Episode 2: Succulent Fillet Steak, Super Spicy Wedges and Ice Cold Beer [DISCUSSION]

[pipo2k]

Hey guys i totally love your show
very inspiring and i love how it's simple detailed and easy,
now, i have two question, the best steak i have ever ate was in Germany,
in an American cuisine restaurant called Blockhouse, they are called Rumsteak,
so question no1 : if i wanted to make the perfect steak should i follow ur directions and add rum to the steak while on the grill ?
question 2: am cooking for my little sister and she likes her meat well done , i know how everyone says a steak has to be medium but if i cook it like that she will not eat it, so how much time on the grill to well done ? and is there is a way to know that it's fully cooked ?

the best of luck to all of u
cant wait till the new episodes
Philippe

[bepeacock]

Hey, all. Catching up on some shows and saw this one, where Niall mentioned someone could write in to explain the salt and ice mystery. He wrote back and suggested I come here. So here's my explanation.

It has to do with the freezing point of water. The freezing point is when a liquid becomes a solid, right? In order for that to happen, the molecules have to slow down their natural motion (lose energy/heat) and become tightly compacted. When adding salt, the molecules of the salt physically act as a barrier between the molecules of water. They can't get as close together as they need to in order to form a solid--or freeze. Effectively, the water molecules have to slow down even more (lose more energy), which LOWERS the freezing point even further (a few degrees). Therefore, the water becomes colder before freezing. In your case, it chills the beer faster! (This also shows why cities salt the roads to prevent icing...the temperature has to drop a few degrees more before the water will freeze and ice over the road.)

[chefniall]

Originally Posted by bepeacock

Hey, all. Catching up on some shows and saw this one, where Niall mentioned someone could write in to explain the salt and ice mystery. He wrote back and suggested I come here. So here's my explanation.

It has to do with the freezing point of water. The freezing point is when a liquid becomes a solid, right? In order for that to happen, the molecules have to slow down their natural motion (lose energy/heat) and become tightly compacted. When adding salt, the molecules of the salt physically act as a barrier between the molecules of water. They can't get as close together as they need to in order to form a solid--or freeze. Effectively, the water molecules have to slow down even more (lose more energy), which LOWERS the freezing point even further (a few degrees). Therefore, the water becomes colder before freezing. In your case, it chills the beer faster! (This also shows why cities salt the roads to prevent icing...the temperature has to drop a few degrees more before the water will freeze and ice over the road.)

Cheers for adding to the discussion here. That was quick

N

[lindqvist]

If anyone is offended that I had a few bites before I grabbed my camera, so be it. To me it just looks delicious, not like some leftover half-eaten meal

And yes, I am a sucker for the bearnaise... so sue me!

[iamgig]

Haha, well this episode really did away with any of the worries I had. I mean, the only criticism this cynic could come up with this time around was about the choice of beer. But that mostly because I blow past the title of beer snob and straight to the status of beer douche.

My major concern with this show was that the host may have been too good of a cook. At a certain point, when you get to certain level of skill, you end up disconnected from the difficulties of a beginner. An example would be like teaching a child basic math. At a certain point, you think to yourself that there's not simpler way you can explain it, but the kid just still isn't getting it. The first episode was gave me the impression that this might occur during this series. Things were a bit rushed and some details weren't explored to the level I would have wanted to know if it were my first time cooking a dish. But after watching this episode, I get the feeling that my initial impression, that things were getting glossed over, probably had to do more with time constraints than general disconnect. An especially good example of the kind of detail I'm talking about is the point in this video where the host stressed the need to rest the steaks. It may be my neuroses, but for me, the details are what make a cooking program great.

Alright, time to get back to the vids and I swear I'm not going to rant after watching each video.

[jd1138]

I had never really bothered to sear steaks before, but I did so tonight, and they came out super awesome, almost as good as what you'd get at a steakhouse.

We got some strip steaks at a local butcher shop. I let them rest at room temperature for an hour, then rubbed some olive oil on them, salt and peppered them, and threw them on a pre-heated 500 degree pan for 5 minutes on each side. Then finished them off in a 400 degree oven for 10 minutes (wife likes well done) -- flipping them halfway through and placing a pat of butter on top of each steak, and then I let them rest for 5 minutes.

They came out extremely good. Better than my normal method of cooking them on a lower temp. for 30 minutes. I didn't even want to use steak sauce on them because the flavor was so good. Steak sauce would've just made them taste like A1 rather than steak.

We no longer buy meat at the grocery store. The local family-owned butcher shop's meat is much, much better and a little cheaper. They get their product from local farm/ranches instead of large corporate farms, which means it's fresher and better. They have meat bundles where you can save a lot of money. The bundle we bought today has various cuts of steaks, chuck roast, ground hamburger, pork chops, chicken. All labeled and placed in individual plastic freezer bags.

[tokenuser]

I have heard rumours of a local butchershop, but have yet to try and find it.

I really miss going to the butcher, green grocer, chicken butcher (yes, a special shop just for chickens and semiprepared chicken dishes), and fishmonger .... but I REALLY miss the bakery.

Welcome to the darkside of steaks. You'll never go back. You need to start cooking the steaks less well done for your wife too. Do it slowly ... I have my wife ordering medium/rare to medium now, which is a huge step away from the charcoal she used to like ordering.

[jd1138]

She's a stubborn gal, so I don't think she'll ever eat a medium steak. She won't even eat a medium-well one. And, get this, she squeezes out a bunch of ketchup onto a saucer and proceeds to dip her steak into it. Whether we are at a fine dining place, the local Roadhouse Steakhouse, or at home. Even a Filet Mignon!

If a steak is good, I won't use any sauce, but if it's so-so, then I use a little A1 Sauce or hot sauce.

And at restaurants, I order mine medium, and she of course asks for well done. And about half the time, my steak comes out messed up -- either well-done, or medium but cold from sitting, and sometimes even rare. Must be confusing to some cooks when 2 people on a single ticket ask for different cooking times on their steaks. Throws their timing off. I never send it back though; I just eat it as it is.

[tokenuser]

Originally Posted by jd1138

She's a stubborn gal, so I don't think she'll ever eat a medium steak. She won't even eat a medium-well one. And, get this, she squeezes out a bunch of ketchup onto a saucer and proceeds to dip her steak into it. Whether we are at a fine dining place, the local Roadhouse Steakhouse, or at home. Even a Filet Mignon!

If a steak is good, I won't use any sauce, but if it's so-so, then I use a little A1 Sauce or hot sauce.

And at restaurants, I order mine medium, and she of course asks for well done. And about half the time, my steak comes out messed up -- either well-done, or medium but cold from sitting, and sometimes even rare. Must be confusing to some cooks when 2 people on a single ticket ask for different cooking times on their steaks. Throws their timing off. I never send it back though; I just eat it as it is.

I sent a steak back last week. I never do that, but this one was supposed to be medium rare, and was essentially blue (quick sear on outside, but essentially raw and cold in center). It's not like it was a difficult steak to cook either. It was a nice even sized rib eye. They must have messed it up retiring it out the back, because they sent out a new steak. It was worth the hassle.