If you're a meat 'sealer' - watch this!
Discussion
I know it's been talked about on here before and that many of you know about the Maillard reaction, but for those of you, including James Martin, who constantly talk about 'sealing' meat, here's a very young, frumpy and unstylised Heston telling it how it is!
3 mins in for the 'juicy' bits!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sA34OoZBQOE&fea...
3 mins in for the 'juicy' bits!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sA34OoZBQOE&fea...
ed1983 said:
to be fair, most chefs worth their salt understand this, the term 'sealing' is just used to describe putting some colour on it quickly in my experience.
I hope you're right but fear you're not. I've heard it countless times on cookery programmes when well known chefs tell you to brown the meat to seal in the juices. Very interesting, I always understood that "sealing" was a myth, but half my customers want all the juice cooking out of a steak before they will eat it!
The customer is always right though, I always try to give them what they asked for, you can't go wrong giving people what they want.
The customer is always right though, I always try to give them what they asked for, you can't go wrong giving people what they want.
kev b said:
Very interesting, I always understood that "sealing" was a myth, but half my customers want all the juice cooking out of a steak before they will eat it!
The customer is always right though, I always try to give them what they asked for, you can't go wrong giving people what they want.
Which, in the UK, is usually a crap, overcooked steak!The customer is always right though, I always try to give them what they asked for, you can't go wrong giving people what they want.
Two observations:
1. He didn't 'seal' the meat, he cooked it. I wouldn't leave a steak in a pan at high temperatures for more than a minute or so. Then it'll go into the oven at a lower temp to cook (blue).
2. Ignoring the crap about sealing, if you only cook at low tems you get no browning which imparts flavour. This surely (and definitely in the case of sous vide) if the main reason to give it a blast in a pan.
Been to the Fat Duck. Pretty sure his meat is brown. I wonder how he does it if he cooks everything a 40C?
1. He didn't 'seal' the meat, he cooked it. I wouldn't leave a steak in a pan at high temperatures for more than a minute or so. Then it'll go into the oven at a lower temp to cook (blue).
2. Ignoring the crap about sealing, if you only cook at low tems you get no browning which imparts flavour. This surely (and definitely in the case of sous vide) if the main reason to give it a blast in a pan.
Been to the Fat Duck. Pretty sure his meat is brown. I wonder how he does it if he cooks everything a 40C?
pointedstarman said:
Two observations:
1. He didn't 'seal' the meat, he cooked it. I wouldn't leave a steak in a pan at high temperatures for more than a minute or so. Then it'll go into the oven at a lower temp to cook (blue).
2. Ignoring the crap about sealing, if you only cook at low tems you get no browning which imparts flavour. This surely (and definitely in the case of sous vide) if the main reason to give it a blast in a pan.
Been to the Fat Duck. Pretty sure his meat is brown. I wonder how he does it if he cooks everything a 40C?
The point was about sealing - and that you can't.1. He didn't 'seal' the meat, he cooked it. I wouldn't leave a steak in a pan at high temperatures for more than a minute or so. Then it'll go into the oven at a lower temp to cook (blue).
2. Ignoring the crap about sealing, if you only cook at low tems you get no browning which imparts flavour. This surely (and definitely in the case of sous vide) if the main reason to give it a blast in a pan.
Been to the Fat Duck. Pretty sure his meat is brown. I wonder how he does it if he cooks everything a 40C?
Browning the meat for flavour is what people are actually doing, they just don't call it that (why not? who knows).
Flibble said:
The point was about sealing - and that you can't.
Browning the meat for flavour is what people are actually doing, they just don't call it that (why not? who knows).
But he didn't do any sealing. He cooked the steak at a high temperature. Browning the meat for flavour is what people are actually doing, they just don't call it that (why not? who knows).
Sealing is ONLY doing the outside of the meat, using VERY high heat. He says himself that high heat tightens up the muscle fibres. So if you sear properly, then the fibres on the outside of the steak ONLY will tighten, which will then act as a barrier to help prevent the juices from deeper within the meat from coming out of the steak when you cook it at a reduced temperature.
calibrax said:
But he didn't do any sealing. He cooked the steak at a high temperature.
Sealing is ONLY doing the outside of the meat, using VERY high heat. He says himself that high heat tightens up the muscle fibres. So if you sear properly, then the fibres on the outside of the steak ONLY will tighten, which will then act as a barrier to help prevent the juices from deeper within the meat from coming out of the steak when you cook it at a reduced temperature.
It may well tighten but it certainly doesn't prevent the juices from deeper within from escaping - as the meat juices on the very over done steak prove in the video.Sealing is ONLY doing the outside of the meat, using VERY high heat. He says himself that high heat tightens up the muscle fibres. So if you sear properly, then the fibres on the outside of the steak ONLY will tighten, which will then act as a barrier to help prevent the juices from deeper within the meat from coming out of the steak when you cook it at a reduced temperature.
I still say that searing doesn't help to seal in juices, merely giving more umami flavour through the Maillard reaction on the outside and probably improving texture along the way.
I don't cook mine like that at all...
No oil, red hot pan 30/40 secs on each side x2 (3 minutes), season, wrap in baco foil and into a moderate oven for another 5 to 10 mins...
Zero shrinkage of the thickness of the steak, tender as anything you'll ever eat and the juice is the gravy for the potatoes.
Oh well.
No oil, red hot pan 30/40 secs on each side x2 (3 minutes), season, wrap in baco foil and into a moderate oven for another 5 to 10 mins...
Zero shrinkage of the thickness of the steak, tender as anything you'll ever eat and the juice is the gravy for the potatoes.
Oh well.
The key is the piece of meat and most importantly the thickness. This makes a huge differenence to how it can be cooked.
All people need to do is visit a butcher and see how much a decent piece of meat costs. They'll soon realise when why they get a tough piece of leather with their 8.99 meal.
As for sealing, I did a couple pieces of thick rump on the BBQ last night. I got the BBQ grate to 275deg with the lid on, whipped the lid off and poured some fat on to get it flaring up - I sealed the meat both sides and really burned it up for a minute or so. I then put the meat off the heat and cooked indirectly for a couple mins - when I took the lid off juicy bloody was seeping through and sitting on top of the meat - so the sealing hadn't really worked.
One of the best steaks I had was by poaching/boiling. Put the steak and seasoning in a food bag and boiled for several minutes, when it was ready I cremated the outside with my blow torch to burn the fat up and to add extra taste.
All people need to do is visit a butcher and see how much a decent piece of meat costs. They'll soon realise when why they get a tough piece of leather with their 8.99 meal.
As for sealing, I did a couple pieces of thick rump on the BBQ last night. I got the BBQ grate to 275deg with the lid on, whipped the lid off and poured some fat on to get it flaring up - I sealed the meat both sides and really burned it up for a minute or so. I then put the meat off the heat and cooked indirectly for a couple mins - when I took the lid off juicy bloody was seeping through and sitting on top of the meat - so the sealing hadn't really worked.
One of the best steaks I had was by poaching/boiling. Put the steak and seasoning in a food bag and boiled for several minutes, when it was ready I cremated the outside with my blow torch to burn the fat up and to add extra taste.
ed1983 said:
to be fair, most chefs worth their salt understand this, the term 'sealing' is just used to describe putting some colour on it quickly in my experience.
This.Watch part 2 of the video, and he takes a blowtorch to a rib eye to put colour on it and trigger the very maillard reaction that he was trying to debunk in part one. Most people don't have blowtorches in their kitchens so sear (not "seal") the outside of the meat in a smoking hot pan first before putting it into a lower temperature oven.
mattdaniels said:
This.
Watch part 2 of the video, and he takes a blowtorch to a rib eye to put colour on it and trigger the very maillard reaction that he was trying to debunk in part one. Most people don't have blowtorches in their kitchens so sear (not "seal") the outside of the meat in a smoking hot pan first before putting it into a lower temperature oven.
Was he trying to debunk the maillard reaction? As I understand it he was trying to debunk the theory that sealing the meat keeps in juices. The maillard reaction is about flavour not juiciness.Watch part 2 of the video, and he takes a blowtorch to a rib eye to put colour on it and trigger the very maillard reaction that he was trying to debunk in part one. Most people don't have blowtorches in their kitchens so sear (not "seal") the outside of the meat in a smoking hot pan first before putting it into a lower temperature oven.
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