"Mort" > wrote in message
...
> Kent wrote:
>
>> The whole idea of sous vide is to very slowly cook steak through the
>> temperature band where the muscle fibers are enzematically broken
>> down[85F-130F or something close to that]. This is how it's done in a
>> restaurant,
>> http://food.rlove.org/2009/01/perfec...rip-steak.html ,
>> by
>> vacuum packing the steak and very very slowly heating it through this
>> band
>> in a bath of water. Then the steak is seared. The idea is to get the
>> steak
>> fork tender, and rare edge to edge without a grey band under the surface.
>
> Sheer psychosis on your part. That "temperature band" will do
> nothing to promote enzymatic activity.
>
> Unless you actually add enzymes ("meat tenderizers", etc) will be no
> enzymatic effect in anything less than 3 days, MINIMUM. The time
> required for any real world effect is more like 5-7 days. The process
> takes place quite well at refrigerator temps (because temperature is
> not a factor with regard to enzymatic activity, enzymes are!).
>
> This is commonly known as dry aging. How you could have possibly
> convoluterized that up with "sous-vide" is a mystery.
>
> --
> Mort
>
>
My interest in this was prompted by two articles in Cook's Illustrated about
slow cooking and tenderness and flavor of the meat.
The term "enzymatic breakdown" came from two articles. The author, David
Pazminoe, in the Jan-Feb 2008 issue felt that holding meat as long as
possible close to 122F enzymaticaly breaks down muscle fiber and increases
tenderness. I've tried this and the meat is more tender and tasteful
roasting in the usual fashion. I posted this sometime in 2008.
Brian Roofe, in the article, "Inexpensive Grill-Roasted Beef" just published
in Cook's Illustrated says the same thing, that holding the meat at 122F as
long as possible makes beef more tender and flavorful by enzymatic breakdown
of the muscle fibers.
"Sous Vide" means "under vacuum" in English and doesn't have anything to do
with what we're discussing. The restaurateur accomplishes this very slow
cooking in water held at a very constant temperature for a long time. The
vacuum keeps the water away from the meat, while the cooking occurs. The
meat doesn't dry out because of that.
Kent