09/01/2021 6:00 AM
Clarín.com
Gourmet
Updated 09/01/2021 6:00 AM
It is a quick
and nutritious
option
(for non-vegetarians): if there is time to cook, buy one
good piece of meat and it is cooked on the grill.
In a few minutes, you get quality protein and nutrients.
Always bearing in mind that moderate consumption should be made (never more than two or three servings a week according to the Spanish Agency for Consumption, Food Safety and Nutrition).
Now, those few times when you indulge in
a good steak,
you should at least try to enjoy it in all its splendor.
And for this you
have to avoid some mistakes that can spoil it
, making you waste the money it has cost you and causing you to miss that great moment of flavor and texture.
Avoid these failures that some specialists explain to us.
Grilled steak: mistakes made when cooking it
1. Buy vacuum packed meat
It seems very hygienic and a good way for your steak to last a few days in the refrigerator without problems, but according to some experts,
vacuum preservation is not the most suitable for quality beef.
“The vacuum
is the worst enemy, because it absorbs the juices from the pieces.
When you buy meat, it is better to ask to be wrapped, take it home, and the next day you take it out of the refrigerator in advance.
Although it is very beautifully packaged in terms of presentation, it is fatal for the product ”, says Ladi Juan, manager of Cárnicas Lyo, a Spanish company that distributes select beef to large restaurants.
It is advisable to remove the meat from the refrigerator in advance before cooking it on the grill.
2. Take it directly from the fridge to the pan
If you are in a hurry - like everyone else - and put the steak in the pan just out of the fridge, you are making a big mistake.
“The sudden change in temperature causes the meat to contract.
And also, if it is cooked little, then the meat is eaten cold on the inside ”, explains Dani Lechuga, an expert meat cook and chef at the Bardeni meatbar in Barcelona.
According to Cárnicas Lyo,
the ideal is to leave the meat out of the refrigerator for three or four hours
so that it reaches temperature.
3. Griddle or cold pan
Again impatience (or hunger) eat you up inside, and you
throw the steak in the pan without waiting for it to be really hot.
Another big mistake.
“It depends on the thickness of the meat, but the fire has to be strong enough so that it doesn't draw water.
If the fire is strong, the meat juices will be sealed.
If the frying pan is cold and the heat is low, it will release water and cook ”, explains the cook.
A good advice, according to Lyo, is "to melt a piece of meat fat in the pan, and
when it is very very hot, put the meat".
4. Constantly turn the steak or pierce it
Will it already be done, will it already be done?
Do not lose patience or resort to cuts in the meat to know if it is or not at its point
.
Also, do not constantly turn it over the steak, because this way you interrupt the caramelization and the flow of juices inside.
“The same thing happens when you turn the steak by
prodding it with a fork: what you're doing is getting the juices out of it.
Just like crushing it, which is also a mistake, since you distort the figures of the meat ”, according to the owner of Bardeni.
Specialists agree that
meat must be handled as little as possible.
For Lyo, if the piece is well tempered, “you just have to put the steak on the bone part (if you have it) for 10 minutes, and then another two minutes on each side.
It's about giving it a light seal and not eating charred meat.
If it has a grilled flavor… where does the meat taste? ”.
According to specialists, the meat should not be salted before cooking.
Photo: Unsplash.
5. Season at the wrong time or use fine salt
Another common practice that you should avoid: salt the meat before adding it to the pan
.
“In this way the meat begins to release water and that does not interest us.
Exaggerating it, it is what we do when we want to dry a ham.
The piece will lose juices, it will be drier ”, says Dani Lechuga.
Lyo agrees, who also adds the salt at the end, but always in just the right amount.
“If the meat is of very good quality, it doesn't need a lot of salt.
Let's remember that salt is a flavor enhancer ”.
In All about the meat (Lunwerg), the popularizer Arthur Le Caisne assures that "salting after cooking is much more interesting because you will know exactly how much salt the meat will have".
"There are two possibilities: salt it before it rests, or after. If you do it before it rests, much of the salt will dissolve and the outer part will be uniformly salty.
If you do it afterwards it will not dissolve and when you chew it you will find little grains of salt
that break between the teeth and stimulate the papillae. The best! ", he concludes.
In addition, according to Le Caisne, you
have to forget fine salt forever
, “it is a salt without any particular flavor, without personality.
There are many salts with different textures and surprising flavors.
Don't hesitate to change the salt depending on the quantity and the recipe ”.
Rosanna Carceller for La Vanguardia.
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