When you only have a hammer, everything looks like a nail…
The only “cooking” I’m capable of doing is boiling stuff in the microwave.
So… What would happen if I boiled a t-bone steak, or a hamburger patty? I know you can crumble up hamburger and boil it along with pasta – Hamburger Helper! Can you boil meat as an alternative to broiling/frying/grilling?
Ever heard of a New England boiled dinner?
Some people boil bratwurst in beer before grilling it.
If you boiled hamburger, you’d have little bits of cooked meat floating in greasy water, and if you boiled a t-bone, you’d have a solid chunk of cooked meat in bone broth. It wouldn’t taste right because steaks need direct dry heat.
Hamburger Helper, or any of its assorted knockoffs, is prepared with already-cooked meat. The reformulated brand-name Helpers are vile MHO.
With hamburger Helper the meat is fried first, then everything else is added. As for boiled meat, corned beef is wonderful boiled in a big old pot of water.
You can certainly boil beef to cook it. As long as it gets up to temperature, it’ll be safe to eat.
It has a bad reputation as a method. A lot of flavor will be lost into the water you’re boiling it in. Also, boiling water isn’t hot enough to cause the Maillard reaction, that process which makes meat brown and yummy.
So you’re likely to end up with grayish bland meat – though also with a potentially flavorful pot of broth that can be turned into soup or a sauce or something.
A big joint of ham is great when boiled.
Is the problem that the only appliance you have is a microwave oven, or do you not feel you have the skills to cook stuff on the stove or oven? Because I’m hardly brilliant at cooking, but I can follow a recipe, especially if it’s explicit. (None of this “cook until done” or “add spices to taste”.) And if you’re cooking meat, a probe thermometer lets you check for doneness.
After a while you can shred the meat and mix it with BBQ sauce. Or when you first begin cooking, throw in some root vegetables to cook with the meat. Either way, there’s a lot of liquid so you’re basically boiling meat.
The last time I used the oven I burned my hand… (It was the first time I’d used it in twenty years…and I was baking “Sculpey.”) I think ovens are just not my thing!
This sounds like something I could actually do!
I was kinda afraid this was the answer. I’d never heard of the Maillard reaction, but it makes perfect sense. I guess that’s why barbecuing has such popularity!
Thank you, everyone!
You know, oven mitts can help prevent such accidents.
Obviously, my post was very, very basic. While the results are good, they can be improved by browning the meat in a touch of oil before putting it in the pot. But you don’t have to.
For no-browning boiled meat, get a corned beef. I cut it into slabs. Put it in the crock pot and cover with water. Heat on high for about six hours or so – until the meat shreds easily with a fork. Add cabbage, covered in the broth, and let it go until tender. To make it better, add sliced carrots (about 2-inch sticks) and russet potato wedges/quarters about halfway through cooking. You can also cook this in a big pot on the stove – as long as you cook the meat until it’s tender.
I’m assuming that there good reasons why you cannot also use other 120w cooking appliances (electric grille, countertop convection oven, toaster oven), so if you are limited to only a microwave oven, use a microwave grille pan, e.g. Microhearth and RangeMate. The microwave oven will heat the microwave grill pan that will braise the meat.
One handy tip: *don’t *try to quickly zappulate meat in a microwave.
No, it is not as good as a steak on the barbie, but it is a lot better than microwaved meat without a braising pan.
Interesting! That makes sense! (At this point in my life, it’s just a phobia.)
I do have one of those bacon trays that lets me mw bacon, and the result is yummy, so something similar for other meat is an attractive option. Thanks!