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at Wed, 13 Jul 2005 02:17:00 GMT in
.com>,
(Sheldon) wrote :
>
>
>Alex Rast wrote:
>>
>>(dakota2112) wrote :
>>
>> >Ok, so I've been reading for quite a while about how good a steak is
>> >when it's seared in a hot cast iron skillet. On "Good Eats", Alton
>> >Brown says to preheat the skillet in a 500 degree oven, then place
>> >the skillet on the range top and sear the steak for 30 seconds.
>> >
>> >I tried this last night. But because of a pie being in the oven, I
>> >wasn't able to preheat that way, so I turned the electric rangetop
>> >burner to HIGH and let the skillet preheat for about 20 minutes. It
>> >got hot to where I couldn't hold my hand above the skillet for more
>> >than a few seconds, and the skillet took on a gray ash-like
>> >appearance.
>> > I dropped my room-temperature, safflower-oiled steak in the skillet,
>> >filled my house with smoke, and ended up with only a very minimal
>> >seared crust - and I seared it for at least 1-2 minutes per side.
>>
>> Don't oil the steak. It should go in the skillet without anything else
>> on it - in the first place because anything else will simply burn, and
>> in the second place because that just puts another layer between pan
>> and the steak's surface. At the temperatures involved, I think oil
>> might actually be dangerous (possible flare-up)
>>
>> Smoke, meanwhile, is inevitable. Open every window you can and remove
>> batteries from smoke detectors.
>>
>> A good test of whether the pan is hot enough is to drop a few drops of
>> water on the pan's surface. If they literally bounce off the surface
>> like tiny rubber balls, it's hot enough. I find that even the point
>> where the drops evaporate instantly with a quick hiss isn't nearly hot
>> enough. I assume, btw, that your skillet was cast-iron? The bigger the
>> skillet, the better.
>>
>> Be aware also that "seared" isn't the same as "burnt". If you're
>> looking for a thick layer of actual carbon char on the surface, then
>> you really need to expose it directly to open flame. A good sear
>> should create a dark, ruddy colour - very distinctive and revealing
>> the muscle fiber direction and grain clearly. Also, carbon char adds
>> nothing to the flavour except a burnt taste. So again, unless you're
>> looking specifically for the flavour of carbon, there's no need to
>> burn the surface of the steak.
>
>You're so fulla shit you leave brown streaks on your pillow by your
>earholes...
What, precisely, do you take issue with? Can you specify what parts of
these recommendations you would consider to be inaccurate? I don't believe
that claiming someone else is wrong without detailing where and offering
what you believe to be the proper corrections is very helpful to the
original poser of a question. Indeed, it can add confusion because now any
future readers may doubt or discount the response to the question thus
criticised without having any further information either as to the factual
source of that doubt or to what the correct facts would be if the response
was in fact in error.
--
Alex Rast
(remove d., .7, not, and .NOSPAM to reply)
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