The idea that searing meat locks in flavor has been proven, time and time again, to be little more than an old wives’ tale. No matter how many times chefs and scientists debunk the idea, it doesn’t seem to go away.
By looking at the science of meat cookery, we can easily see that this idea is little more than just that -- complete fiction. Truth is - Meat is about 70% water, most of which is locked into long-strand muscle fibers. When you heat a steak, these fibers are twisted (think of a wet towel), and the juices are squeezed out.
There is not a thing in the world you can do to escape this. These fibers are all throughout the steak -- including right on the outermost layer. Next time you sear a steak, look right on top of it -- you’ll see a small pool of moisture collect, even after searing. Searing a steak has its benefits (more on that later), but retaining moisture is not one of them.
Can This Be Tested? It sure can - and has been! In a 2008 Food Network piece, Alton Brown weighed two pieces of meat. Both had been roasted in the oven, but one had been seared beforehand. The roasted steak lost about 13% of its total weight after cooking. Meanwhile, the seared steak lost 19% of its weight.
primal cuts, Meat Illustrated is the meat eater’s
go-to meat cookbook and handbook!
Unless I start cattle rustling I won't be getting any beef but that's a good book to have.
ReplyDeleteDon't care. I like the taste of a black on the out side pink in the middle steak. The old remark about knowing the price but not understanding the value of things comes to mind.
ReplyDeleteThe actual saying as I remember it is about people who know the cost of everything and the value of nothing
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