Can we talk about how most chefs act like high heat is always the answer?

I read in Harold McGee's On Food and Cooking that searing doesn't actually lock in moisture, it just browns the outside for flavor, so I've been cooking steaks on medium-low heat for a month now and they come out way more tender every time, anyone else try backing off the burner?

3 comments

3 Comments

cameron53817d ago

Jumped straight into a reverse sear last week and ended up with a steak that looked perfect but tasted like a charcoal briquette because I forgot the oven was on convection. Honestly, the whole "high heat finish" thing feels like a secret handshake for people who own infrared thermometers and use the word Mallard with a straight face. Meanwhile I'm over here with a cast iron pan that's been seasoned since the Obama administration and a prayer that the smoke alarm doesn't rat me out to the neighbors. McGee would probably just shrug and say "cook it on whatever you want, it's just meat.

paul34618d ago

Wait, have you tried a reverse sear? I do my steaks low and slow in the oven first, then hit them with a quick blast of high heat at the end for that crust. The inside ends up way more even and tender than cooking it straight through on medium-low. That McGee book is great but I think he'd agree the high heat finish is still key for flavor.

the_piper9d ago

Cook the steak on a hot cast iron pan and flip it every 30 seconds. Keeps the inside tender and builds that crust without needing the oven. Less chance of turning your dinner into charcoal that way.