeff18 »

tptacek wrote: post #63
41b696ef1113 wrote: post #51

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I too think that sounds shockingly fast, but maybe I should re-visit my approach for oven temp. I throw steaks into a regular oven at 200F and I might wait 70+ minutes for a ribeye to hit 120F.

Seventy minutes ?! Turn your oven up. Wow.

How thick are your steaks and what temperature do they start at? My steaks take almost two hours following the Kenji method D:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/4ez9pz35wrn7j1o/steak.png?dl=0

Re: Myths about cooking steak that need to go away (2013)

#108

Post by the_af »

chrisseaton wrote: post #87
iqanq wrote: post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

> Why buy an expensive and tasty meat and put some sugary sauce on it? Why does anyone combine flavours and use sauces and different elements of taste? I don't put ketchup on my steak either, but let's not pretend that the idea of sauces or combining sweet and savoury is somehow unfathomable.

Agreed. However, effectively saying "I don't care about the meat, just drown it in sauce" is a different matter. The article is intended for those who do care about grilling good and flavorful steaks.

With pork ribs I actually agree: I drown them in BBQ sauce and pretty much only care that they are tender.

With steak and cow cuts... hey, I'm Argentinian, we care about our grilled meat [1], the thought of just not bothering about how much it's cooked personally offends me!

[1] though not most restaurants. Given the importance beef cuts have in our diet, it's surprising most restaurants just don't care. They will either serve you meat so bloody the cow might as well still be alive, or something that is hard, chewy and not tender at all ("the sole of a shoe"). Honorable exceptions exist and tourists seem happy even in the worst restaurants, so what do I know?

Re: Myths about cooking steak that need to go away (2013)

#109

Post by desdiv »

gruez wrote: post #50
desdiv wrote: post #30

There'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 mois…

Sorry, I wasn't clear: I'm not advocating for any particular method. I was just trying to explain why Myth #1 remained so persistent for so long.

Method 1: salt and pepper, then cook immediately

Method 2: salt and pepper, let rest, then cook

Method 3: salting hours in advance, let it sit in the fridge, then cook

Obviously 3 > 2 > 1, but Method 3 wasn't done historically (by most cooks). Cooks either went with Method 1 or Method 2, and Method 2 "won" out in the end because people consistently noticed that it produced better results. Myth #1 was an incorrect explanation as to why Method 2 is better than Method 1.

Re: Myths about cooking steak that need to go away (2013)

#110

Post by contravariant »

tptacek wrote: post #105
contravariant wrote: post #101

Myth #3 (Bone-in steak has more flavor than boneless) seems a bit of a strawman, the version they disprove is "the bone somehow imparts flavour onto the meat", but they then go on to say that: > I personally find the tiny bits of connective tissue-rich meat, fat, and gristle stuck to the bone to be the tastiest part of the steak So yeah, unless you can get the bone out perfectly you'll get more flavoursome meat if yo…

There's not much marrow to recover from a rib bone, which is why they don't sell rib bones as marrow bones.

Fair, but given their incredulous "bones have more flavor than meat?" I figured it was worth pointing out that bones do in fact have flavour.

Also I think some steaks (like T-bone) do have some amount of marrow, their myth doesn't specify rib steaks.

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