Re: Beef at room temperature prior to cooking

"Nathalie Chiva" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

On Sat, 07 May 2005 22:44:24 -0700, Isaac Wingfield <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

How does a professional restaurant bring the meat to room temperature
without risking bacterial contamination? Or is it just not a risk? Or do
they really not do itthat way?

This society is so germ-obsessed... I just take the meat out of the
fridge 1 or 2 hours before cooking, unwrap it, put it on a plate and
cover with plastic film. In 30 years of cooking, never had a problem.

Nathalie in Switzerland

Exactly! The unreasonable fear of germs, particularly in the US it seems, is
really bizarre. You may have noticed that there is a pretty close inverse
correlation between level of knowledge and level of fear.

In any event, I seem to recall that Cooks Illustrated ran some tests and
found no difference, other than a minor change in cooking time, betgween
cold and room temp steaks.

--
Peter Aitken
Visit my recipe and kitchen myths page at www.pgacon.com/cooking.htm

On Sun 08 May 2005 10:11:02a, Peter Aitken wrote in rec.food.cooking:

Quoted message said:

"Nathalie Chiva" <[email hidden]> wrote in
message news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

On Sat, 07 May 2005 22:44:24 -0700, Isaac Wingfield <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

How does a professional restaurant bring the meat to room temperature
without risking bacterial contamination? Or is it just not a risk? Or
do they really not do itthat way?

This society is so germ-obsessed... I just take the meat out of the
fridge 1 or 2 hours before cooking, unwrap it, put it on a plate and
cover with plastic film. In 30 years of cooking, never had a problem.

Nathalie in Switzerland

Exactly! The unreasonable fear of germs, particularly in the US it
seems, is really bizarre. You may have noticed that there is a pretty
close inverse correlation between level of knowledge and level of fear.

In any event, I seem to recall that Cooks Illustrated ran some tests and
found no difference, other than a minor change in cooking time, betgween
cold and room temp steaks.

Yep, take your pick, Verminophobia or Spermatophobia. It is rampant in the
US.

--
Wayne Boatwright *¿*
____________________________________________

Give me a smart idiot over a stupid genius any day.
Sam Goldwyn, 1882-1974

Peter Aitken said:

In any event, I seem to recall that Cooks Illustrated ran some tests

and

Quoted message said:

found no difference, other than a minor change in cooking time,

betgween

Quoted message said:

cold and room temp steaks.

Not even that, the vast majority of restaurants, especially typical
steak houses, cook steaks at much higher temps than the vast majority
of folks do at home, so in fact restaurants cook steaks in less time
than most could at home... most use steaks that have never been frozen
and cook them straight from the fridge... no restaurant is going to
leave beef steaks sit out at room temperature waiting to be ordered by
patrons, not any more than they would fish steaks. I grind my own beef
and grill burgers often... after many years I've discovered that ice
cold *firmed-up* burgers cook up much better than if left to come to
room temperature, I've found the same with steak cuts as well, ice cold
steaks lose less moisture too... I don't care what fercocktah concepts
the newbie/nouveaux cooks attempt to promote.

Sheldon

Nathalie Chiva said:

On Sat, 07 May 2005 22:44:24 -0700, Isaac Wingfield <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

How does a professional restaurant bring the meat to room temperature
without risking bacterial contamination? Or is it just not a risk? Or do
they really not do itthat way?

This society is so germ-obsessed... I just take the meat out of the
fridge 1 or 2 hours before cooking, unwrap it, put it on a plate and
cover with plastic film. In 30 years of cooking, never had a problem.

Nathalie in Switzerland

I wouldn't even unwrap it, if I was just going to want to put plastic
film on it. What's the point? Am I missing something here?
Goomba