GRILLING MYTHS BUSTED
A recipe for cooking a Flat Iron Steak two ways follows the story and tips.
Photo by Marek Mucha on unsplash.
Grills just wanna have fun. So, why do we so often disrespect them?
A couple of grilling seasons ago, I watched a badge-wearing carnivore destroy, just destroy, close to $200 dollars’ worth of beautiful, thick-cut beef ribeye steak.
He had assembled an inferno in his Weber, piling up an entire bag of briquettes that, when reddened and ashed, I could feel on my face a dozen feet away, as if I were peering over the mouth of Kilauea.
After he flung the meat on the grill, in great theater, he stood there while the inevitable flames lapped up the now-dripping fat and (those flames so ravenously fed) charred the undersides of the meat so that they became blacker than a poodle’s nose.
It was so sad. A bit later, the charred bits tasted (and sounded) like chewing coal.
Gentlemen, I address you (us) particularly. This is our gender’s problem. Tongs in hand and fire afore us, the male chest is the first portion of the body to enter the backyard, when what ought to have is its head.
What follows are some myths about the grill to dispel, along with some tips for figuring out the fire.
Myth busted: Searing meat doesn’t “seal in” moisture; in fact, it burns or evaporates it away. (That sizzling that you hear all the while that a steak is cooking, in either a skillet or on the grill? Moisture burning away.)
What looks like a comely crust forming under a sear is what’s called the Maillard Reaction, a chemical reaction that explains the caramelization of proteins and sugars in browned foods of any sort (for instance, cookies, steaks, caramel candy itself, and roasted vegetables).
A steak’s crust isn’t impermeable, but it is nice to taste. Moisture in a steak or piece of fatty fish isn’t as much about water as it is about fat content (which is why the marbling in meat is so highly regarded).
Tip: Teach yourself to “feel” temperature: It's easiest to learn to take the internal temperature of meat and fish by touch rather than by time or instant-read thermometer, although of course they work too.
Push down with your fingertip on a piece of meat or fish as it cooks and gauge its resistance. That will tell you whether it's done or not. This is a rule that is a bit difficult to learn, but fish or meat that is cooked to medium-rare—the preferred doneness, as far as most chefs think—will feel like pressing the inside base of your thumb when your palm is nearly stretched out.
Tip: But whether you measure by feel or instant-read thermometer, remove meat and firm-fleshed grilled fish from the grill just before—not when—it reaches the temperature that you’re after. Then let it rest. This is key. Meat’s internal temperature continues to mount at least five degrees up the scale even after being removed from its heat source because of what’s called the “carryover effect.”
Let’s say that you want a medium-rare steak (135-140 degrees in its center). Pull it off the fire at 130 degrees and let the steak rest, away from the grill, for a minimum of five minutes. The Bourdain Effect then occurs. The resting time allows the meat’s juices, as the late Anthony Bourdain put it, “left undisturbed and unmolested, to redistribute through the resting meat in a lovely and rewarding way.”
Myth busted: It’s OK to cut into a steak to tell if it’s done, but that only ruins the aesthetics, not the juiciness. A steak’s moisture doesn’t “run away” due to a knife cut or a fork poke. Of course, it’s easier and simpler just to use an instant-read thermometer or, as noted, to learn to feel for temperature.
Myth busted: Flip away. The idea that you should flip a steak or burger only once is wrong. Single-flip meats do darken on the outside, but just under that char, the interior heat climbs quickly—and often unmanageably. Flipping several times both crusts the outsides well and allows the interior temperature a steadier, less dangerous climb.
Myth busted: Certain marinades, yes, will tenderize meat, but only those that contain significant acidity (lemon or lime juice, say, or wine or yogurt). But also beware because they can over-tenderize easily, making the meat muscle fibers mushy. Flavor-only marinades or rubs don’t penetrate into the meat to tenderize it. They merely flavor the outsides. That’s fine, as long as you know that’s all that they do.
Myth busted: The received knowledge is to salt and pepper the steak after grilling it. But, the idea behind salting and peppering steaks after grilling them is more about the salt than the pepper: It’s the claim that salting will dry out the meat before it hits the grill. But that’s the point: anyone wants the meat to be dry when it hits the grill. That ensures a better crust.
That’s why it’s best to salt a steak before grilling it, at the very least right before. Better still is to salt it 45 minutes to an hour ahead, letting the steak rest outside the refrigerator and in the open air on the counter or tray. Doing so draws out moisture that is then—alert: critical point—reabsorbed by the meat, seasoning it on the bonus.
The best salt prep for a steak is to salt the surface liberally the night before. (“Liberally” means just to the point where you are uncomfortable with the amount that you are dusting on the steak.) Then, let the steak sit in the frig—uncovered—on a rack over a sheet pan, and allow the big, flat surfaces of the steak to dry out to the max. Again, the steaks will reabsorb the savory saltiness; delicious.
In any case, always pepper a steak after grilling it. Freshly ground black peppercorns can char into bitterness with the intense fire of a grill, so it’s best to add their great flavor as a finishing touch rather than beforehand.
Myth busted: Don’t prick sausages to prevent them from bursting. By and large, they’re not filled, anymore, with stretchers including water that will steam. What they are filled with is delicious fat that will drip away if it finds holes in the casing. Grill sausages using the indirect method, off to the side of the main heat, in order to brown them all-over without burning them and especially so that casing will crisp up nicely.
The recipe here is for a couple of what are called “flat iron” steaks. You might ask your butcher for them by that name, or see them in the case by one of their cognates or other names: boneless top chuck steak, oyster blade steak, book steak, butler steak, lifter steak, chuck clod, petite steak, triangle steak, shoulder top blade steak or boneless top blade steak. (Note that a flat iron is not, however, one of these names, all of which are different cuts of beef: hangar, flank or skirt steak.)
Some say that the flat iron is the second most tender cut of beef after the filet mignon. Hence, it is woefully under-appreciated and, often, underpriced. Because it comes from the primal cut of the animal called chuck, it sports much more intense beefy awesomeness than filet mignon, more like that from a New York strip. That’s a compliment that any searer of steer will appreciate.
Introducing the Flat Iron Steak.
RECIPE: Flat Iron Steak
Makes 2.
Ingredients
2 flat iron steaks, each 1 and 1/2 inches thick, total weight of each depending on your appetites
Seasoning of your choice (kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper; dry prepared steak rub or seasoning; marinade)
Directions
For both methods of cooking here and to assure proper finishing temperatures, steaks should be thawed and at room temperature (out of the refrigerator and set on the counter 30-40 minutes before cooking). Season the steaks, if or however desired.
To grill: On charcoal, have both hot and medium-hot sections of the grill. Put steaks over the hotter section first, searing both sides for 2 minutes a side. Then move to the less hot part of the grill and cook to an internal temperature of 130 degrees for medium-rare (12-14 minutes). On gas, preheat to high, then proceed as with charcoal, lowering heat to medium after the 2-minute sear.
To sear in a skillet atop the stove: Heat a heavy or cast-iron skillet over high heat for 5 minutes, or until very hot. Add 1-2 tablespoons vegetable oil (such as canola, avocado or soybean; however, not olive oil or butter) and immediately add steaks to pan. Cook to an internal temperature of 130 degrees for medium-rare (13-15 minutes).
For both methods of cooking here, remove the steaks from the heat source and rest them on a counter, cutting board or warmed plate for 5 minutes before serving, tented very loosely with foil. (The internal temperature will rise about 5 degrees, which is desired.) Resting the steaks allows the internal juices to redistribute themselves away from the surface of the steaks where they have traveled due to the heat of cooking and back into and throughout the meat.