Meat on a braai

Spizz

Spizz

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No matter what the meat, I always seal it with a quick 20 seconds either side before I start to actually braai it.
So yesterday, I braaied some fillet steaks (about 2-3cm thick), sealed it as usual before planning just a couple of minutes either side, when my wife told me no, don't do the seal. Just straight in with a couple of minutes either side.

In other words, one turn only after one side is done.

I've just always sealed the meat whether it be chicken, beef or even a hamburger. Apart from anything else, the early turn stops it sticking to the grill (I use a weber), so am I wrong generally or specifically with fillet? Or not wrong at all?
 
Sealing meat is a myth. It does not seal meat. It's just not physically possible for protein contraction to do that.

But the flip once method isn't the best either. Juices are contracted out of meat under heat, and leaving it on one side allows it to seep out. Gravity takes hold. The best method for a steak or burger is to flip as often as possible on a very, very hot braai. The heat allows the maillard reaction to still take place which gives the meat it's delicious brown crust and flavour, and the flipping maintains all of the natural juices inside the meat, instead of seeping out onto hot coals and coating your meat in carcinogenic, burnt fat smoke...
 
I never seal them first with a sear - as one food journalist said when you sear your steaks, it keeps the flavour in and also it keeps the flavour out.

I braai mine the same time I do my chicken (high heat and turn slowly). I take them off when they are medium rare but not before I do a quick sear (I find doing it in the end makes it taste better). We eat our steaks medium and they still cook themselves for quite sometime after you've taken them off the coals.

But its all personal.
 
As DJ says, lots of myth about braaing, and two of them are only turn once and sealing. Both false.

What cooking over a hot fire does do, is caramelize the outside of the meat, which gives it a nice flavour. But thats it. It does not make it retain more juices.

I also like to cook wors over a hot fire, because my (unproven) theory is that the skin of the wors needs to be cooked otherwise it is tough.
 
Aqua_lung said:
Heston Blumenthal tested it and it does improve the taste.
Click to expand...

I pointed out the maillard reaction which is precisely what Heston is referring to when he talks about the flavour. You'll also find that my method I posted earlier is almost identical to his newer methods for cooking steaks. Heston was one of the early adopters of the flip as often as possible science...
 
cbrunsdonza said:
I never seal them first with a sear - as one food journalist said when you sear your steaks, it keeps the flavour in and also it keeps the flavour out.
Click to expand...

Your method that you posted is sound, but this quote isn't. Searing meat will not prevent flavour from being imparted. Quite the contrary. It induces an enzymatic reaction within the meat that both tenderises and adds flavour compounds that you cannot achieve with a late sear.

The goal is to brown the meat, and it is best to brown it at the beginning as the old wive's tale of sealing says, but not because it seals, but rather to induce the maillard reaction. You want to do that early in the cooking process for a thick steak for the enzymes to respond and react, and the same with a thin steak but that's just to avoid overcooking it before achieving the browning...
 
Great reading guys, thanks. I am a proponent of turn often with everything I braai, except for fillet steaks which I would just seal and then braai each side for a couple of minutes as mentioned in the OP.

But yeah, I guess it's not right or wrong, just what works for you and everyone has their way.
 
DJ... said:
Your method that you posted is sound, but this quote isn't. Searing meat will not prevent flavour from being imparted. Quite the contrary. It induces an enzymatic reaction within the meat that both tenderises and adds flavour compounds that you cannot achieve with a late sear.

The goal is to brown the meat, and it is best to brown it at the beginning as the old wive's tale of sealing says, but not because it seals, but rather to induce the maillard reaction. You want to do that early in the cooking process for a thick steak for the enzymes to respond and react, and the same with a thin steak but that's just to avoid overcooking it before achieving the browning...
Click to expand...

By not doing an early sear, the steak retains more moisture - its been disproven in tests that an early seare keeps the moisture in, actually it causes the steak to dry out quicker. Something a lot of "manne" don't like to hear or believe.

Anyway, its all personal and all I can say is excluding T-bone which I cannot braai for some reason, I've never had anybody biatch about my steaks, actually I was the official office braaier for a couple of years at my old company where had monthly steak braais.

But as I said, its all personal and this is how I like to braai my meat.
 
I think one important fact everybody has left out is if they braai their steaks marinated or not?

I don't pre-marinade any of my meat as my style of braaing causes it to burn. I only spice/salt my meat pre and while on the fire. I did a brush of Jimmys for the last flip.

I know those that like to marinade their meat braai differently.
 
No, an early sear doesn't cause steak to dry out. You're misunderstanding the sealing debunking. Searing does not seal meat as was previously thought. But that does not imply that searing meat causes it to dry out. Searing early does not cause meat to dry out. Not turning often enough does, as does a braai that's not hot enough.

If you think about it, it makes perfect sense. In order to dry something out the moisture has to go somewhere. This happens on a low, slow cook on a dry heat like a fire, and it happens when proteins contract when heated and the meat is not flipped. The moisture will move from the centre of the meat to the perimeter as it always does when you cook (hence why resting is important) and without the flip it will seep out. It's not the sear or heat that's the problem, it's the lack of flipping.

Another trick with steak BTW is to put it in the fridge on a wire rack, uncovered for at least 48hrs. This allows the steak to mature properly and begins a complicated enzyme reaction that breaks down protein bonds which makes it really tender, and also adds awesome flavour compounds inside the meat. Also salt the meat 24hrs beforehand. The myth about it drying out the meat is absolute nonsense, proven scientifically time and time again. It draws some moisture to the surface but osmosis draws it back into the meat and you get your seasoning to penetrate deeper into the meat that way. And remove it from the fridge a few hours before you cook it to get it to room temperature...
 
My method:
  1. Number 1 because it is most important - allow the meat to reach room temperature normally; 2 hours or so out of the fridge. I stick it in the microwave or oven (no, off) to keep flies at bay. If it's vacuum packed, matured meat I'll remove it from the packaging first.
  2. Rub with olive oil, ground salt and a bit of pepper before it hits the very hot grille or very hot griddle pan, depending on the day.
  3. Flip every 20 to 30 seconds until done to the rarer side of the scale.
  4. Rest for 3 minutes or so before serving.

I don't marinade. It spoils the taste of the meat, and vendors use it to mask poor quality cuts.
 
DJ... said:
No, an early sear doesn't cause steak to dry out. You're misunderstanding the sealing debunking. Searing does not seal meat as was previously thought. But that does not imply that searing meat causes it to dry out. Searing early does not cause meat to dry out. Not turning often enough does, as does a braai that's not hot enough.

If you think about it, it makes perfect sense. In order to dry something out the moisture has to go somewhere. This happens on a low, slow cook on a dry heat like a fire, and it happens when proteins contract when heated and the meat is not flipped. The moisture will move from the centre of the meat to the perimeter as it always does when you cook (hence why resting is important) and without the flip it will seep out. It's not the sear or heat that's the problem, it's the lack of flipping.

Another trick with steak BTW is to put it in the fridge on a wire rack, uncovered for at least 48hrs. This allows the steak to mature properly and begins a complicated enzyme reaction that breaks down protein bonds which makes it really tender, and also adds awesome flavour compounds inside the meat. Also salt the meat 24hrs beforehand. The myth about it drying out the meat is absolute nonsense, proven scientifically time and time again. It draws some moisture to the surface but osmosis draws it back into the meat and you get your seasoning to penetrate deeper into the meat that way. And remove it from the fridge a few hours before you cook it to get it to room temperature...
Click to expand...

To be fair, there is a degree of accuracy in the statement that searing dries meat out, and this is why the reverse sear method is popular.

The reverse sear is where you cook meat with indirect heat until it reaches a certain temperature. Then, you sear it to impart that lovely flavour.

If we look at what happens to cause meat to dry out, it is overcooking. That is, cooking it to 70C or more. The outside meat that is browned as part of the malliard reaction is by definition overcooked, but still desirable. What is not desirable is overcooked grey flesh on the inside. But that tends to happen with normal sear, because more cooking is required to make sure that the inside is the right temperature.

With reverse sear, the centre of the steak is slowly brought up to proper temperature, and then the outside is seared. This means that the layer of overcooked meat is much thinner - pretty much just the outside layer, instead of outside plus part of the middle.

EDIT:

HapticSimian said:
Number 1 because it is most important - allow the meat to reach room temperature normally; 2 hours or so out of the fridge. I stick it in the microwave or oven (no, off) to keep flies at bay. If it's vacuum packed, matured meat I'll remove it from the packaging first.
Click to expand...

DJ will know more about this, but meat warms to room temperature far too slowly for this to be worth doing. Plus, there is far greater risk of food poisoning, because you are increasing the length of time that the meat is at the right temperature for bacteria to grow. I would never do this, although I do remove meat from its packaging an early before. I salt it and put it straight back into the fridge, loosely covered.
 
Overcooking meat dries it out. There are loads of ways to braai a steak, and Heston's methods, that DJ advocates, aren't the be all and end all of braaing.
Do what you like best imo, and if you visit a friend/colleague, never tell him how to braai.

My method is a super hot braai, 1 minute 30 in I turn the meat 90° for another 1 minute 30 for some nice diamond sear marks.
Flip after 3 minutes. Repeat above and remove after six. Wrap in foil and let it stand for 8-10 minutes. Lovely, juicy medium rare steak.
 
zeb said:
Do what you like best imo, and if you visit a friend/colleague, never tell him how to braai.
Click to expand...

What I do is let him braai and then after the meat is cooked, tell him where he went wrong and how he could have done it better. I feel really good when I make them cry.

Jokes, no of course that is rude!
 
Ancalagon said:
DJ will know more about this, but meat warms to room temperature far too slowly for this to be worth doing. Plus, there is far greater risk of food poisoning, because you are increasing the length of time that the meat is at the right temperature for bacteria to grow. I would never do this, although I do remove meat from its packaging an early before. I salt it and put it straight back into the fridge, loosely covered.
Click to expand...

To be honest I don't even know on what authority I started doing that. I've never given it a second thought, but a cursory investigation does make it seem rather pointless. Cool. One less thing to worry about. I'll start giving the whole salting 24 to 48 hours ahead of time thing a go.

Huh. Is this what being wrong feels like? Why are some people so happy being wrong over so great many things. :D
 
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