Iron Chef cooking techniques
March 31, 2007 1:52 PM
There are couple of cooking techniques I've seen on Iron Chef that I can't find any info about...
The first one is where they are frying something in the pan and they purposefully get the contents of the pan lit on fire. What is this called, how, when, who, etc.
The second one is where they take some meat and vacuum seal it in plastic before (I think) boiling it. What is that one all about?
The first one is where they are frying something in the pan and they purposefully get the contents of the pan lit on fire. What is this called, how, when, who, etc.
The second one is where they take some meat and vacuum seal it in plastic before (I think) boiling it. What is that one all about?
The first one is called flambe. You would do this to burn off alcohol, reduce the sauce/liquid and generally concentrate the flavors.
The second one is likely a means to marinate the meat. Vacuum sealing will hasten the marination process by forcing the marinade into the cells of the meat. Boiling this in the bag just provides a direct heat source without flame or dry heat that might somehow tamper with the plastic.
posted by frogan at 1:59 PM on March 31, 2007
The second one is likely a means to marinate the meat. Vacuum sealing will hasten the marination process by forcing the marinade into the cells of the meat. Boiling this in the bag just provides a direct heat source without flame or dry heat that might somehow tamper with the plastic.
posted by frogan at 1:59 PM on March 31, 2007
Whew, that was exhausting! Lets call it a day.
posted by dino terror at 2:02 PM on March 31, 2007
posted by dino terror at 2:02 PM on March 31, 2007
The second one is likely a means to marinate the meat.
For the bazillionth time, DON'T ANSWER THE QUESTION UNLESS YOU KNOW THE ANSWER. SERIOUSLY. PLEASE.
Sous vide uses a vacuum seal to protect the food (usually protein, can also be vegetable) while it is cooked at a sub-boiling temperature in a carefully regulated water bath.
Link to monster eG thread on sous vide
posted by rxrfrx at 2:52 PM on March 31, 2007
For the bazillionth time, DON'T ANSWER THE QUESTION UNLESS YOU KNOW THE ANSWER. SERIOUSLY. PLEASE.
Sous vide uses a vacuum seal to protect the food (usually protein, can also be vegetable) while it is cooked at a sub-boiling temperature in a carefully regulated water bath.
Link to monster eG thread on sous vide
posted by rxrfrx at 2:52 PM on March 31, 2007
For the bazillionth time, DON'T ANSWER THE QUESTION UNLESS YOU KNOW THE ANSWER. SERIOUSLY. PLEASE.
Ouch, well, in response to YOUR answer, the vacuum seal isn't so much to "protect" the food as to allow direct contact with the water. If air is present, your food will float. And heat transfers via air differently than it does via water. So by completely (or nearly) removing all of the air, the food will be completely submerged in water and can have consistent heat contact on all sides.
Yes, the bag does "protect" the food from the water (and any potential bacteria, which is a huge concern given the low cooking temperatures), but the vacuum seal (and the actual cooking method) has nothing to do with that.
Most proteins are cooked between 55-65C (130-150F).
And please, rxrfrx, don't be so rude to others trying to help answer the question. Technically, "sous vide" just means "under vacuum" and is highly effective at marinating proteins. Frogan was not incorrect. While "sous vide" has also come to be known as the method of cooking vacuum-sealed food in low-temperature water, that is not the only way to apply it.
posted by BradNelson at 3:43 PM on March 31, 2007
Ouch, well, in response to YOUR answer, the vacuum seal isn't so much to "protect" the food as to allow direct contact with the water. If air is present, your food will float. And heat transfers via air differently than it does via water. So by completely (or nearly) removing all of the air, the food will be completely submerged in water and can have consistent heat contact on all sides.
Yes, the bag does "protect" the food from the water (and any potential bacteria, which is a huge concern given the low cooking temperatures), but the vacuum seal (and the actual cooking method) has nothing to do with that.
Most proteins are cooked between 55-65C (130-150F).
And please, rxrfrx, don't be so rude to others trying to help answer the question. Technically, "sous vide" just means "under vacuum" and is highly effective at marinating proteins. Frogan was not incorrect. While "sous vide" has also come to be known as the method of cooking vacuum-sealed food in low-temperature water, that is not the only way to apply it.
posted by BradNelson at 3:43 PM on March 31, 2007
the vacuum seal isn't so much to "protect" the food as to allow direct contact with the water
Fair enough. The seal is to protect the food from water, and the vacuum is to allow even heat transfer (and sinkage).
Technically, "sous vide" just means "under vacuum" and is highly effective at marinating proteins.
We've all seen the FoodSaver ad with the dude marinating meat in the vacuum pack. But really? If someone said "sous vide" to refer to marination in a vacuum sealed package (and no cooking), that would just be misleading.
posted by rxrfrx at 3:50 PM on March 31, 2007
Fair enough. The seal is to protect the food from water, and the vacuum is to allow even heat transfer (and sinkage).
Technically, "sous vide" just means "under vacuum" and is highly effective at marinating proteins.
We've all seen the FoodSaver ad with the dude marinating meat in the vacuum pack. But really? If someone said "sous vide" to refer to marination in a vacuum sealed package (and no cooking), that would just be misleading.
posted by rxrfrx at 3:50 PM on March 31, 2007
[a couple comments removed; more with the answering, less with the shut-the-fuck-upping and bazillionth-timing, please]
posted by cortex at 4:12 PM on March 31, 2007
posted by cortex at 4:12 PM on March 31, 2007
If someone said "sous vide" to refer to marination in a vacuum sealed package (and no cooking), that would just be misleading.
In general, yes.
However, as an example, the Fat Duck, which uses sous vide cookingextensively, also uses it for marinating things like pigeon breasts (with yogurt) and lamb racks (with oil and herbs). They also use it with pig heads (for terrines) to pull out natural gelatin.
But to end the rambling, I think we've strayed from the point and from the original question. The answer is "sous vide" and that's probably more than dino terror cared to know.
posted by BradNelson at 4:25 PM on March 31, 2007
In general, yes.
However, as an example, the Fat Duck, which uses sous vide cookingextensively, also uses it for marinating things like pigeon breasts (with yogurt) and lamb racks (with oil and herbs). They also use it with pig heads (for terrines) to pull out natural gelatin.
But to end the rambling, I think we've strayed from the point and from the original question. The answer is "sous vide" and that's probably more than dino terror cared to know.
posted by BradNelson at 4:25 PM on March 31, 2007
Yikes. That eGullet thread is a monster. I did not find this article on page four of that thread. This article is about how NY city inspectors are dealing with the unfamiliar technique and I think it may even have escaped the attention of those eGulleters. Interesting if you're looking for more detail but it may be outdated.
posted by stuart_s at 7:58 PM on March 31, 2007
posted by stuart_s at 7:58 PM on March 31, 2007
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fire thing: flambe?
posted by MadamM at 1:57 PM on March 31, 2007