Searing necessary?
- Thread starter ST93
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Also, would I use bake or broil on my oven for the following recipe?
www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,,FOOD_9936_99,00.html
Also, would I use bake or broil on my oven for the following recipe?
www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,,FOOD_9936_99,00.html
GB
Chief Eating Officer
If you are going to cook a rib eye to well done then don't waste your money on a piece of meat like that. You could buy a much less expensive cut and it would taste the same. Cooking it that long will dry it out completely (which is a waste of good steak IMO).
Searing creates flavor, so if you want good flavor then sear (and dont cook past medium rare in my opinion).
In that recipe, you start on the stove top and finish by baking in the oven.
Searing creates flavor, so if you want good flavor then sear (and dont cook past medium rare in my opinion).
In that recipe, you start on the stove top and finish by baking in the oven.
mitch_the_chef
Cook
I would have to agree with GB. Low quality meats are usually used in dishes that take a long time to cook, because the meat dries out and there is no significant differance between using high quality and low quality meats.
Paymaster
Sous Chef
I sear mine and not much beyound that,love my steak rare.But to answer your question,I would sear to at least add some flavor.
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Barb L.
Master Chef
I agree with all above, searing holds in the juices, but over cooking will leave you without any (juices) - dry !
jennyema
Chef Extraordinaire
Barb L said:
Searing really doesn't seal in the juices. That's sort of a cooking myth.
But it does add a lot of flavor thanks to the Mallaird reaction.
Agree that overcooking will leave you with dry meat because the very process of cooking drives moisture out of the cells.
st93 -- Whether searing will improves a piece of meat that will be cooked to well done depends, IMO on how you are cooking it. Searing is superfluous if you grill it. If you oven roast it, it will may develop a brown crust on its own, depending on how hot the oven is. Perhaps if you are microwaving it, then searing would be enhance the flavor -- but I hope you aren't doing that.
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LMJ
Senior Cook
ST93 said:
Get the chicken instead. Shame on you.
LMJ
Senior Cook
Barb L said:
Sorry to tell you, total myth.
ChefJune
Master Chef
Welcome, ST93. Sorry if you feel everyone's being hard on you. We all just hate to see a great piece of meat being turned into a dry board by overcooking. Good meat is not meant to be cooked to "well done!"
The rib eye recipe you referred to in your second post is a delicious way to cook a steak. I do that all the time. You will set your oven on "Bake." Nowhere does it suggest that you are broiling it. We prefer to cook Porterhouse that's 1 1/2 th 2 inches thick, and we like to get a really good sear in the devilishly hot pan on both sides, then pop it into the HOT oven for no more than 7 minutes. When it comes out of the oven, we let the steak rest for a good 10 minutes before carving. This keeps all the juices in.
Back in the days before adequate refrigeration, many people overcooked their meat in vain attempt to disguise that it was often spoiled (or well on its way there).
The rib eye recipe you referred to in your second post is a delicious way to cook a steak. I do that all the time. You will set your oven on "Bake." Nowhere does it suggest that you are broiling it. We prefer to cook Porterhouse that's 1 1/2 th 2 inches thick, and we like to get a really good sear in the devilishly hot pan on both sides, then pop it into the HOT oven for no more than 7 minutes. When it comes out of the oven, we let the steak rest for a good 10 minutes before carving. This keeps all the juices in.
Back in the days before adequate refrigeration, many people overcooked their meat in vain attempt to disguise that it was often spoiled (or well on its way there).
kitchenelf
Chef Extraordinaire
LMJ said:
Some people like their steaks well done. No need to reprimand this person
ST93 - Yes, as everyone else has said, baking, not broiling is the way to go here. It seems like for a well-done steak you might want to keep your steaks in for about 3 1/2 minutes on each side. Remove, tent, and let rest. Resting also finishes the cooking process.
Barbara L
Traveling Welcome Wagon
I was raised on well-done steaks and I always loved them. It wasn't until I hit my 40s that I went to medium, and now medium-rare. James still likes his well-done. I do know one thing though--I would never change the way I eat my steak just because someone else told me I was doing it wrong. 
However, knowing that a lot of my online friends eat their steak and prime rib medium rare did encourage me to try it. LOL--I specified online friends, as most of my "real-life" friends keep waiting for mine to trot off the plate and they want to make really sure their steak is dead!
Barbara
However, knowing that a lot of my online friends eat their steak and prime rib medium rare did encourage me to try it. LOL--I specified online friends, as most of my "real-life" friends keep waiting for mine to trot off the plate and they want to make really sure their steak is dead! Barbara
buckytom
Chef Extraordinaire
believe it or not, large parts of the rest of the world actually prefer well done beef. it may be viewed as backwards, but that's the way it is, and it's actually become tradition. try and tell some people that the way they enjoyed their childhood foods is wrong, and...
i was wondering if someone could explain the use of searing meat, including the maillard reaction, and what happens to the juices in meat as it cooks.
i was wondering if someone could explain the use of searing meat, including the maillard reaction, and what happens to the juices in meat as it cooks.
ironchef
Executive Chef
buckytom said:
Here's a couple of good sites that explain the Maillard reaction and the benefits:
Science of Meat: What Gives Meat its Flavor?
Why brown meat if it doesn't sear in the juices?
Regarding the juices in the meat, the water in the cells get released as the proteins in the meat cook. It happens with any cooking method.
Andy M.
Certified Pretend Chef
BT:
To add to what ironchef said, muscle fibers contract upon exposure to heat, squeezing juices out and trapping them between the cells. This is why you let a piece of meat rest after cooking. The cooling relaxes the muscle fibers some and allows the juices to return.
To add to what ironchef said, muscle fibers contract upon exposure to heat, squeezing juices out and trapping them between the cells. This is why you let a piece of meat rest after cooking. The cooling relaxes the muscle fibers some and allows the juices to return.
buckytom
Chef Extraordinaire
thank you i.c. and andy.
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