Imagine
a flavourful grilled steak, perfectly charred on the outside and almost rare
inside. Imagine the scent of caramelized spices; the delicate and well-balanced
taste. Sound simple? The truth is that cooking a luscious piece of meat over a
grill – or on a barbecue or even in a pan – requires knowing a million secrets
that may escape even the most expert cooks. One needs speed, experience and an
acute sense of timing. And one should be well aware of the simple chemical
reaction that takes place, the same one that’s the basis for any cooking method
requiring high temperatures – like, for instance, a barbecue.
This
reaction has a name: The Maillard reaction, which honours the French scientist
who lived and worked between the 19th and 20th Centuries. Maybe you’ve heard
the Maillard reaction mentioned in cookbooks or on television shows, but why is
it so important? Because it involves the cooking of both proteins and sugars,
which occurs frequently in the kitchen. It’s the same process that helps to
create that succulent crust that forms on the surface of an ideal steak.
Describing
the Maillard reaction in detail is the job of chemistry textbooks, but knowing
how it works is any cook’s ticket to successfully cooking a cut of meat. And
it’s a low-cost ticket: the reaction consists of three passages in which the
substances in the meat become burnished, juicy and glazed. Of course, really
understanding the Maillard reaction is complex, but what a non-science-oriented
chef should keep in mind are three things: temperature, pH and the makeup of
the ingredients – namely, the kind of meat we choose to cook with. Once you act
with regards to these three elements, you’re setting the Maillard reaction in
motion. And a perfect steak is yours when you want it.
Let’s
begin with the base ingredient: the meat. Choose whichever you prefer, but
remember that if it’s too lean it should be brushed with high-temperature oil
like peanut oil or seed oil. Then heat the grill or the broiling pan to the
correct temperature, which should be higher than 140°C and lower than 170°C so
the meat doesn’t burn. Once the right temperature has been reached, you can put
the meat on the surface. And don’t, under any circumstances, touch it for at
least a couple of minutes – although the exact timing does vary according to
the meat’s thickness. Let Maillard’s reaction simply run its course, forming
the delicious odours and flavours. Only then should the meat be turned, and
left untouched for another couple of minutes. If the cut is very thick and you
like it medium rare, you can then put it in a pre-heated 230°-240°C oven.
Another couple of minutes on each side and it will be divine. The last step?
Wrap the steak in aluminium foil and let it rest for two or three minutes so
that the internal liquids get evenly distributed, which makes for a juicy
steak. The final touch: a bit of salt and extra-virgin olive oil.
Remember,
even if you don’t entirely understand it, Maillard’s reaction is all about pH:
the lower it is – and the more acidic the meat is – the better the result. To
successfully obtain the perfect acidity, wine and spice marinades come in
handy. And here is where you can play around: knowing the Maillard reaction is
good, but a great cook should also love to experiment.
By FDL