Fire It Up - Andrew Schloss [10]
The doneness of meat depends on factors like muscle density and other breed and genetic considerations, as well as how long the meat was aged, the meat’s temperature before cooking, where it comes from on the animal, and its fat and water content. Fat conducts heat more slowly than muscle fiber, so fatty meats cook more slowly than lean meats. Bones also slow down the heat transfer because air within the bone structure conducts heat much more slowly than the bone material itself. Water, on the other hand, speeds up heat transference and conducts heat twice as fast as fat. That’s why lean, tender, boneless cuts like beef tenderloin cook very quickly.
Visual or tactile checks and internal temperature are the most reliable methods of testing meat doneness. As meat cooks, it becomes drier, more opaque, browner, and firmer. Meat cooked to a doneness of blue has a red center that’s still raw and it feels soft when pressed on the surface. When cooked rare, meat has a deep red center and resists slightly when pressed. Medium-rare meat appears bright red in the center and feels resilient to the touch, while medium is rosy red or pink in the center and feels slightly firm. Medium-well meat retains only a hint of pink in the center and feels firm when pressed, and well-done meat looks tan or gray all the way through and feels stiff.
Judging the doneness of tough and fatty cuts of meat like pork shoulder is a lot easier. Tough cuts are done when they are fork-tender. Period. Most tough meats won’t show signs of tenderness until they reach at least 160°F inside. Use the charts to familiarize yourself with internal doneness temperatures for various kinds of meat, game, and fish. These temperatures provide an accurate doneness test if you are not confident about what the meat should look like and how it should feel.
When testing internal temperatures, be sure that the thermometer reaches the center of the thickest portion of the food without touching bone (which could give you a false reading). The temperatures below are consistent with how most chefs serve food for the best flavor and texture and to meet consumer expectations. But keep in mind that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) defines doneness at slightly higher temperatures for enhanced food safety reasons (with a generous margin for user error). For instance, the USDA defines most meats as rare at 135°F, medium-rare at 145°F, medium at 160°F, and well-done at 170°F and above. The USDA also recommends cooking ground meats to 160°F to reduce the risk of illness. However, at those temperatures, the meat will probably be cooked more than you wish. By the time the meat’s internal temperature reaches 160°F, most of the moisture and flavor in ground meat will be gone. Use the chart’s figures with confidence, but if you have any reason to doubt the safety of your meat, feel free to follow USDA figures. In combination with the visual doneness cues discussed previously and in each ingredient chapter, internal temperatures will help you get a better feel for the doneness of various foods. Soon you’ll be able to tell just by looking, and you’ll turn out perfectly cooked steaks and grilled vegetables with nothing but tongs.
Chapter 2
How To Build Flavor Into Anything Grilled
A well-built fire and the best ingredients amount to little if the food coming off the grill doesn’t taste good. Flavor is the most flexible part of a recipe. A