I'm wanting to do a small steak dinner for some people at work. I will have to cook the steaks at home the night before and then somehow rewarm them at work. I will probably be stuck rewarming them in a microwave. Can you give me some advice on how to go about the rewarming so that the steaks don't have the texture and taste of shoe leather? Should I kick the intensity of the microwave down? Should I warm them inside a container, perhaps with a little water sprinkled in it to preserve moisture?
"Michael" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:[email hidden]...
Quoted message said:
I'm wanting to do a small steak dinner for some people at work. I will have to cook the steaks at home the night before and then somehow rewarm them at work. I will probably be stuck rewarming them in a microwave. Can you give me some advice on how to go about the rewarming so that the steaks don't have the texture and taste of shoe leather? Should I kick the intensity of the microwave down? Should I warm them inside a container, perhaps with a little water sprinkled in it to preserve moisture?
Thank you, Michael
If you cannot cook the steaks at work I would choose another dish. Roast beef, even, sliced thinly, served with homemade gravy you reheat in the microwave. Steak is just not the same reheated.
kick the intensity of the microwave down? Should I warm them inside a container, perhaps with a little water sprinkled in it to preserve moisture?
Quoted message said:
If you cannot cook the steaks at work I would choose another dish. Roast beef, even, sliced thinly, served with homemade gravy you reheat in the microwave. Steak is just not the same reheated.
Agreed. But, haven't people said they reheat steaks in the microwave by covering it with a lettuce leaf? That should help, I would think. When I've reheated leftover steak in the microwave, I only heat it to barely warm, even then I use it for sandwiches.
"Michael" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:[email hidden]...
Quoted message said:
I'm wanting to do a small steak dinner for some people at work. I will have to cook the steaks at home the night before and then somehow rewarm them at work. I will probably be stuck rewarming them in a microwave. Can you give me some advice on how to go about the rewarming so that the steaks don't have the texture and taste of shoe leather?
If the steak is an inch thick, it will work. Just cook the steak medium rare and nuke it on medium power for a short time, maybe a minute. No matter what you do the outside crust will be lost, but the flavor can still be good.
I'm wanting to do a small steak dinner for some people at work. I will have to cook the steaks at home the night before and then somehow rewarm them at work. I will probably be stuck rewarming them in a microwave. Can you give me some advice on how to go about the rewarming so that the steaks don't have the texture and taste of shoe leather? Should I kick the intensity of the microwave down? Should I warm them inside a container, perhaps with a little water sprinkled in it to preserve moisture?
Why did you pick steak? Rethink the menu and bring something that's cooked long and slow because it will reheat much more satisfactorily than steak. If you still insist on steak, serve it cold... in a salad.
--
Ham and eggs. A day's work for a chicken, a lifetime commitment for a pig.
I'm wanting to do a small steak dinner for some people at work. I will have to cook the steaks at home the night before and then somehow rewarm them at work. I will probably be stuck rewarming them in a microwave. Can you give me some advice on how to go about the rewarming so that the steaks don't have the texture and taste of shoe leather? Should I kick the intensity of the microwave down? Should I warm them inside a container, perhaps with a little water sprinkled in it to preserve moisture?
Thank you, Michael
I'd choose to bring something else unless you can cook the steak on the premises.
Agreed. But, haven't people said they reheat steaks in the microwave by covering it with a lettuce leaf? That should help, I would think. When I've reheated leftover steak in the microwave, I only heat it to barely warm, even then I use it for sandwiches.
Before I went low-carb, I used to eat lots of Bagel Bites, which in the pure cheese version (no meat bits made from dubious cattle) contained no objectionable ingredients. Because I cooked them in a big covered iron pot on the one remaining functional burner on my stovetop on low, I had no need for the microwave susceptor trays, which I saved. I have a ton of them. I also used to have a ton of the microwave susceptor envelopes for Lean Pockets, but I threw those away after a few years of not using any of them (plus a mold problem due to not cleaning them absolutely scrupulously).
Anyhow, I suggest saving unused packaging material like these for occasions just like this one, when you need to arrange for something approximating Real Cooking, but using a microwave.
Agreed. But, haven't people said they reheat steaks in the microwave by covering it with a lettuce leaf? That should help, I would think. When I've reheated leftover steak in the microwave, I only heat it to barely warm, even then I use it for sandwiches.
Anyhow, I suggest saving unused packaging material like these for occasions just like this one, when you need to arrange for something approximating Real Cooking, but using a microwave.
It occurs to me that you can roast a fresh steak in a microwave by modifying a microwave popcorn bag. Just slit it open, dump out the corn and the grease, and put in a raw steak. From that point on, just follow the directions on the bag for popcorn. (Hint: leave a few kernels of popcorn in the bag with the steak -- when they pop, you'll know the steak is done!)
It will work very well. I've simulated it mentally, and I don't see any problems. If you try this, please report your success to this newsgroup!
At the least, it should provide enjoyment value for your co-workers equivalent to the most successful steak. You can tell them that the Internet _guaranteed_ you will have an excellent result. :-)
I'm wanting to do a small steak dinner for some people at work. I will have to cook the steaks at home the night before and then somehow rewarm them at work. I will probably be stuck rewarming them in a microwave. Can you give me some advice on how to go about the rewarming so that the steaks don't have the texture and taste of shoe leather? Should I kick the intensity of the microwave down? Should I warm them inside a container, perhaps with a little water sprinkled in it to preserve moisture?
I have to go along with the others. That is an awful thing to do to a steak.
I'm wanting to do a small steak dinner for some people at work. I will have to cook the steaks at home the night before and then somehow rewarm them at work. I will probably be stuck rewarming them in a microwave. Can you give me some advice on how to go about the rewarming so that the steaks don't have the texture and taste of shoe leather? Should I kick the intensity of the microwave down? Should I warm them inside a container, perhaps with a little water sprinkled in it to preserve moisture?
I'm wanting to do a small steak dinner for some people at work. I will have to cook the steaks at home the night before and then somehow rewarm them at work. I will probably be stuck rewarming them in a microwave. Can you give me some advice on how to go about the rewarming so that the steaks don't have the texture and taste of shoe leather? Should I kick the intensity of the microwave down? Should I warm them inside a container, perhaps with a little water sprinkled in it to preserve moisture?
I have to go along with the others. That is an awful thing to do to a steak.
Yeah...
I'd BBQ/smoke some chicken. In my experience, warming chicken back up in the microwave is very forgiving if done right.
I will re-warm steak in the nuker from time to time, but only in strips for salad or sammiches. -- Peace! Om
"My mother never saw the irony in calling me a Son of a [censored]" -- Jack Nicholson
You can try cooking to rare them the morning of the dinner instead of the night before , then wrap them in a heavy duty foil and wrap the foil in a towel put it all in a cooler like you would ribs, which can stay warm for several hours. Mix up a herbed steak butter which you can heat in the microwave to improve the taste if you have to heat them briefly. Good Luck. "Michael" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:[email hidden]...
Quoted message said:
I'm wanting to do a small steak dinner for some people at work. I will have to cook the steaks at home the night before and then somehow rewarm them at work. I will probably be stuck rewarming them in a microwave. Can you give me some advice on how to go about the rewarming so that the steaks don't have the texture and taste of shoe leather? Should I kick the intensity of the microwave down? Should I warm them inside a container, perhaps with a little water sprinkled in it to preserve moisture?
You can try cooking to rare them the morning of the dinner instead of the night before , then wrap them in a heavy duty foil and wrap the foil in a towel put it all in a cooler like you would ribs, which can stay warm for several hours.
Bad idea. The differential between the finishing temp and the holding temp will make for a bad result. I've tried this. Expect overcooked steak.
A medium rare steak finishes at an internal temp of around 130 F at dead center, less if you leave room for normal overshoot and even less if you like it more rare.
The safe holding temperature for meat is 140 F or above. Wrapping the meat right away and holding in an well insulated container will certainly achieve this. Put a probe thermo in the center of the cooler and and you'll see the temp hit 160 F or more for an extended period, depending on how much meat there is.
Holding the steak at that higher temp means it will continue to cook... to a bad result. No more pink/red center. Take everyone else's advice and serve something other than steak. The logistics in this case favor some other dish.
Thanks, everyone. I guess I'll accept the majority opinion and bail out on the steak. This will take some rethinking. I would like to do sweet and sour chicken, because it's something I do well and it's as good warmed up as when it's first cooked, but one of the folks doesn't like it. I'm trying to think of something that's a cut above what they would find at the cafeteria.
Why did you pick steak? Rethink the menu and bring something that's cooked long and slow because it will reheat much more satisfactorily than steak. If you still insist on steak, serve it cold... in a salad.
That's a very good suggestion. Butter lettuce dressed with walnut oil (or any other nut oil) could be the basis for such a salad.
"Michael" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:[email hidden]...
Quoted message said:
I'm wanting to do a small steak dinner for some people at work. I will have to cook the steaks at home the night before and then somehow rewarm them at work. I will probably be stuck rewarming them in a microwave. Can you give me some advice on how to go about the rewarming so that the steaks don't have the texture and taste of shoe leather? Should I kick the intensity of the microwave down? Should I warm them inside a container, perhaps with a little water sprinkled in it to preserve moisture?
If you cannot cook the steaks at work I would choose another dish. Roast beef, even, sliced thinly, served with homemade gravy you reheat in the microwave. Steak is just not the same reheated.
You can try cooking to rare them the morning of the dinner instead of the night before , then wrap them in a heavy duty foil and wrap the foil in a towel put it all in a cooler like you would ribs, which can stay warm for several hours. Mix up a herbed steak butter which you can heat in the microwave to improve the taste if you have to heat them briefly. Good Luck.
Partially cooked meat kept warm for hours? That sounds more like e recipe for food poisoning.
