Steak - the freeze, sear bake method?

[Siliconslave]

There have been a couple of articles floating around US sites about Nathan Myhrvold's Modernist Cuisine series of books (seems to be a Heston style of science combined with cookery)

The focus of these articles has been his steak prep method:

1. Cover the steak in plastic wrap (or butcher paper) and place in the freezer for 1 hour.
2. Meanwhile, preheat your oven to 200°F and place a rack in the center of the oven.
3. After freezing for an hour, season the steak with a generous amount of kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper.
4. Place a cast iron skillet over a high flame and heat until screaming hot (at least 10 minutes). Add a thin layer of safflower oil then quickly but carefully set the steak in the skillet. Sear one side only until golden brown. Press the steak down with tongs to get an even sear. Alternatively, you can set a heavy bottomed pot or press on top of the steak to get a nice even crust.
5. Transfer the steak, seared side up, to a rimmed baking sheet and place in the oven. Cook until done to taste (30 minutes – 1 hour). An internal temperature of 125 for rare, 145 for medium and 165 for well done.
6. Let stand for 10 minutes covered in a aluminum foil before thinly slicing. Season with a sprinkle of kosher salt.

Anyone tried it or willing to give it a go? I've actually got some steaks in the freezer (sacrilege i know but we were given and had no time to eat them ) so might have to try it over the weekend

 

[f00b4r]

Not tried it as i have a waterbath (made 2 feather steaks in it last night that cost me £1.50 each and were amongst the best steaks, in or out if a restauant, i have ever tasted as well as beig able to be cut with a fork) but Nathan's book is considered to be one of the most important cookery books ever written.

You might want to check out this link if you want convincing on trying the method and some others adapted for home users:

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/18/d...pted-to-home-entertaining.html?pagewanted=all

EDIT: of course we want to see pics of the result!

 

[Jolteh]

I've read about it too, but not tried it. You can understand the logic but circa 2 hours of overall cooking time seems like overkill for steak.

I prefer the reverse searing method of cooking steak at the moment.

 

[Siliconslave]

You might want to check out this link if you want convincing on trying the method and some others adapted for home users:

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/18/d...pted-to-home-entertaining.html?pagewanted=all

EDIT: of course we want to see pics of the result!

That was one of the articles i was (vaguely) referring to, I do fancy the Gin-infused celery

 

[f00b4r]

That was one of the articles i was (vaguely) referring to, I do fancy the Gin-infused celery

Yeah it does sound good.
Was thinking about trying it with Hendricks and cucumber when I can sneak a whipper into the house past the other half

 

[oli collett]

To me that sounds a bit too much hassle - I can understand the sous-vide method which wouldn't require that much hassle though. I'd like to read more about their meat ideas next time I have a perv at my mate's copy of MC though.

Btw if anyone is unsure why you would buy Modernist Cuisine - it's an incredible book, I certainly think it's worth the £300 if you've got somewhere to put it, it's enormous!

 

[Stan_Lite]

I, for one, can't wait until this "scientific" cooking fad goes away. I get fed up of seeing it constantly on the interet or on the telly. I don't know about anybody else but I prefer cooking to alchemy.

What's wrong with a steak bunged into a blistering hot pan until cooked on one side, flipped over until cooked on the other side and left to rest in a warm place? I very much doubt that any of this poncy pre-freezing and oven cooking makes it taste any better. What a waste of time.

It seems to me that, since goldenboy Blumenthal kicked the fad off, people have been racking their brains to come up with increasingly bizarre, costly and time-consuming ways to cook stuff. Ultimately people will be convinced the only way to cook a steak is to immerse it in liquid hydrogen for 12.77659345 seconds, sous vide it in 60C racoon urine for 18 hours and then dip it in molten magma for 6.4493578 seconds and serve encrusted in solid rock on a slice of Greek marble with chips cooked 18 times

FFS "chefs". Stop dicking about with food and start cooking it

/rant over

 

[JRS]

LOL, don't hold back mate....tell us how you really feel

I agree though. I've had steak done complicated and I've had steak done simple, and I'll take steak done simple.

 

[Stan_Lite]

Chefs have been using sous vide methods for ages! The extreme end of the Blumenthal (et al) methods are rather extreme, though - it's best to just pick out highlights/pick and choose techniques.

You may not want to roast your chicken at a crazily low temperature for four hours, but you may want to brine it before cooking, for example. Then if you just look at his egg poaching method, in isolation, it's very simple and works well. Etc.

It was more the extremish end of things I was having a rant about. I actually prefer twice cooked chips and I always cook brisket or pork shoulder for hours and hours at lowish temperatures. I have no aversion to different ways of cooking stuff as long as it isn't ridiculously convoluted, labour intensive and/or costly and actually makes food more enjoyable.

 

[#Chri5#]

I, for one, can't wait until this "scientific" cooking fad goes away. I get fed up of seeing it constantly on the interet or on the telly. I don't know about anybody else but I prefer cooking to alchemy.

What's wrong with a steak bunged into a blistering hot pan until cooked on one side, flipped over until cooked on the other side and left to rest in a warm place? I very much doubt that any of this poncy pre-freezing and oven cooking makes it taste any better. What a waste of time.

It seems to me that, since goldenboy Blumenthal kicked the fad off, people have been racking their brains to come up with increasingly bizarre, costly and time-consuming ways to cook stuff. Ultimately people will be convinced the only way to cook a steak is to immerse it in liquid hydrogen for 12.77659345 seconds, sous vide it in 60C racoon urine for 18 hours and then dip it in molten magma for 6.4493578 seconds and serve encrusted in solid rock on a slice of Greek marble with chips cooked 18 times

FFS "chefs". Stop dicking about with food and start cooking it

/rant over

Where can I buy racoon urine online?

 

[Siliconslave]

Where can I buy racoon urine online?

unfortunately you need to get your own raccoon otherwise its just not fresh enough, there's been a bit of a run on them lately so pets at home are all out until next season.

I have no problem with top chefs doing things, and some of the techniques filtering down if they are approachable and effective, sure some of them are never going to be for us mere mortals but if you refine your pallet to the point you notice the difference between one technique and another what's the problem with there being a market to serve you.

 

[oli collett]

I, for one, can't wait until this "scientific" cooking fad goes away. I get fed up of seeing it constantly on the interet or on the telly. I don't know about anybody else but I prefer cooking to alchemy.

What's wrong with a steak bunged into a blistering hot pan until cooked on one side, flipped over until cooked on the other side and left to rest in a warm place? I very much doubt that any of this poncy pre-freezing and oven cooking makes it taste any better. What a waste of time.

It seems to me that, since goldenboy Blumenthal kicked the fad off, people have been racking their brains to come up with increasingly bizarre, costly and time-consuming ways to cook stuff. Ultimately people will be convinced the only way to cook a steak is to immerse it in liquid hydrogen for 12.77659345 seconds, sous vide it in 60C racoon urine for 18 hours and then dip it in molten magma for 6.4493578 seconds and serve encrusted in solid rock on a slice of Greek marble with chips cooked 18 times

FFS "chefs". Stop dicking about with food and start cooking it

/rant over

Yeah, why flip the steak multiple times to cook the steak more evenly when you can just cook it unevenly and end up with a worse texture?

Sod this progression in food techniques, lets just boil everything and be done with it.

 

[Stan_Lite]

Yeah, why flip the steak multiple times to cook the steak more evenly when you can just cook it unevenly and end up with a worse texture?

Sod this progression in food techniques, lets just boil everything and be done with it.

Absolutely nothing wrong with my steak cooked the old fashioned way. I've tried the flipping it several times method and it made absolutely no difference - the steak was no more evenly cooked and had the same texture as doing it the other way.

Anyway, as I said above, I have nothing against new ways of cooking things as long as they actually make a noticeable improvement and aren't so ridiculously complex and time consuming that they become a chore.

Your last sentence is a laughable attempt at sarcasm (a pretty poor way to argue a point even when done well). You seem to be suggesting I'm some sort of culinary Luddite. I'm not - as you would have realised if you had taken the time to read my second post above. I just don't see the point in making cooking complicated and tiresome for no apparent gain.

 

[oli collett]

Absolutely nothing wrong with my steak cooked the old fashioned way. I've tried the flipping it several times method and it made absolutely no difference - the steak was no more evenly cooked and had the same texture as doing it the other way.

Anyway, as I said above, I have nothing against new ways of cooking things as long as they actually make a noticeable improvement and aren't so ridiculously complex and time consuming that they become a chore.

Your last sentence is a laughable attempt at sarcasm (a pretty poor way to argue a point even when done well). You seem to be suggesting I'm some sort of culinary Luddite. I'm not - as you would have realised if you had taken the time to read my second post above. I just don't see the point in making cooking complicated and tiresome for no apparent gain.

I think your whole argument got off to a poor start with this:

I, for one, can't wait until this "scientific" cooking fad goes away.

I'm also v surprised you found the steak was cooked no better the multi-flip way - that doesn't make a lot of sense really, but fair enough. But isn't that exactly the kind of thing that these chef's have developed that isn't really any effort and should make a difference in cooking - setting aside your own experience?

Another example, cooking stock in a pressure cooker that was developed by various chefs. Using a pressure cooker you can make a restaurant quality stock in a fraction of the time, but if it wasn't for people looking at developing such techniques - whether it's Blumenthal, Adria or whoever - most people would think the best way would still be to leave it simmering for hours on end in a big stock pot.

 

[jellybeard999]

As it's scientific, there is generally some method to the madness, but it's the reproducibility at home without spending a fortune on new equipment or spending ages making the simplest thing that puts me off.

I do think that some things are done just to be shocking though; ie Heston wanted to use ambergris (whale vomit basically) in a recipe on one of his programmes. He tasted it and found it was disgusting, but still used it, as a scent, to get the "effect" he was after. It was ridiculously expensive too iirc.

 

[Stan_Lite]

I think your whole argument got off to a poor start with this:

I don't see how. I was expressing my opinion in an open and honest manner. I fail to see how that's getting off to a poor start

I'm also v surprised you found the steak was cooked no better the multi-flip way - that doesn't make a lot of sense really, but fair enough. But isn't that exactly the kind of thing that these chef's have developed that isn't really any effort and should make a difference in cooking - setting aside your own experience?

Why doesn't it make sense? Because I had a different experience than you?
This is absolutely one of those methods that, if I found it improved my steak, I'd be happy to use. The only reason I mentioned it was to answer a point you made. Also, while we're on the subject, I actually tried the multiple flipping method many years ago to see if it would cook better. These modern 'scientific' chefs may have published the method but they most certainly didn't 'develop' it.

Another example, cooking stock in a pressure cooker that was developed by various chefs. Using a pressure cooker you can make a restaurant quality stock in a fraction of the time, but if it wasn't for people looking at developing such techniques - whether it's Blumenthal, Adria or whoever - most people would think the best way would still be to leave it simmering for hours on end in a big stock pot.

Again, I hate to labour the point, but this isn't the sort of thing I was having a rant about. Bunging stuff in a pressure cooker is hardly complicating the making of stock. My rant was aimed at ridiculous stuff like the steak cooking method in the OP and the like.

 

[oli collett]

I don't see how. I was expressing my opinion in an open and honest manner. I fail to see how that's getting off to a poor start

The idea that "scientific" cooking is a fad for starters is a bit of an odd thing to say in the first place. People have been using science to progress cooking for centuries, the difference is now it's moved on a lot. You seem to want to chuck it out the window because it sometimes means more effort/special equipment when you could instead use an easier method at home in a fraction of the time for a nearly as good result.

Why doesn't it make sense? Because I had a different experience than you?

Because your results don't meet that which you would expect from the method

This is absolutely one of those methods that, if I found it improved my steak, I'd be happy to use. The only reason I mentioned it was to answer a point you made. Also, while we're on the subject, I actually tried the multiple flipping method many years ago to see if it would cook better. These modern 'scientific' chefs may have published the method but they most certainly didn't 'develop' it.

Whoever developed it first is going to be a tricky point to prove, but I believe it was Harold McGee who first published the theory behind it and the idea and proof came from.. science.

Again, I hate to labour the point, but this isn't the sort of thing I was having a rant about. Bunging stuff in a pressure cooker is hardly complicating the making of stock. My rant was aimed at ridiculous stuff like the steak cooking method in the OP and the like.

I don't disagree about this particular example, but if you throw "science" out of the window and rely on alchemy I can't see how you're going to go far in terms of improving techniques.

Here's the thing - for starters, Modernist Cuisine is aimed at cooking geeks and professional chefs. Yes, most of it is out of reach for the average home cook, but think of the techniques more as a stepping stone. 10 years ago sous-vide was an expensive method to use, but prices have come down a huge amount as it's becoming a more popular method for the home cook.

 

[Rich_L]

I dunno, the steak method in the OP is hardly rocket science given it can be described as follows:

Freeze. Sear. Bake.

Funnily enough I've had similar results cooking tri-tip on the BBQ though more by accident than design as I'll get one out of the freezer and leave it out for a little while so when it's seared on the BBQ it's just barely thawed then drop the heat right down and indirect grill it for a fair amount of time. Or likewise 'reverse-searing' isn't that just what you do all the time to cheat-cook chicken on the grill, oven bake it then finish it on the BBQ

It doesn't seem outlandish requiring novel kitchen implements such as a freezer, skillet and oven - time being the only thing different

I'm all for caveman cooking but to me fannying around is at worst things like caviar balls and foams and suchlike not taking something out of the freezer, searing it, then sticking it in the oven

 

[Jolteh]

Or likewise 'reverse-searing' isn't that just what you do all the time to cheat-cook chicken on the grill, oven bake it then finish it on the BBQ p

Yea, pretty much. In steak terms you just whack it into a low oven while completely raw and cook it until you think you're there, then whack it in the obligatory searing hot pan for a few seconds to finish it off. You can use a thermo and cook it to the perfect internal temp before you remove it from the oven if you want to be exact, but it's not necessary.

It's not overly sciencey, it's just logical. The traditional method of searing and then putting it in the oven to finish off works on the the defunct belief that you're sealing in the juices. Now we know better, it makes sense to sear at the end when the meat is warmer and dryer. You'll obviously get a better brown crust than on a cold, wet piece of raw steak.

I'm sure the freezing method works well also, but it would just feel wrong to put good beef in the freezer, for whatever reason (to me).

 

[Entropy]

snake oil is all you need to make your recipe perfect, i know a guy who can get it to you for £750/100mg. Let me know if you are interested