At the moment, porterhouses, rib-eyes, strips, etc. get thrown into an absurdly hot cast iron for a full-face Maillard reaction. They get finished by quickly throwing them into a pot of boiling water. No, just kidding. I finish them in the microwave.
Ahem.
High crimes and misdemeanours aside, I’m wondering if I can skip the cast-iron stage and get the heavenly Maillard reaction right on the grill—via a flame-thrower. First, is any difference between the intense heat of the cast iron surface and a direct flame? Is there a time difference–one will give complex flavours while the other gives complex carbonisation? If not, what sort of flame? I have a small, hand torch I use for creme brule. But that’s too small a flame to cover a few steaks in a short amount of time. Also, anyone who ever tried toasting a marshmallow over a butane lighter knows that fuel choice is important. Are there full-sized torches out there for use in both the kitchen and the shop? Would MAPP gas do? Acetylene? I know the Internet has a few resources for homemade thermite, but that mite be overkill. What about a basic propane torch? Our grill is propane, so I assume there shouldn’t be flavour-related problems or heat problems on the grill’s surface (though for safety’s sake I’d probably shut off the main supply first to avoid crossing the streams). Or are grill-propane and torch-propane slightly different formulations?
I know a lot of professional cooks use a scaled up salamander to sear steaks (as have I done on occasion), which works wonderfully (even though it’s slightly unsettling to watch if you have a good imagination).
Heston Blumenthal did this with a standing rib roast
I’ve tried it as well with smaller steaks using my propane torch, but I think using my broiler works a bit better.
And if you’re going to roast a marshmallow, cut it in half and flame the inside. There is something about the powdery exterior that doesn’t caramelize as well. We did this to make individual s’mores for an appetizer once.
So a regular propane torch from Lowes will work? (I can’t get sound at work, so couldn’t hear if there was anything different). What was it that made using the broiler better?
I have a propane torch that I use on occasion. It’s handy to finish things that are oddly shaped and don’t easily brown on a flat grill, like a chicken or ribs. It’s also great for putting a bit of a crust on bits that maybe don’t get as nicely done, like that one part of the roast chicken that didn’t quite get the same crisp that the rest of it did.
But as far as putting a crust on a whole steak? Not so good. Takes forever, and you risk getting a bit of the propane taste in the food if you don’t watch the flame well and it cools down.
And yeah, I’ve just got a basic propane torch bought at someplace like Lowe’s. No need for the fancy kitchen ones - they’re more expensive and don’t work as well as the Lowe’s ones.
My propane torch is from Lowes, produces a better flame than the little dinky things from cooking stores, which I think are butane.
I like the broiler because it’s nice and even, also I can do a bunch of steaks at a time. I can also get the oven nice and hot so the whole steak is cooked in about 10min. The think I don’t like is that you can’t put spices on the steak because they’ll burn.
Sounds good in theory, but beef need to age at least 21 days. Taunaun, however, are ready to go.
That would be kind of cool. Like combining Korean bbq and fondue. Have a big tray of cubed meat, seafood, and vegetables then a torch going in the middle of the table. Sear and eat. Yum.
It’s easier to switch to charcoal. You can get an extremely hot fire to sear on one side of the grill, then finish at a lower temp on the other side of the grill. Or reverse the process. I haven’t tried it that way yet.
I’ve used propane torches from miniature to the MAPP torch I have for plumbing repairs to brown various things. Basically, the bigger the torch, the faster the browning, over a larger area.
Alton Brown once used a chimney started to sear a steak by placing it over the steak. He filled it with briquettes and got it stinkin hot. Tapped it a few times to shake off the loose dust, had the steak on a Webber grill, then placed the entire chimney over the porterhouse.
(skip to 4:37)
The problem with placing a steak over hot coals is that you are always going to jhave uices dripping onto the coal and flaring up. The smoke from the oil is going to leave a nasty soot on the steak.
Na, campfires never work, it’s the wrong kind of flame, all you get is burned hunks of char, if you’re lucky enough to have it stay on the stick. It’s the 21st century, I think we can do better. Which is why I plan to sell a table top version of a commercial salamander. Top-down radiant heat kicks ass.
Actually, in a book published in the early 70s had a really great picture of a table with a small circular BBQ set in the center. More or less like this, but in the pic they showed it was obviously a charcoal grill for cooking.
I really would love one, perfect for grilling ‘fondue’ style, or the worlds largest pupu platter =)
