10 Grilling Myths

I remember seeing an episode of Masterchef where the challenge was to cook different cuts of steak to 3 different temperatures: medium rare, medium, and well done.

Well done was the most difficult to achieve. Gordon Ramsay made a point of it that well done should be cooked through, but still moist and not tough.

I prefer rare to medium rare meats, but many of my Irish friends order their steaks well done. When I've asked why, the answers were split between simply just their preference or always have eaten it that way, to mistrust of the cook and kitchen, feeling it's safer to eat fully cooked meats from a restaurant.
I'm a great fan of Gordon Ramsay, but sometimes I think he oversimplifies things for TV effect. The truth is that it depends on the temperature you are cooking at. If you are cooking steak from start to finish on a hot griddle then his comment is correct. However, if you are simply searing the steak (the Maillard bit) but doing the actual cooking in some other way (oven, sous vide bath, whatever) then the opposite can be true. I often cook steak sous vide, then I can totally control the inner temperature of the meat (from 45 deg C for rare, to 70 deg C for well done). Once the inside of the meat has reached that temperature it will not cook any more (within reason) and can sit there for quite a while without overcooking. In practice, if you were cooking for a range of people then you would probably set your temperature to the most well done level chosen (say 60 deg C for medium), but remove the rare/medium rare steaks sooner. In this instance, Ramsay's comments are incorrect - you have a defined window to remove the rare steak from the heat, but the medium steak will happily sit there for quite a while without spoiling.

Regarding the safety aspect, in 99.9% of cases harmful bacteria will only be on the surface of the steak, never inside it, unless it has been punctured. As long as you subject the surface to a heat of 73.5 deg C (this will kill all bacteria) then it is completely safe, even if completely raw in the middle. I do draw a line at burgers though, when asked how I would like them cooked - the mincing process mixes up the outside bits in with the inside bits, so unless its cooked to an internal temperature of 73.5 deg C then there is no guarantee that all the bacteria have been killed.
 
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I have never encountered the use of BTU's in cooking. It is a measurement of heat, not temperature, thus totally irrelevant to the cook, apart from comparing the efficiency of your oven perhaps.

I think the term "boiling" generally implies the use of a liquid.
If you mean put something in boiling water or bring the food up to boiling, it means the water/food needs to be at 212F or 100C. (More or less depending on altitude) The water will have major bubbles rolling and breaking on the surface.
Hope this helps. It does not just mean use liquid. It is a specific temperature liquid.
 
Almost like saying I DO NOT LIKE RUNNY EGG YOLK then having a go at the judgement of anyone who dares to suggest that an egg might be better enjoyed with a yolk that's not totally solid. It personal preference. As to the "can't (or can't be bothered) to cook it properly", do you really think it takes more skill or effort to cremate a steak than it does to cook it medium rare?
Not the same thing at all. What I find annoying is the fact that to ask for a steak well done is regarded almost as heresy by a huge number of chefs. I am the customer and I know how I like my steak [or your egg - how would you like to be told that you really don't know what you're talking about and that anything other than a runny egg is just wrong ? But if you insist you will have to make do with a burnt piece of yellowy cardboard

] I do not say that if you like a rare steak you are wrong, if that is what you like then that is fine, only that it is the chef's duty to provide what is ordered without the often used argument "Oh a well done steak is bound to be tough". It is NOT and they are lying and they lie for one of two reasons - 1 - they can't do it or 2 - they can't be bothered to take just a little care.
Finally my point is that it is definitely 100% NOT any more difficult to cook a steak well done that is juicy and tasty and not boot leather. It requires a little care but that is all - even I can do it. So what is the excuse for the travesties that are usually served when asked for well done ? Far too many people accept that to have a tender steak means a raw one and this is simply not true
I think the term "boiling" generally implies the use of a liquid.
The egg contains water - it would boil in a vacuum - or in space - not sure how you would get a boiled egg inside a space suit though.
 
Not the same thing at all. What I find annoying is the fact that to ask for a steak well done is regarded almost as heresy by a huge number of chefs. I am the customer and I know how I like my steak [or your egg - how would you like to be told that you really don't know what you're talking about and that anything other than a runny egg is just wrong ? But if you insist you will have to make do with a burnt piece of yellowy cardboard

] I do not say that if you like a rare steak you are wrong, if that is what you like then that is fine, only that it is the chef's duty to provide what is ordered without the often used argument "Oh a well done steak is bound to be tough". It is NOT and they are lying and they lie for one of two reasons - 1 - they can't do it or 2 - they can't be bothered to take just a little care.
Finally my point is that it is definitely 100% NOT any more difficult to cook a steak well done that is juicy and tasty and not boot leather. It requires a little care but that is all - even I can do it. So what is the excuse for the travesties that are usually served when asked for well done ? Far too many people accept that to have a tender steak means a raw one and this is simply not true

The egg contains water - it would boil in a vacuum - or in space - not sure how you would get a boiled egg inside a space suit though.
Sorry, I misunderstood your original post - I can't disagree with any of the above.

What I can't remember is how porous an egg shell is, so does the water serve merely to provide a constant cooking temperature (which could be done say, in an oven) or does is permeate the shell?
 
Sorry, I misunderstood your original post - I can't disagree with any of the above.

What I can't remember is how porous an egg shell is, so does the water serve merely to provide a constant cooking temperature (which could be done say, in an oven) or does is permeate the shell?

I think the water (or it could be any suitable liquid) provides a constant temperature. It doesn't permeate the shell. I've never attempted to cook an egg in its shell in an oven but it seems that you can. Technically though, could it be described as 'boiled'?

http://www.thekitchn.com/can-you-re...putting-tips-to-the-test-in-the-kitchn-216826
 
I have never encountered the use of BTU's in cooking. It is a measurement of heat, not temperature, thus totally irrelevant to the cook, apart from comparing the efficiency of your oven perhaps.

I think the term "boiling" generally implies the use of a liquid.

The first point about BTU, for me, is that it is an imperial unit. Geez! Get with the program!

And one of the most profound things to realise is that, when the average human being talks about 'hot' and 'cold' what they are talking about is the human nervous systems's response to temperature, not what temperature actually is.

Now we're talking no relevance to cooking.
 
The first point about BTU, for me, is that it is an imperial unit. Geez! Get with the program!

And one of the most profound things to realise is that, when the average human being talks about 'hot' and 'cold' what they are talking about is the human nervous systems's response to temperature, not what temperature actually is.

Now we're talking no relevance to cooking.

I'm lost now!
 
I'm lost now!

Okay, well get this simple fact for starters. Temperature and pressure are just different aspects of the same fundamental phenomenon. What Richard Feynman called 'the jiggling of atoms'. Listen I didn't start it. It was that big boy talking about BTU.
 
Okay, well get this simple fact for starters. Temperature and pressure are just different aspects of the same fundamental phenomenon. What Richard Feynman called 'the jiggling of atoms'. Listen I didn't start it. It was that big boy talking about BTU.
:hyper: My brain is not coping with this. I used to be good at physics at school. So how does the microwave fit in - that jiggles things about, doesn't it?
 
Right. We're getting steadily further from the topic...

Microwaves are exactly the same phenomenon as light, as are radio waves for example. What, these days, we call electromagnetic radiation. Microwaves just fall in a very particular frequency range. But yes, how they work is by causing the molecules in the moisture in the food to jiggle a little more vigorously. What we humanoids experience as 'warmer'.
 
Right. We're getting steadily further from the topic...

Microwaves are exactly the same phenomenon as light, as are radio waves for example. What, these days, we call electromagnetic radiation. Microwaves just fall in a very particular frequency range. But yes, how they work is by causing the molecules in the moisture in the food to jiggle a little more vigorously. What we humanoids experience as 'warmer'.
Who said there was no science in food!!
 
Ok, now you get to see why I'm called Chief Longwind. A student of biology, or physiology of animals learns that muscle tissue is formed of a cells. These cells have semi-permeable outer, and inner membranes that allow oxygen, nutrients and minerals to pass into and out of the cells. The cells are filled with salt water, proteins, and a host of chemicals (vitamins) and minerals that allow them to reproduce, and to do work. from an Online Dictionary: Myoglobin is an iron-containing protein in muscle, similar to hemoglobin, that receives oxygen from the red blood cells (hemoglobin) and transports it to the mitochondria of muscle cells,

Myoglobin is the primary pink to red liquid that seeps out of meat when it is heated. Of course there is blood as well. It is responsible for carrying oxygen from the lungs to the capillaries where the oxygen is handed off to the hemoglobin and into the muscle cells. Myoglopin is lighter in weight than is blood, and is much more efficient at capturing and carrying oxygen.

For Sidevalve; Next time you cook a steak, pay attention to the food. Sear your steak in a pan, under a broiler, on a grill, it doesn't matter, with high heat. Watch the myoglobin start seeping from the top side of the meat. Flip it when it's seared to you liking. Watch the top side again. You will see the pink juices again oozing from the meat surface. Those seeping juices are still escaping the meat. If you are roasting the meat, it appears that the high heat required for searing has sealed the juices in, but that is because that same high heat causes the water part of the myoglobin to evaporate, and the proteins to tighten and brown.

Why is it more difficult to cook meat well-done, and still keep it juicy and tender? When long strings of meat fiber are exposed to heat, they contract upon themselves and sort of tangle together. As they contract, they squeeze out the juices from the cells. Thus, the meat becomes both tough and dry. So you might ask, how come a beef roat in a slow cooker is moist and tender when cooked well done? The answer has a couple of reasons.. First, cuts reserved for the slow cooker usually have a significant amount of both fat and connecting tissue marbled through the roast. The meat, at first, acts like leaner cuts. But as it is from a well exercised portion of the animal, it is more dense, which when the heat is applied in a sufficient amount, starts to toughen and dry the meat. This starts to occur at about 150' F. As it heats to about 170 through 185' F., the meat becomes very tough and dry. There is lots of liquid in the slow cooker that used to be in the meat cells. But at 190'F, the muscle protiens begin to break down, but not entirely. Lean meat cooked to that temperature can still be chewy. But a in the right kind of roast, the connecting tissue, made up mostly of collagen, a cousin to protein, and what gelatin is made of, will break down and add its silky, moist texture to the meat. The fat will do the same. The meat fibers will be lubricated by both the fat and collagen, making them separate much easier.

In order to get that tender quality you are looking for though, you will still need to slice the meat against the natural lay of the meat fibers, the grain. This creates short strands of meat fiber that easily separate, making the chewing process much easier. To prove this, take a small chunk of your slow-cooked roast and cut it with the grain into a two inch long, 1/2 inch thick piece. Grip this with your fingers, and try to bite through the meat, pulling to cause it to break into smaller portions. You will find that the individual muscle fibers, or strands, are still fairly tough, though much juicer the a lean cut of meat would be.

Another thing, if you leave that well-done roast in the hot liquid, simmering away, it will become as dry as sawdust, and very tough, even though it is immersed in liquid. Yeh, I found that out the hard way.

If any have issues or corrections to what I have posted, please try the procedures that I have stated, and find out if they are true for yourself before answering from memory, or from what someone has told you.

Our memories, including my own, are very plastic, and will change to help us protect our own egos, and there is not much we can do about this phenomenon of the human brain. .Base your knowledge on provable facts.

A young girl once said to her mother, who was preparing to bake a ham;
"Mom, why do you cut the end off of the ham?"
"Because that's the way your grandma did it."
The girl went to her grandmother and asked the same question. The grandmother replied; "Because that's the way my mother did it."
The girl went to her great grandmother; "Why do you cut the end off of the ham before bakingn it?"
The great grandmother replied; "Because that's the only way I could get it to fit in the pan."

Moral of the story, just because someone has told you, or shown you something, it doesn't always mean they know what they are doing. So why am I confident about this subject of searing meat, and why meat reacts to different temperatures? It's because I took the time to experiment, and watch what was going on, plus a lot of research.

Seeeeeeya; Chief Longwind
There is no success outside the home that justifies failure within.

May your hot foods be served hot, your cold foods be served cold, and your cheddar aged, then served at room temperature.
 
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