Hogs Breath Cafe 18 hr steak

[flybloke]

This is a report by a colleague of mine that is arguably the best BBQ chef in Australia. He runs BBQ Cooking schools in WA.
He did the science and I emulate it.
So the Kudos goes to him
Find him here
http://www.urbangriller.com/

This lesson uses a Rack of Beef to illustrate the importance of internal temperature or "Doneness" and how it can be used do guarantee results.
In this recipe the meat is not permitted to rise above 66 degrees Celsius at any stage in the cooking process, the premise being that at temperatures above 66° C (151° F) the juices inside the cells expand to the point that the cell wall breaks and the juice is dispersed through the meat.
This recipe is cooked over 7 hours using only the heat from 6 Heat Beads at any given time, the Idea is to keep the cooking chamber at the same temperature as you want the final result (in this case Medium Well Done: 66° C (151° F)).

First light 6 Heat Beads in your favourite BBQ, then wait till they have a nice white powdery covering of ash, this means they are ready for cooking as the petro-chemicals have been driven off.





Place your meat on the grill and brown it with a blowtorch to develop colour and taste through "caramelisation" otherwise known as the Maillard reaction. The Maillard reaction occurs at 150° C (300° F) and with such a low cooking temperature the meat will not brown without the help of a blowtorch.





Close the lid, check the cooking chamber temperature and come back in three hours.



After three or four hours check the cooking chamber temperature and the beef, you will most likely need to add a couple more Heat Beads, I use Beads leftover from previous cooking sessions as they have no petro-chemicals and will re-ignite easily when in contact with the already lit ones, this is a good time to add some wood chunks for added smoke flavour.






After 7 hours check the internal temperature of the beef, it should be ready to serve. At this point you could hold the meat at serving temperature in the cooking chamber for another four hours or so without a perceivable loss of moisture or quality when served. In addition the meat has been heated evenly and not to the point where the cells rupture, so there is no need to let it rest before serving.



Here I have brought the meat straight to the table and cut it without resting. You can see I have lost a minimum of the juices, you can also see the structure of the meat is preserved and the cook is even across the cut. Remember this is cooked to Medium Well Done! If we got to this internal temperature by "normal" cooking in a hot chamber the outside of the meat would be dry and stringy and the inside grey, dry and to my mind over cooked (I like mine rare).




Here is what was left in the BBQ the next day and what juices were lost in the carving.




Cheers
Chris

[sleepygreg]

that looks like a whole bone on rib fillet. Might try that one.....and add a final step after carving.....throw each piece on a super hot and clean hot plate to sear each side (i love that seared flavour on a medium rare piece of steak). Or am i complicating the issue.

Greg

PS...anticipating some fish recipes.

[flybloke]

Ha Ha, Your a sh!t stirer Greg(How to ruin good meat ). I just thought Id put this one to the final death knell.
Hopefully, Id like any chefs to chime in??
But maybe a new thread is in order.
Greg, Have I done my grean curry mother in law fish in tripple layer foil bag?
Carp tastes good with this

[sleepygreg]

Ok - guilty - i am a Sh%t stirrer, but I usually use cooking chop stiks to get a good stir LOL.

I am putting up a Thread on 'How to make the less desirable fish into delicacies'.

Feel free to start it off while I try to dig up John McConkeys 'blackened Carp' recipe....its bloody brilliant.

Greg

[iqarus]

you're bloody close mate, use just a rib-eye next time

[Aunty Jack]

Would this work on any cut of meat eg :rump
I've been ageing one and its ready for eating.
I take it you can still use dry rubs and garlic for flavor or would that ruwin it.
The Sunday roast is looking good thanks.

[NEWBY]

Dont even bother bringing up 'hogs breath' with me. I have eaten ther on a number of occassions....as part of a groups...and have yet to have a meal that I am happy with. As far as im concerned they are over rated and have absolute crap food. I will never chose to eat there. Might reluctantly eat there if part of a group........but never will it be my choice.

Greg

Agreed, tough meat, soggy fatty hogs tail fry's and you cant complain about something that is NOT there "SERVICE"
Its all about "perception"....
They have sold people on the idea that slow cooked meat is good...All it really means is it is a cheap cheap cut or from a crap supplier. Needs 18 hours to break down all the crap. Another 18 hours to digest the crap.
I cant imagine cooking Black Angus for 18 hours.
If its not grazing on the salad on your plate, it is overcooked.

[Fishoboy11]

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this thread and have learnt a lot from flybloke's commentary, some of which I must now look at putting into practice. I love using my webber for traditional roasting and am tempted to have a go slow cooking in it, but may be best served trying in the oven first.

Interestingly we dined at HBC in Dubbo just this week. It was my first time for many years and although I felt the traditional cut rib was a tad small, it tasted great and the service was also very good.

[sleepygreg]

I can't believe this thread has had 9000 reads. Must be a lot of people out there that eat at the place. A sad indictment on our 'better' nosheries.

[sleepygreg]

maybe time for a new thread.

[snapperdan]

Slow cooking is the bomb. Love to get a propper smoker and do some pulled pork sandwciches etc. Just went to a party where a whole lamb was slow cooked in a pizza oven. The lamb was unbeleivable.

This is a good recipe if you are looking to get into slow cooking. Its from a Pos Kitchen episode with Neil Perry. Cook this for your wife and kids on a windy day and every time the sun is shining and the seas are flat you shouldnt have a problem getting out for a fish.

serves 4

• 2 or 3 bone rib of beef (2-3 ribs will be enough for 4 people), preferably dry-aged for at least 3 weeks
• Sea salt
• Extra virgin olive oil
• Freshly ground pepper

• Red Wine Sauce
• 500ml full bodied red wine
• Olive oil
• Small carrot, peeled and finely diced
• ½ red onion, finely diced
• 2 garlic cloves, chopped
• 2 field mushrooms, chopped
• 150g meat trimmings, chopped
• 100ml balsamic vinegar
• 1 ½ tbs red wine vinegar
• 150ml port
• 2 thyme sprigs
• Veal stock and butter to finish

Recipes

Slow Roasted Rib of Beef

8 ratings

Episode: Meat with Neil Perry, Wednesday, 26 May 2010

Related recipes: Pork Belly with Wood Ear Fungus
Method

1. Preheat the oven to 75°C, or as low as it will go. Take the rib out of the refrigerator a couple of hours before you intend to cook it and season it well with sea salt. Let it come to room temperature. (Alternatively, you can do what we do at Rockpool and season it the night before)Rub the rib with extra virgin olive oil and put in a large roasting tin. Put in the preheated oven and turn the dish every 30 minutes or so. About one and a half hours into the roasting, slide the meat thermometer into the centre of the beef to check the core temperature, remove the thermometer and continue to cook until the reading is 53°C. This will take up to three hours and beyond - it may take up to four hours in all. Remember that if your oven is a little hotter, you will need to take the meat out a degree or two earlier.
2. When the meat is done, remove it and put it on a chopping board. Carefully remove the bones from the beef and turn the oven down as low as it will go (you may need to pin the door slightly ajar), as you want to create a warm environment of around 60°C in which to rest the meat. Put a frying pan that is large enough to hold the beef on the stove. Add a healthy splash of extra virgin olive oil and heat to just below smoking. Add the beef and sear, turning three centimetres at a time, until the entire rib has a lovely crust. Return it to the roasting tin and put in the oven for about thirty minutes to rest while you get the other parts of the meal together, or at least get your guests a drink. Alternatively, you can sear the beef as it is and serve on the bone. On a chopping board, cut the rib into four beautiful rose-red round slices and place one each in the centre of four plates. Drizzle with extra virgin olive oil and season liberally with freshly ground pepper. Serve immediately.

1. Don't Forget
2. You have a meat thermometer in your hand, so you can cook the meat at whatever temperature you like, but if you cook it on high heat - say at around 200°C - you will have to take it out when its internal temperature is 48-49°C, as the meat's core temperature will continue to rise a fair bit due to the residual cooking. The meat will also benefit from a much longer resting period, about one hour. You won't need to seal the beef, however, as the high heat will do that for you.

1. Accompaniments
2. This classic roast beef goes well with many things but I like to serve it with spinach puree, potato gratin and horseradish cream, or a little red wine sauce - be careful to use just a tablespoon, not a full ladle as I feel it really overpowers and drowns the beef.

1. Red Wine Sauce
2. Makes about 150ml
3. Make this red wine reduction with good quality, full bodied red wine; don't use wine that is not pleasant to drink or you will end up with something that is not rich enough. Cook the reduction with some meat scraps, bacon or pancetta as they add flavour and help remove any bitter and sour flavours from the wine. Once you have your reduction, you can add veal stock and reduce further. When it is ready t serve, add a little butter (or alternately add butter and leave the stock out entirely for a rich butter sauce).
4. Put a little olive oil in a small saucepan and add the carrot, onion, garlic and meat trimmings. Cook until they are lightly coloured and the meat sealed well. Add the two vinegars and reduce to barely two and a half tablespoons.
5. Add the port and again reduce to barely two and a half tablespoons.
6. Add the red wine and thyme and reduce to 150ml, then strain.

1. Boiled Mixed Greens With Extra Virgin Olive Oil And Lemon
2. Extra virgin olive oil
3. Fresh lemons
4. Sea salt and freshly ground pepper
5. Selection of boiled greens
6. This is quite simply a mixed selection of greens, boiled and served dressed with extra virgin olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper.
7. On the program snow peas, beans and broccolini were cooked, but cabbage leaves and leeks also compliment the beef.

Its simple. Season, cook in oven for long a long time, chuck on bbq at the end to get a bit of crispynes to the outside.

[Sullivan]

I've been told that HB slow cooked steaks are soaked in a brine of bicarb soda 17 of those 18 hours.Cant strart cooking a steak for 18 hours in the hope that someone orders it.Cheer's

[timeout]

I can tell you the basic method for cooking low and slow,
18 Hours is a bit too long for any cut of meat.
Generally 12-16 hours is all that is needed to break down the collagen and render the fat from your rib steak.
The best cuts for low and slow are marbled cuts such as Rib eye, Pork Neck(Scotch), Brisket, Pork belly(Spare), Pork ribs, Beef chuck roast, etc.
The thicker the cut the better it will render and start falling off the bone.
You cannot slow cook a 2cm rib eye, It needs to be 2-3 inches thick.
Better still, a hole 2-4 kg joint.

Most BBQ,s will not cook low enough unless you have a Webber WSM, Offset smoker, or are really crafty with a Webber kettle.

You can however do it in a normal electric Oven,
The key is to first rub the meat with a dry rub then cook at a temp of 100C-120C (110C is perfect). Never Lift the lid to inspect for the first 4 hours.
If you use a Temp gage you don't have to open doors or lift lids for the entire cook.
You are cooking beyond "Doneness" For beef or pork you need to slowly get the internal temp up to 90-92 Deg C,
The meat may "Stall" and take many hours to get there but increasing the heat above 120 Deg C will only end in failure.

If you do it in a BBQ such as the webber smoky mountain, It all happens naturally, I'm cooking a 6 hr Pork Louisiana smoked baby back ribs right now along with home made southern style sauce on the stove.

There is so much involved and are happy to answer Q,s
Its not hard to do fall apart, REAL BBQ meat, You just need the right equipment and advice.

Mate I have been lurking here for a few years but this post has made me pay to join just to say thanks for the awesome cooking tips and links.I love bbqing etc but I tried you're suggestions and I have to say I/we had the Best feed ever[I told our new qld friends that's who we always do it LOL]
Each to their own but to me you're methods are awesome.
Cheers Dave

[clevelandv8]

guys, do yourselves a favour and think about bag cooking.
sous vide.

i'll try and show you some more on it later.
i'm not a fan of HB or any other chain steak joint for that matter.
yes i'm a chef, but if you buy your own vac pac machine and invest in one of these bad boys you'll never look back.
not just for steaks, but anything.
cooking in a bag keeps the nutrients in, juice in, flavour in.

food for thought.

i hate paying for dinner out and getting upset!

mick

[Drifty75]

I used this from another forum..

For a while I have been on a quest to cook the perfect steak. Some OCAU'ers may have seen my previous recipe in the geek food recipe section.

Well, I discovered a new method. This way is even better, you won't believe how tender the slow cooking method renders the steak. All the tough bits and fat melt away into the meat. With the above method, your steak needs to be tender even before you start, and if you cook a tougher cut of meat with fibre in it (like T-bone) ... well you will be picking the fibre off your teeth. The previous method gives you a very good home cooked steak. With this method, it is even better than restaurant quality. You have to dine at a Michelin 2 star establishment to get the steak texture as soft, and the flavour as full as this.

Just remember that the total cooking time is 4-5 hours (not counting time out of the fridge to bring to room temperature) so save this recipe for days which you have all day at home. If you follow the method exactly, and monitor your cooking temperatures as I have outlined, it is guaranteed to be foolproof.

Ingredients
- Rack of ribeye steak on the bone, chine bone removed. Preferably dry hung for 3 weeks.
- Sea salt
- Pepper
- Garlic
- Extra virgin olive oil
- Oven thermometer and meat thermometer <--- IMPORTANT

Method
1. Night before, salt the steak and leave in the fridge. I use Fleur de Sel salt, which is a French sea salt. You don't have to use this, but at the very minimum use sea salt, not that powdered Saxa stuff. Lake Maldon pink salt is very good, but a bit expensive. Trust me, using sea salt makes a huge difference. Salting the steak the night before makes a huge difference.

2. Infuse garlic into extra virgin olive oil. To do this, roughly chop garlic pieces and drop into about 1/8 cup of extra virgin olive oil. Discard the garlic before using the oil.

3. Bring the steak out of the fridge 2-3 hours before cooking to bring up to room temperature. Rub the garlic infused oil into the steak at this stage. Here is a picture of my steak at this point:

image

4. Bring your oven to 70 deg C. Monitor the temperature by leaving an oven thermometer in the oven.

5. Put steak on a roasting pan and put into the oven. Turn the steak every 30 mins, so that a different side faces up every time you turn. The steak will be evenly browned.

6. After 2 hours in the oven (or sooner if your oven cannot go to 70deg), insert the meat thermometer to check on the internal temperature. Continue flipping every 30 mins, checking the temperature every time.

7. When the internal temperature reaches 55deg C (about 3-4 hours of cooking time depending on the cut of your steak and the size), remove from the oven and cover in foil. Rest for 30 mins. By now the look of the steak and the smells will drive you mad with hunger but DO NOT skimp on the resting time! If you want a rare steak, remove from the oven at 50deg. If you want well done, remove at 60deg.

8. Heat oil in a pan until smoking. Sear the steak one side at a time until perfectly caramelized throughout. This is what it looks like at this stage:

image

image

9. Cover in foil and rest for another half an hour. Put your serving plates in the oven, and heat to 100deg C. Prepare some side dishes* while you wait.

*I have some recipes for side dishes if anyone is interested

10. Carve and serve one cutlet per person on the heated plates. Grind pepper on top and eat.

This is what the steak looks like at the end of cooking. Notice how the meat is evenly set from center all the way to the edge. With conventional cooking, the outside becomes well done while the inside remains medium rare. Also note that the juices did not run with carving - that's what you get if you rest the meat properly. You can even see how tender and juicy it is:

image