Paul Jobin. Photo / Supplied
Some simple culinary rules will have carnivores queuing at your kitchen door.
In the middle of the 19th century, German scientist Justus von Liebig stated that searing meat quickly on a high heat created a crust or shell around it which prevented juices from escaping during roasting. As a result, searing quickly became common practice in both commercial and domestic kitchens.
Then,
more than 100 years later, in 1986, food guru Harold McGee upturned that apple cart by saying that searing did not seal but merely browned meat - creating flavour through caramelisation, but still allowing juices to escape or evaporate.
As a result, today's chefs sear meat quickly for flavour, then lower the heat. At a lower temperature, muscle proteins in the meat contract and squeeze out the water far more slowly, which is crucial to keeping the meat moist.
And while we're talking about meat, I applaud those of you who are making the effort to hunt out meat from your local butcher - whether it's tasty handmade smallgoods or, tucked away in the rear of the shop, temperature-controlled aged meats.
Dry-aged meat is a real treat. Dry-ageing (anywhere between 10 and 18 months) lends prime cuts a wonderfully buttery and nutty taste.
The best meat for dry-ageing is that which has plenty of marbling so the outer layer of the cut is protected. Meat at one week of ageing should be liver-red, much like a knee graze. By four weeks it will have gone a cigar-brown colour with a musky smell, and started to look wrinkly and weathered. At 10 weeks, it resembles beef jerky and has a reddish-orange colour.
And finally, of course, there's the thing we all want to know - how to cook the perfect steak. Ownership of a solid non-stick frying pan - ideally cast iron - is the key.
Pat dry the steak, then oil and season the meat on a tray rather than pouring fat into the frying pan. Based on a 220g steak, medium-rare will take two to three minutes each side (a core temperature of 55C), medium will take four minutes each side (60C core) and well-done five to six minutes each side.
For a rare steak, let the meat come to room temperature before cooking.
