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Freezing before cooking

A possible way to have a perfect steak
 
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When you cook a steak, or anything, it cooks faster on the outside then it does on the inside. My idea would be to freeze the outside of a steak before cooking it so that it would cook more evenly. This could be done using classic freezer techniques, or with a fun one like liquid nitrogen.
ben_krak, Jul 05 2004

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       The theory has it's merits, but I like my steak burned on the outside, and bloody on the inside.
normzone, Jul 05 2004
  

       Now the only burn is   

       freezer burn!
someone else, Jul 05 2004
  

       That's kinda how I like my steak too, but not everybody does.
ben_krak, Jul 05 2004
  

       But, given that the heat has to penetrate the meat from the outside anyway, surely all that would happen would be that the outside would defrost first, leaving you in the same situation as normal?
lostdog, Jul 06 2004
  

       What lostdog said - bad science. But this type of recipe is better tested in your kitchen than in an online forum.
DrCurry, Jul 06 2004
  

       [lostdog]: I thing the idea is that only the outside gets frozen so when you cook it, the outside being at an initial lower temperature compensates for the inside being further from the heat source, so it all cooks to the same degree.
Of course, it wouldn't.
angel, Jul 06 2004
  

       + Mainly because this would make an excellent test question for elementary physics: Will this work? If not, explain.
ldischler, Jul 06 2004
  

       I think the question should be: will ben's steak be a) rare; b) medium; c) well done; d) inedible.
DrCurry, Jul 06 2004
  

       To avoid the freezer, you could cook the steak partially, then remove it from the oven and pop it in the fridge (the outer part will cool down while the inner part remains hot -- but without freezer burn), then put it back into the stove to finish the job.
phundug, Jul 06 2004
  

       Are we still cooking this steak or have we moved on to just torturing it?
lostdog, Jul 06 2004
  

       When you're grilling the top heats slower than the sides and much slower than the underside, so ...   

       Oh, I see! Cook a steak so there's something to suit everyone.
dpsyplc, Jul 06 2004
  

       Not trying to defend the idea here, but I wanted to point out that freezing does not mean freezer burn.
ben_krak, Jul 06 2004
  

       Why shouldn't you defend the idea?   

       If the steak is colder on the outside than the inside, my personal prediction is that it will simply take longer to cook. While the oven is heating the outside of the steak, the outside of the steak is busy making the inside of the steak the same temperature as it is, and by the time anything gets warm enough to actually start cooking, the whole steak is the same temperature anyway.
5th Earth, Jul 06 2004
  

       i like steak...
yellowblueberries, Jul 07 2004
  

       Cells burst when subjected to freezing extremes just as water pipes do. And, just like pipes, when burst they lose their ability to store moisture. Ruptured tissue cell walls cannot support the prized succulence of a perfectly turned steak.   

       (Wasn't their once a discussion about the claimed underuse of succulence? I guess I've now done my part to counter that.)   

       I also think that all a refrigerated exterior will do is pose a barrier to the heat as it makes its way to the interior of the steak--merely slowing the speed with which the steak cooks (as [5th Earth] so aptly points out).
bristolz, Jul 07 2004
  

       shirley microwaving the steak would be better as the middle would then be warmer than the outside.
engineer1, Jul 07 2004
  

       Fallacy. Microwave ovens do not cook from the inside. Anyway, microwaving steak should be punishable by having to eat Chicken McNuggets.
angel, Jul 07 2004
  

       mmmmhhhhhhhh Chicken McNuggets
engineer1, Jul 07 2004
  
      
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