Steak - turn once or turn many

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Gourmet Greg said:
No HF, I wasn't turning my steak. I was jiggling it, prying it up from the pan, just to prevent it from sticking to my cast iron skillet. I'm sure it was hot enough and maybe it was even too hot.

Maybe I'll try your advice some time and just leave it there, sticking and all. I'll be pretty disappointed if it won't come unstuck.
Click to expand...

Here's my searing story from tonight. Two pork ribeye roasts. Needs some long cooking, but I sure like a real brown crust that has to be installed before they go into the slow cooker. Heated up oil in a big stainless pan and set them in. It probably kind of dropped the temperature a little, getting two big roast dropped in, so it took a while for the first side. But I thought it was going a little long and tried to shift one of them. Stuck fast. Plus, in tugging at it with the tongs, I got a good splatter going by prodding from liquid out of it. After a while, it lifted right up. The other three sides went quickly. Reminding again, patience in getting that first side browned and released. But yes, if left strictly alone, they always release.
 
Thanks for your advice GLC. In my real life I hardly ever meet people who cook. It's fun for me to not be the expert and be surrounded by many people who know more than me. I'll give it a try soon.

Here's my copyrighted recipe for tonight:


Steak recipe

Ingredients:

1 steak

Method:

Cook it in a cast iron skillet. Patiently. Turn only once.


Everybody please give me authorial credit if you quote my recipe. ;)
 
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Gourmet Greg said:
Thanks for your advice GLC. In my real life I hardly ever meet people who cook. It's fun for me to not be the expert and be surrounded by many people who know more than me. I'll give it a try soon.

Here's my copyrighted recipe for tonight:


Steak recipe

Ingredients:

1 steak

Method:

Cook it in a cast iron skillet. Patiently. Turn only once.


Everybody please give me authorial credit if you quote my recipe. ;)
Click to expand...


If it's copyrighted, we can't post it, we'll just have to provide a link.
 
there is a bit of science at work with flipping meat vs not touching it

The whole idea behind flipping the meat once is that when the meat hits the pan, there is a heat transfer between the meat and the pan. once you lift or flip the meat, you lose that transfer, and need to start the process over again, making it take even longer for the heat to get to cook more towards the center of meat.

if you keep flipping it, the meat wont get a chance to get as hot, and you will be left with an unevenly cooked piece of meat that is very charred outside and very raw in the middle.

best results for pan frying at home:
-very hot pan with oil
-season beef well, both sides
-preheat over 325
-meat in pan 1-2 minutes on first side, flip 1 to 2 minutes on second side
- into oven for 4-6 minutes, flip in over, another 4-6 minutes
 
jerseyjay14 said:
...

best results for pan frying at home:
-very hot pan with oil
-season beef well, both sides
-preheat over 325
-meat in pan 1-2 minutes on first side, flip 1 to 2 minutes on second side
- into oven for 4-6 minutes, flip in over, another 4-6 minutes
Click to expand...

So, you flip more than once!
 
Andy, nothing is too good for you and my other DC chef friends! :D You folks are the best bunch of cooking experts I've ever met! And friendly too! :)


I have an additional thought on multiply turning steaks. AFAIK when you heat meat the meat tenses up and drives juices out of the meat cells (muscle tissue cells) and into the spaces between. Then as the meat cools down (rests) the fluids are reabsorbed back into the cells. If you keep repeating this process by turning the steak over and over I surmise that the cells toughen up and are less able to reabsorb the juices, so I speculate that the end result of multiple turns is a dry, tough steak.
 
For me it all depends on how I am cooking my steak. If I want a nice sear on it, I flip 3 times. Twice in the pan, once in the oven. This is really just to keep my 600 degree iron skillet from burning the outside of the meat. If I am cooking on a grill I just flip once.

Burgers, brauts, etc are a whole other thing for me.
 
Andy M. said:
You think this is bad? Go count the posts on hot to hard boil an egg!!!
Click to expand...

Well since I'm a bit new here I had to go look that thread up, it was quite entertaining :/ and locked so I better not start on it! :)
 
i would imagine they wilt quickly that way, fee... ;)

back on topic: if i'm used to the cooking device, such as my broiler or gas grill, i only flip once since i'm used to when it needs to be done. but if i'm cooking on an unfamiliar device or over/in something that can be variable such as the coals of a campfire, i'll flip 3 times or more if needed. i know by doing the finger poke method to test doneness.
 
buckytom said:
i would imagine they wilt quickly that way, fee... ;)

back on topic: if i'm used to the cooking device, such as my broiler or gas grill, i only flip once since i'm used to when it needs to be done. but if i'm cooking on an unfamiliar device or over/in something that can be variable such as the coals of a campfire, i'll flip 3 times or more if needed. i know by doing the finger poke method to test doneness.
Click to expand...

I learned the finger poke method well over 20 years ago and it has never failed me.

Sometimes I miss those uncomplicated jobs...:angel:
 
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