BG Cooks - Grilling Help Please. :(

[Elcura]

Steak past medium rare is burnt.

Amen.

[willriker]

Havnt seen it mentioned, but since everyone else seems to be covering thawing procedures...I have a tip for cooking procedures:

Place your thumb against your other four fingers on your dominant hand as if youre pinching something, but keep the muscles relaxed. Poke the padding of the "pinched" thumb + finger with your other pointer finger. Pending on the tightness of the muscle on the hand with the "pinch", you can gauge temperature fairly accurately.

Rare-Med Rare: Pointer + Thumb
Med Rare - Medium: Middle + Thumb
Meduim to Medium Well: Ring + Thumb
Med Well to Well: Pinky + Thumb

This is a bit easier for me than relying on guesswork or a thermometer and it gives the same results for the most part.

I was a professional chef as well, but went back to school for a career change. During that time i worked as a butcher/fish monger and i would teach people this very same thing. heheh you should see peoples eyes light up once they see it in action.

Would show people this trick all the time too. I actually got in trouble, because i showed this trick to a customer and told them the only thermometer they should have is a candy thermometer. That prompted them to put back the meat thermometer. HEHEH boss was pissed off until i told him that they would come back to this store over others because i saved them money (repeat buisness from customer service). Still was pissed till the costomer came back and was asking me for advice on other things. loved it.

Anywho, this trick works. And, is a great way to check the temperature of any red meat. Plus it saves you from poking holes, which WILL cause juices to run (or even spurt) out from the meat.

[Electro]

Sorry to derail this. But what are your thoughts on the Small appliance grills; ie Cuisinart / GerogeForman? My fiancee is a vegetarian so I find myself not wanting to fire up the grill as much outside. I've been considering getting one of these for mainly fish, burgers, shrimp, vegetables, etc.

[shidobu]

<_< THE shit im reading in this thread.

my mom told me to never eat anything that still bleeding after you have cooked it. I can not eat a steak thats anything but "Done". Dont see how people eat rare steaks

[Orph]

<_< THE shit im reading in this thread.

my mom told me to never eat anything that still bleeding after you have cooked it. I can not eat a steak thats anything but "Done". Dont see how people eat rare steaks

Because its delicious, you seriously are destroying the meat by cooking it so much.

[nitsuj]

Anyone have a good seafood recipe? I've mastered Blackend Catfish and Salmon... looking for something new that's legendary.

[Norellicus]

ITT: People don't know how to cook...

Hot water on frozen food = rofl

Listen to Daydreamer, op. Seriously, don't get frozen steak. Terribad.

Kerb also wins, though I tend to ask for mine medium when I go to the welfare steak places (chilis etc), they always undercook it to 'just right' that way.

Also, if you put sauce on it...die.

Sorry to derail this. But what are your thoughts on the Small appliance grills; ie Cuisinart / GerogeForman? My fiancee is a vegetarian so I find myself not wanting to fire up the grill as much outside. I've been considering getting one of these for mainly fish, burgers, shrimp, vegetables, etc.

They're ribbed griddles. Calling them grills is a joke.

It works in a pinch but it's no open flame.

Makes good panini tho

[Callisto]

Sorry to derail this. But what are your thoughts on the Small appliance grills; ie Cuisinart / GerogeForman? My fiancee is a vegetarian so I find myself not wanting to fire up the grill as much outside. I've been considering getting one of these for mainly fish, burgers, shrimp, vegetables, etc.

It can be handy for chicken/vegetables, but I really disliked using it for anything that wasn't already a totally shitty piece of meat, regulating temperatures on it sucked ass. Unless you want to make everything you eat well done I wouldn't recommend it.

I typically use charcoal, but if you want it simpler take the middle road and use a propane grill, it's honestly worth it.

@ Klutz, you should at least make use of a microwave to mostly defrost the meat, put it on a the lowest setting for a few minutes, it's worth it. Grilling steaks straight from frozen is a terrible, terrible idea.

I tend to put a little bit of olive oil on mine after I season them. You want to start with high heat, if using gas crank it up as high as it goes when you first start the grill. Pop the steak on and immediately reduce the heat to low. This will get a nice sear on the outside, but the overall temperature of the grill will drop off from opening it so that you don't kill the entire piece of meat.

I tend to 'flip' my steaks exactly 3 times, the intervals you turn at will depend on how well you want it done. I eat my steaks rare to medium-rare tops so they only stay on for about 5 minutes, so every 1:15 I will open the grill and move them. I would tack around 3 minutes on per additional step up you want to take in doneness from rare > medrare > med > medwell > well, though in honesty if people are eating it more than medium-well you should just get some burgers instead since they don't really like steak.

The first 'flip' is actually just rotating the steak 45 degrees without actually flipping it. The second time you open it you will actually flip it, having it at the same angle as you first put it on the grill. The third time you rotate it 45 degrees without flipping again.

The rotations give you that nice cross-pattern grill mark deal you see at restaurants, it's not really needed but it's minimal effort for nice presentation.

[willriker]

Sorry to derail this. But what are your thoughts on the Small appliance grills; ie Cuisinart / GerogeForman? My fiancee is a vegetarian so I find myself not wanting to fire up the grill as much outside. I've been considering getting one of these for mainly fish, burgers, shrimp, vegetables, etc.

The thing to realize about the George Foreman grill is that it does not have a temperature control. It has a timer, but no temperature control. That being said it is incredibly useful to have in the house/apartment.

The George Foreman is fantastic on vegetables. You'de need a very educated pallet to taste the differance between asparagus grilled on a George Foreman vs an open flame. Just salt pepper olive oil and George Foreman them up. The same is true for Zuchini, Yellow Squash, and Portobella Mushrooms. Thats not to say that is is good for all vegetables. Anything that cannot withstand the pressure of the top grill will not hold up well. Then again, you can always leave George Foreman open while cooking to deal with those vegetables.

The George Foreman is also wonderful for grilled Fruit. You can Grill Pineapple, Peaches, Melons on the George Foreman grill with almost no descernable reduction in quality. A little hint on some of the things is to leave the grill open, do not put the top down, for fruits that get soft once heated (im talking to you melon and peaches! ><).

You can grill scallops and Shrimp on the George Foreman as well. Youll get those grill lines and everything. As mentioned before, dont put the top down if you are doing scallops. As for finned fish, I really prefer the grill. Obviously you cannot grill sole/flounder, i am talking about Sea Bass, Salmon, Cod Loins. The George Foreman would be perfectly find for tougher fish like Swordfish, Mahi Mahi, and Monk Fish (nickname poor mans Lobster and is fantastic if you have never tried it).

OUtside of that stuff i will use the George Foreman to cook sausages. Most are pork based (I'm going well done), so the lack of a temperature control does not bother me.

I refuse to use the George Foreman for burgers, steaks. It constantly over cooks them, and if you have the lid closed, the water vapor ends up steaming the meat more than grilling it.

[Pharaun]

<_< THE shit im reading in this thread.

my mom told me to never eat anything that still bleeding after you have cooked it. I can not eat a steak thats anything but "Done". Dont see how people eat rare steaks

First off your mom must be a terribad cook, cooking a steak until it's "done" as you called it means that you now have a warm piece of beef jerky instead of a steak. Second, if the animal was butchered properly there really shouldn't be any blood in the steak, what you see are the natural juices i.e. melted fat, water from the cells breaking down, etc. Do yourself a favor and just try a nice medium-rare steak, you'd be amazed how much better it is when you don't cook out all the flavor/tenderness.

[willriker]

Anyone have a good seafood recipe? I've mastered Blackend Catfish and Salmon... looking for something new that's legendary.

Have you ever tried Monk Fish? Its an old time favorite of mine. HAHAHA It looks horrible (when raw) but it carries the nick name of Poor Man's Lobster for a reason. It has a similar texture to lobster. and a mild flavor.

Its Fantastic. Score the meat with a knife to prevent it from curling up from the heat. Season with salt/pepper. Top it with a grilled fruit salsa (grilled Pineapple and Jalepeno, instead of tomatoes, plus w/e else you like to make your salsa with.) Thats an old favorite of mine.

If salsa is not your thing, you can shred it with a couple forks (might need a knife) and do a Fra'Diavolo type of thing with it. Add some Mussles for kicks they are cheep as well, but i love how much flavor they pack.

[willriker]

First off your mom must be a terribad cook, cooking a steak until it's "done" as you called it means that you now have a warm piece of beef jerky instead of a steak. Second, if the animal was butchered properly there really shouldn't be any blood in the steak, what you see are the natural juices i.e. melted fat, water from the cells breaking down, etc. Do yourself a favor and just try a nice medium-rare steak, you'd be amazed how much better it is when you don't cook out all the flavor/tenderness.

I know many people who feal that way. Its more of an "i killed anything inside that can hurt me" type of thing than anything else. And hoboy do they feal vindicated on the rare occasion that a bad batch of meat hits the supermarkets. (pun intended XD)

I say to at least try a medium steak. A medium steak fits your criteria, but is not considered killing a steak. Medium is defined as clear juices (not bloody) with a pink center. You cooked the meat thouroughly without sacrificing much of the tenderness you would get from a Med-Rare.

That being said, a well done steak (which is cooked properly) will rock most peoples world. You can have a really tender well done steak. But, sadly finding a cook who knows how to pull that off is even harder than finding a cook that knows how to properly cook a chicken breast so it is still tender and juicy. Yup yup, a perfectly cooked chicken breast is much more common than a perfectly cooked well done steak.

...its sad really.

[Kerberoz]

No. Just no. Well done = burnt shit that old people eat. Get pork or chicken if you want well done and leave the red meat to those who can appreciate it.

Sorry to derail this. But what are your thoughts on the Small appliance grills; ie Cuisinart / GerogeForman? My fiancee is a vegetarian so I find myself not wanting to fire up the grill as much outside. I've been considering getting one of these for mainly fish, burgers, shrimp, vegetables, etc.

They're great for making paninis and hot dogs, horrible for steaks. I wouldn't really trust them on fish or burgers because they always seem to burn. Get a cast iron pan for cooking steaks and burgers indoors.

[Day]

Well done is awesome. Shut the fuck up. Enjoy your e coli up in this bitch.

[Kerberoz]

Every time I hear well-done steak, I can't help but assume it's being smeared with A1 and served with a Bud Light.

http://www.colinmcnulty.com/blog/ima...m-welldone.jpg

[Day]

A1 Bold and Spicy with a Bud Light sounds amazing.

[Day]

If I want to drink blood and shit I'll go star on Buffy.

[Shiroikage]

Day knows the score.

[Abandon]

+1 to Day.

[Charismatic]

I fucking love well-done steaks, fuck the bullshit.