Heat plus smoke equals fl avor
Searing at high heat allows browning (Mail-
lard) reactions, which begin at about 250°F,
to take place on the surface of the steak,
creating a fl avorful outer crust; amino acids,
sugars, and fats break down and react to
create new fl avor compounds such as furans
and pyrazines.
Maillard browning requires a hot, dry
environment. Hardwood lump charcoal burns
hotter and drier than gas, making it the best
choice for browning and crust development.
Hardwood also releases fl avor compoundsin its smoke, such as guaiacol and syringol,
which produce noticeably tastier steak. If you
have a gas grill, you can use wood chips to im-
part fl avor, but you won’t get the same crust.Keep it juicy
Contrary to popular belief, searing a steak does not seal in
juices. The key to a juicy steak is to not overcook it. Meat
consists of about 70 percent water. Around 120°F, meat
protein starts to coagulate and squeeze water from the
cells. At around 140°F, connective tissues surrounding
protein fibers begin to shrink, squeezing yet more moisture
from the cells. As a result, steaks cooked above 155°F
(medium well) lose most of their moisture and become dry.
The perception of juiciness also comes from melted fat
Flip out (one reason why well-marbled steaks tend to taste juicier).
Steaks need to be fl ipped for even
cooking and to help develop an
even crust on both sides. On a hot
grill with no lid, all the heat comes
from below, and frequent fl ipping
transfers heat equally to both
sides of the steak, promoting even
cooking. If you do use a lid, it will
trap heat and send some to the top
of the steak, so you may be able to
fl ip less oft en.
Grills tend to have hot spots,
so it also helps to rotate the steak,
or move its location on the grill
periodically to create an evenly
browned surface.
The right temp
Contrary to popular opinion,
it is unwise to bring a steak to
room temperature before grilling.
While you want the surface of
a steak to get super hot during
cooking to create a thick browned
crust, you don’t want to overcook
the inside, which makes it benefi -
cial to start with a cooler interior.
It’s also unwise for another
reason: Most harmful bacteria
on a steak are on the surface and
multiply when the surface tem-
perature rises above 40°F.
012 4 6 8 10 12 14 16daysMeat tendernessOSNNOOPYRAZINES
cooked
roasted
toastedFURANS
meaty
charred
caramel-likeTHIOPHENES
meaty
roastedFURANONES
sweet
caramel
charredConnective tissues
shrink during cooking
and squeeze moisture
from the muscle cells.Connective
tissueMuscle
cellsMarbled fat
Fat that is webbed throughout
lean muscle and connective tissue
is marbled fat. Th is fat is a main
consideration in the grading of meat,
prime grade (the best grade) having
abundant marbled fat.
Marbled fat makes meat more
tender. It stretches connective tissue surrounding meat fi bers into thin sheets,
making them more likely to soft en during cooking, and isolates one muscle
fi ber from another, separating them into tiny, more easily chewable packets.
Marbling also contributes to fl avor. During cooking, marbled fat melts
into the meat’s fi bers. Th e fat itself has fl avor, but it also plays a role in how
our senses receive the aromatic fl avors and helps to carry the seasonings
and sauces on the meat.Fat marblingFLAVOR COMPOUNDSBetter with age
Aging beef makes it more tender and fl avorful.
Dry-aging at 34°F to 38°F in high humidity (70 to
80 percent) allows enzymes in the meat to break
down proteins into more fl avorful amino acids;
glycogen into sweet sugars; and fat into aromatic
fatty acids. (See chart above. Extremely fresh meat
is not tender right away.)
Other enzymes attack connective tissue and
muscle fi bers. Th is process has two e ects:
Collagen in connective tissue gelatinizes more
readily, allowing meat to tenderize more quickly
and at lower temperatures; and connective tis-
sues surrounding muscle fi bers relax so that less
juice is squeezed during cooking. Th e result:
tender, juicy meat that can be served quite rare.FINECOOKING.COM 15