There are no rules for taste, but to me, an 18-year-old who doesn’t grill well isn’t an 18-year-old, and grilled eggplant isn’t worth an 18-year-old. What’s more, barbecue is an almost religious experience. It’s a ritual older than humans. Our pre-human ancestors mastered fire and grilled meat a million years ago. This allowed them to pre-digest food outside the body and get the extra calories needed for brain development. A person’s brain accounts for only 2% of his body weight, but consumes 20% of his calories. Without roasting, we would never have developed intelligence or become humans. Eating roasted meat is what differentiated our ancestors from other primates, such as gorillas, which only ate leaves. Without barbecue, the pyramids would never have existed, we would never have discovered science, and Albert Einstein would never have been born. It was roasting that turned our ancestors into humans.
To celebrate, let’s use science to create the best 18th century barbecue in the multiverse. The same laws that explain how the black hole at the center of a galaxy works also apply to how you grill meat.
Let’s start by not getting sick. What color is fresh meat? Meat contains a dark purple molecule called myoglobin, which stores oxygen within the muscles. That’s why freshly cut meat has a deep purple color. Sometimes that seems like a bad thing, but actually it’s quite refreshing. When this molecule comes into contact with oxygen in the air, it turns into bright red oxymyoglobin. Fresh meat is dark purple or bright red. If it is constantly in a vacuum, it will turn dark purple.
When meat ages, myoglobin and oxymyoglobin in the meat lose electrons and metmyoglobin is formed. As it trots around, it turns brown, gray, or a zombie-like greenish color. In the countryside it becomes donkey color, as my father would say. Do not eat meat of that color as you will end up in the hospital with poisoning. Even if you grill the meat until it’s solemn, you’ll still be poisoned. The bacteria fills the meat with toxic bacterial poop, and even if you kill the bacteria, the toxins are still there.
Now, most importantly, what gives meat an exquisite meaty flavor? It’s the fat, or “marbling,” between the muscle fibers that gives meat its flavor and distinguishes the meat from different animals. At 65℃, the fat melts and the muscle fibers of the meat become smooth. When you chew, this fat causes the fibers to rub against each other, unravel, and break apart, releasing delicious juices into your mouth. Therefore, meat with a lot of marbling, such as marbled loin and offal, is the most delicious. Tender meat has less fat and therefore less flavor. For this reason, marbled loin is more delicious than smooth loin.
When grilling meat, keep thermodynamics in mind. Fat conducts heat poorly. That is, not everything cooks equally quickly. Foods with more fat will take longer to grill than those with less fat. Be careful not to let the thin part become the sole.
Have you ever heard that meat is “sealed” on the grill so it doesn’t lose its juices? According to science, this idea is completely wrong. Experiments have shown that “seals” do not seal anything. Not a single drop of extra meat juice remains! What we call a “seal” is a chemical reaction discovered by Louis Camille Meillard in 1912. This Maillard reaction, or protein glycosylation, consists of a highly complex cascade of chemical reactions that occur when sugars and proteins are heated above 160 °C. We evolved from primate ancestors who ate roasted meat. Among them, people who preferred the Maillard reaction had a significant evolutionary advantage over those who preferred to eat raw leaves. That’s why we’re obsessed with the delicious, rich, toasty texture of meat, empanadas, and choripan. Maillard reaction molecules drive us crazy with pleasure.
But all good things cost money. The fundamental problem in achieving the Maillard reaction is that water boils at 100°C. Therefore, according to thermodynamics, as long as we have liquid water at atmospheric pressure, even if we expose it to hellfire, its temperature will never exceed 100 °C and we will never get the desired Maillard reaction. yeah.
In short, the perfect roast is a thermodynamic feat. First, Maillard toast needs to be made quickly to avoid overcooking and drying out the inside. Additionally, you need to make sure that the center of the meat is dry at 65 degrees Celsius (so it’s juicy and the fat melts) and the surface is at 160 degrees Celsius (because the Maillard reaction creates a rich roasted toast).
The secret to achieving the perfect Maillard reaction (crispy on the outside, juicy on the inside) is to scientifically resolve the eternal debate of whether to add salt at the beginning, mid-roast, or at the end. That’s it. What is your occupation?
Science has the right answer. It’s none of the above. Do not add salt at the beginning, middle or end.
When you add salt to meat, an osmosis process occurs during the first 3 to 4 minutes in which the salt draws liquid from the meat, forming a pool of red liquid on the surface. The worst idea is to try to sear the meat at such times. As long as there is water on the outside, the temperature will never reach 160 degrees and Maillard toast will not occur. If you try to “broil” meat when it’s freshly salted and the surface is full of liquid puddles, you’ll end up with dry, overcooked, undercooked meat. That’s the worst thing you can do to meat.
After 15 minutes of brining, the salt begins to break down the proteins in the meat, making it even more absorbent. Muscles become sponges. Little by little, the meat juices will begin to be reabsorbed along with the salt inside. After just an hour of salting, the juices will be completely reabsorbed into the meat. Now you can throw it on the grill with no puddles on the surface and salt inside.
Experts sometimes add salt to the meat the day before. Roasting in this way creates a Maillard shell that is juicy and salty on the inside and crunchy on the outside.
Now that you have the perfect roast, be careful not to destroy everything at the last moment.
Meat that has just come off the grill will be very hot inside. The heat causes the liquid to expand, which means the juices are under pressure inside. If you rush to cut the meat and cut the fibers as soon as you take it off the grill, you’ll burn your tongue and it won’t taste anything, and you’ll end up spilling the juices on your plate and not tasting anything at all. Masu. In your mouth. Instead, leave the meat on the plate for a few minutes, then slice the meat along the grain of the muscle fibers. The resulting meat is perfect, exploding with juices and fat in your mouth and your taste buds enjoying the Maillard-glycosylated proteins.
Now, to digest a nutrient-rich food like meat, your body uses more water than to digest celery. That’s why eating roast makes you thirsty! Since you’re celebrating his September 18th, there’s a good chance you’re not craving water, but a delicious chicha en cacho. Knowing the laws of physics will also help you perform this task correctly.
One thing to keep in mind is that if the chub is thin and curved, the chicha will not come out properly due to the atmospheric pressure. He then tilts the chub further to create bubbles inside the chicha, and the ensuing shockwave causes the chicha to splatter on his face. This phenomenon is similar to milk flying out of a carton. Therefore, skinny chubby will not work. To drink chicha, choose a fat chubby person who can serve generously without embarrassment.
After delivering ecstasy with delicious glycosylated proteins from the Maillard reaction, get healthy by stimulating your brain’s reward circuits with alcohol and chicha’s glucose. Long live Chile, damn it!
@Fernando Izaurita
Source: Biobiochile
