On food and cooking the science and lore of the kitchen ( PDFDrive ) 298

ends of the cells The Challenge of Cooking Meat: The Right Texture Generally, we like meat to be tender and juicy rather than tough and dry The ideal method for cooking meat would therefore minimize moisture loss and compacting of the meat fibers, while maximizing the conversion of tough connective-tissue collagen to fluid gelatin Unfortunately, these two aims contradict each other Minimizing fiber firming and moisture loss means cooking meat quickly to no hotter than 130–140ºF/55– 60ºC But turning collagen to gelatin requires prolonged cooking at 160ºF/70ºC and above So there is no ideal cooking method for all meats The method must be tailored to the meat’s toughness Tender cuts are best heated rapidly and just to the point that their juices are in full flow Grilling, frying, and roasting are the usual fast methods Tough cuts are best heated for a prolonged period at temperatures approaching the boil, usually by stewing, braising, or slow-roasting It’s Easy to Overcook Tender Meat Cooking tender meat to perfection — so that its internal temperature is just what we want — is a real challenge Imagine that we grill a thick steak just to medium rare, 140ºF/60ºC, at the center Its surface will have dried out enough to get hotter than the boiling point, and in between the center and surface, the meat temperature spans the range between 140ºF/60°C — medium rare — and 212ºF/100°C — cooked dry In fact the bulk of the meat is overcooked And it only takes a minute or two to overshoot medium rare at the center and dry out the whole steak, because meat is cooked but juicy in only a narrow temperature range, just 30ºF/15ºC When we grill or fry an inch-thick steak or chop, the ... hotter than the boiling point, and in between the center and surface, the meat temperature spans the range between 140ºF/60°C — medium rare — and 212ºF/100°C — cooked dry In fact the bulk of the meat is overcooked... of the meat is overcooked And it only takes a minute or two to overshoot medium rare at the center and dry out the whole steak, because meat is cooked but juicy in only a narrow temperature range,...are the usual fast methods Tough cuts are best heated for a prolonged period at temperatures approaching the boil, usually by stewing, braising, or slow-roasting