Proof of concept test on steak toaster

I did an extremely crude "proof of concept" test of the "steak toaster" this AM and it performed superbly........ considering the rather slapped together system.

The system consisted of a hot plate, and a cheap Walmart grilling basket, along with a few weights and props to make it all hang together during the grilling and a piece of steel plate for a base to protect the counter top. A cheap ($12 at BBBY) hot plate of the open coil type like the old electric stove elements was used. It was tipped up on edge, and propped in position. The meat, a piece of pork loin, was clamped in the grilling basket, which was also propped up vertically. The hot plate had to be moved from one side to the other during grilling.

The concept is to cook entirely with radiant heat rather than contact heat, and rather intense heat so the meat will brown on the surface rapidly as it would on an open flame, without excessive internal cooking....... Sear it and seal the juices in. The vertical orientation is to allow it to drip without dripping on the element, making clean up easier, and avoiding excessive smoking.

The result was great under the crude circumstances and will improve with refinement. With the element on high, the meat seared on the outside quickly. It was darkened much like it would be on a charcoal grill.

My intent is to refine this with two hot plates, stripped down a bit, and adjustable for spacing. I'll remove the control that cycles the hot plates on and off, so they go straight to high. The meat will go in the grilling basket, and the elements will be moved to give the ideal spacing for the desired cooking rate. If it's a thick piece, you will move them outward so the heat on the surface is not as intense.... or move them outward for a more done piece of meat, or inward for a char grill with a very dark exterior and very pink interior. It will be very much like a toaster, but pretty much wide open. The object is not to contain the heat like an oven, but to grill like you would over charcoal.


Howard

Pitchers makes for proof.

Peruvian802 said:

Pitchers makes for proof.

Click to expand...

I'm not trying to prove anything........ just share ideas. Perhaps when I get it a bit more refined, I'll post some photos.

H.W.

Owly055 said:

I'm not trying to prove anything........ just share ideas. Perhaps when I get it a bit more refined, I'll post some photos.

H.W.

Click to expand...

Proove, schmoove...I just want to see photos of nicely cooked steaks! :rockin::rockin::rockin:

Peruvian802 said:

Proove, schmoove...I just want to see photos of nicely cooked steaks! :rockin::rockin::rockin:

Click to expand...

I ate the evidence ...... ;-(

Pics man. You can even start a third thread on it if you want to include pics.

Owly055 said:

I'm not trying to prove anything........ just share ideas. Perhaps when I get it a bit more refined, I'll post some photos.

H.W.

Click to expand...

Yet, you titled the thread "proof of concept"?

It's cool idea. I'm wondering if radiant heat is quick enough to seal the surface of the meat. The very hot plate/contact is what seals the juices in by caramelizing and searing very quickly. I cook all of my steaks the same way, very hot surface, sear both sides, lower heat, finish cooking.

MC

Misplaced_Canuck said:

It's cool idea. I'm wondering if radiant heat is quick enough to seal the surface of the meat. The very hot plate/contact is what seals the juices in by caramelizing and searing very quickly. I cook all of my steaks the same way, very hot surface, sear both sides, lower heat, finish cooking.

MC

Click to expand...

The hot plate element was glowing bright orange about half an inch from the surface. I would say that contact is not necessary at all...... Look at charcoal grills, they work entirely on radiant heat.

H.W.

GilaMinumBeer said:

Yet, you titled the thread "proof of concept"?

Click to expand...

A proof of concept model can be far more rudimentary than an actual prototype.

H.W.

Owly055 said:

The hot plate element was glowing bright orange about half an inch from the surface. I would say that contact is not necessary at all...... Look at charcoal grills, they work entirely on radiant heat.

H.W.

Click to expand...

not really. The grill itself (the bars) are very hot.

Once you decided to use pork loin as a surrogate for steak, you lost me.

AZ_IPA said:

Once you decided to use pork loin as a surrogate for steak, you lost me.

Click to expand...

Lots bigger bang for the buck with pork for testing.

Again, shawarma, it's out there......

don't get it....but I got a cast iron skillet and a grill...where does this fit in? If I gotta cook inside, it's cast iron. If I can cook outside it's the grill. Are we solving a problem that doesn't exist?

Mismost said:

don't get it....but I got a cast iron skillet and a grill...where does this fit in? If I gotta cook inside, it's cast iron. If I can cook outside it's the grill. Are we solving a problem that doesn't exist?

Click to expand...

Mismost, meet Owly. Solving problems that don't exist is his entire reason for being. He's awesome.

I don't see the difference between this and just using the broiler in my oven.

Owly055 said:

...Sear it and seal the juices in...

Click to expand...

Misplaced_Canuck said:

...The very hot plate/contact is what seals the juices in by caramelizing and searing very quickly...

Click to expand...

Just a point, but that's not actually true. See point #4

http://www.seriouseats.com/2010/10/the-food-labs-top-6-food-myths.html

*edit: though a hard sear does create some really good flavor through the Maillard reaction

Zinc_Saucier said:

Just a point, but that's not actually true. See point #4

http://www.seriouseats.com/2010/10/the-food-labs-top-6-food-myths.html

*edit: though a hard sear does create some really good flavor through the Maillard reaction

Click to expand...

Thanks for posting that link.......... there were a number of useful bit of information there. Most of us have figured out that the longer you cook meat the tougher it gets, but we also know the value of long low temp cooking... the two are seemingly, in conflict, but in fact are not. We fast cook a steak so the outside is darkened (Malliard Reaction), while the core temp is much lower. The fact that the core never reaches the temp of the outside makes for a steak that is tender in the center. It would seem from this article that for a perfect medium rare steak, we should cook the whole thing in a 145 deg environment until it is 145 all the way through. We should then subject the outer surface to intense high temp briefly. We want the Malliard reaction on the surface, but we don't want the temp of the meat beneath the surface to increase in temp. Extremely high temp extremely short inverval ..... It might be thousands of degrees for an interval just long enough to brown it. The higher the temp and the briefer the interval, the more of that perfect medium rare meat you will have in the center..... We want the surface brown, not black. You can pass a 6000 deg flame across your arm rapidly and not brown or burn the skin......It will just burn the hair. Pass that same flame across a piece of meat more slowly, and it will brown the surface.... slower yet and it will blacken the surfaced. Reduce flame temp, and longer exposure is needed to achieve the same colors, and during that time the meat will cook, pushing back the medium rare toward the core and leaving more brown meat. I don't know about anybody else here, but I much prefer to have more of the pink, medium rare meat. Anything darkened blow the surface is just well done meat. The positive effects of the Malliard reaction does not extend below the surface at all.

That tells me that the perfect steak would be cooked using the Sous Vide method to 145, then removed from the bag and browned on the surface with a very hot torch. It would give you the best of both worlds.


H.W.

I think there's more to it than just temps.

I don't care for the texture of steaks cooked sous vide. I also prefer steaks done rare and I don't see sous vide giving me the results I like.

Zinc_Saucier said:

Just a point, but that's not actually true. See point #4

http://www.seriouseats.com/2010/10/the-food-labs-top-6-food-myths.html

*edit: though a hard sear does create some really good flavor through the Maillard reaction

Click to expand...

You're right, but there are two things in what I said. The caramelizing/mallard effect is the 2nd one.

On the other hand, searing does improve flavor by catalyzing the Maillard browning reactions, a series of chemical reactions that rapidly take place when proteins and sugars are heated to around 300°F or so, improving the flavor and texture of the dish. But in almost all cases, it's better to sear the food after it's roasted, not at the start.

Click to expand...

Misplaced_Canuck said:

You're right, but there are two things in what I said. The caramelizing/mallard effect is the 2nd one.

Click to expand...

100% agree that searing adds to flavor, wasn't disputing the validity of the sear, just what it does

I've been using my "steak toaster" for several days now, and have the distances figured out where I can produce a perfect piece of meat. I still have only one hot plate so I can only do one side at a time, but the product is superb. The outside has the perfect amount of brownness, and the inside is cooked just enough, leaving me with a tender and delicious piece of meat. It does so much better than the George Foreman grill that I don't see using one of those again.

My goal however is to build a permanent unit with two heating elements......I might even begin with an actual toaster...... and incorporate a "smoke generator" I can drop few hardwood pellets in so the unit will be filled with smoke while cooking. This will require some more experimentation and refinement to determine the ideal spacing and timing for meat of a given thickness.


H.W.

This device exists: Shawarma rotisserie. Usually chicken, and huge quantities. Doing 1 steak would be time-consuming, but delicious. The professional shawarma cookers use a natural-gas grid burner vertically and rotate the meat. Electric would be similar im sure.

I didn't read any of this thread. I want to see a picture if the d@mn thing, and show me some steak!

thelastleroy said:

This device exists: Shawarma rotisserie. Usually chicken, and huge quantities. Doing 1 steak would be time-consuming, but delicious. The professional shawarma cookers use a natural-gas grid burner vertically and rotate the meat. Electric would be similar im sure.

Click to expand...

I've seen them in use making Gyro meat...... a steak isn't round, and rotation would not be possible due to the distance the meat would be from the heat source. It's clearly NOT a new concept as Presto made a device similar to what I'm working with, called a vertical broiler. The heating element was like an oven heating element, not nearly the thermal density of the coil type hot plate element, and spacing was not adjustable. You just drop the meat in a double wire grill, exactly as I'm doing, and drop it in the slot just like a piece of bread in a toaster. Here's a Utube video of it:

The real beauty is the minimal clean up. With minimal surface contact....just the grill wires, a little bit of juice ends up on the steel plate I use for a base... Plain mild steel without that miserable but ubiquitous teflon they persist in coating everything with....... The day teflon in it's various versions dissapears from the face of the earth will be a happy day as far as I'm concerned.

I'm considering buying a cheap toaster at the Salvation Army and cutting it in half for the next iteration of this....

Howard