WEBVTT - Can You Microwave a Steak to Perfection?

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to brain Stuff from how Stuff Works, Hey, brain Stuff,

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<v Speaker 1>Lauren Vogel bomb here. For convenience in cooking, a microwave

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<v Speaker 1>oven can be tough to beat. The common kitchen appliance

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<v Speaker 1>introduced for residential use in the nineteen fifties can cut

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<v Speaker 1>down on the time and electricity necessary to cook or

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<v Speaker 1>reheat food. But despite its many benefits, can a microwave

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<v Speaker 1>oven match its other cooking counterparts in all ways? Frozen

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<v Speaker 1>dinners and revitalized oatmeal or one thing. A prime cut

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<v Speaker 1>of beef, often considered a paragon of traditional cooking methods,

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<v Speaker 1>is quite another on a stovetop. Sure, in an oven,

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<v Speaker 1>you bet on an outdoor grill heck yes? But can

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<v Speaker 1>a microwave oven cook a steak to a perfect medium? Rare?

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<v Speaker 1>A discussion on the online forum chef Talk spans six

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<v Speaker 1>years with little consensus aside from a shared sense of outrage, disgusted,

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<v Speaker 1>and perplex mint. Though other precision and science based cooking

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<v Speaker 1>techniques so vied and various molecular gastronomy approaches, for instance,

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<v Speaker 1>have captured the imagination of professional cooks, microwave cooking has not.

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<v Speaker 1>We spoke with E. J. Hodgkinson the executive chef of

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<v Speaker 1>King and Duke, a meat focused restaurant here in Atlanta, Georgia.

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<v Speaker 1>He said, I have never attempted to cook a steak

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<v Speaker 1>in a microwave. I did once witness a chef use

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<v Speaker 1>a microwave to cook a steak two well done after

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<v Speaker 1>removing it from the grill. I promptly resigned from my

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<v Speaker 1>position with that restaurant. If you're going to consider trying

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<v Speaker 1>to cook a steak to medium rare in a microwave,

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<v Speaker 1>it's important to know how a microwave oven works. On

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<v Speaker 1>the electromagnetic spectrum, microwaves sit between radio waves and infrared radiation. Water, fat,

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<v Speaker 1>and sugar molecules absorb waves in this frequency. Thus, microwaves

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<v Speaker 1>excite the substances very molecules, producing heat. The adage that

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<v Speaker 1>microwaves cook from the inside out isn't exactly true. Microwaves

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<v Speaker 1>do penetrate deeper than the surface of a food, but

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<v Speaker 1>they have difficulty going deeper than an inch or so.

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<v Speaker 1>Think of how a microwaved beverage can be piping hot

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<v Speaker 1>on the exterior but still just sort of warm in

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<v Speaker 1>the center. Microwave evans also cook food unevenly and unpredictably,

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<v Speaker 1>a factor somewhat mitigated by microwaves with rotating plates or

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<v Speaker 1>by cutting food into small, even sized pieces, though that's

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<v Speaker 1>the kind of thing you'd want to avoid if looking

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<v Speaker 1>for an even consistent medium. Rare Hodgkinson said a proteins

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<v Speaker 1>like steak benefit from intense exterior heat, both in the

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<v Speaker 1>caramelization of the protein and the texture achieved in the

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<v Speaker 1>proper preparation. The benefits of cooking on grills and open

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<v Speaker 1>flames are vast, though I may be a little biased.

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<v Speaker 1>His restaurant, By the Way cooks its New American Fair

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<v Speaker 1>over an open wood burning hearth, he continued. Cooking over

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<v Speaker 1>wooden charcoal specifically gives a depth of flavor that is

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<v Speaker 1>simultaneously unique and nostalgic. Proteins and vegetables alike take on

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<v Speaker 1>wonderful characteristics when treated and manipulated appropriately over open flame.

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<v Speaker 1>That's a If a microwave is your only option, you

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<v Speaker 1>may not be entirely out of luck. The New Magic

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<v Speaker 1>of Microwave cookbook, published in the Food Nooking Heyday of

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<v Speaker 1>nineteen eight, suggests using a browning dish or grill pan

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<v Speaker 1>designed for a microwave, which can mimic some of the

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<v Speaker 1>exterior browning achieved through traditional cooking. The strategy involves preheating

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<v Speaker 1>a browning dish in the microwave for seven minutes, then

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<v Speaker 1>placing an eight ounce that's two thirty gram rebi steak

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<v Speaker 1>on the plate, cooking on high for one minute, flipping

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<v Speaker 1>the steak, and cooking for another minute or more if needed.

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<v Speaker 1>The cookbook also recommends limiting the stake's thickness to know

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<v Speaker 1>more than three quarters of an inch that's about two centimeters,

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<v Speaker 1>and using a room temperature piece of meat. At food

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<v Speaker 1>Beast recipe suggests a similar method, but instead proposes using

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<v Speaker 1>the medium setting on the microwave oven for juic nous purposes. However,

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<v Speaker 1>because all microwave ovens vary, you may want to do

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<v Speaker 1>an experimental run before trying this method out for your

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<v Speaker 1>next dinner. Part. Oh and by the way, the cooking

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<v Speaker 1>possibilities of microwaves were discovered by accident. Percy Spencer, a

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<v Speaker 1>radar researcher, noticed a candy bar that he had in

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<v Speaker 1>his pocket, melted after he stood in front of a magnetron,

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<v Speaker 1>an electric vacuum that creates high frequency radio waves. Spencer

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<v Speaker 1>subsequently tested his observation with popcorn and an egg and

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<v Speaker 1>microwave cooking was born. Today's episode was written by Christopher

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<v Speaker 1>Hassiotis and produced by Tyler Clang. For more on this

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<v Speaker 1>and lots of other topics cooked to perfection, visit our

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<v Speaker 1>home planet, how stuff works dot com