On Sunday, October 16, 2016 at 10:42:14 AM UTC-10, Janet B wrote:
> On Sun, 16 Oct 2016 13:34:13 -0700 (PDT), dsi1 <dsiyahoo.com>
> wrote:
>
> >On Sunday, October 16, 2016 at 8:56:26 AM UTC-10, Janet B wrote:
> >> I'm curious about the tool that "they" (food stylists) use to mark
> >> foods that are supposedly grilled to perfection -- with those lovely,
> >> evenly spaced and evenly laid out lines. Do any of you know what the
> >> tool is? I've searched the 'Net and found nothing. Probably not
> >> using the right search terms.
> >> Janet US
> >
> >Here's what I use although the last time I wanted to use it, I couldn't find it.
> >
> >http://cdn.shocho.co/sc-image/c/4/2/...b4268fa289.jpg
>
> Yes, I've seen the pans. Watch some infomercials or look at some ads.
> I just don't believe that those marks came from a pan or a grill. We
> all cook and are aware of variations in meat, etc. and can see for
> ourselves that what is shown isn't what happens in the real world. I'm
> not talking about touched up photos. I saw some steaks on QVC this
> morning that had supposedly been grilled back in the kitchen. They had
> these perfect lines, slightly indented that met the curve on the edge
> of the meat. The meat within the lines was perfectly,evenly cooked.
> In my world, items just don't cook that way. There are always
> imperfections and variations. I'm a non-believer in perfect grill
> marks. Color me skeptic.
> Janet US

My guess is that there are commercial branding irons made just for this purpose. I think that with more restaurants utilizing sous vide techniques, we're going to see some beautifully finished steaks. A sous vide steak is a fully cooked steak so the cook can be concerned with getting it to look just right.

I used to get pretty good grill marks with my Hamilton Beach contact grill. I'd rotate the meat about 60 degrees to get a nice cross-hatching.

https://www.amazon.com/Hamilton-Beac.../dp/B001AQEPMM