Gwyneth Paltrow once said -
"I don't eat red meat, but sometimes a man needs a steak."
TRUTH!
A good friend of mine said to me one day at a backyard cookout we were hosting, "How do you always cook your meat so perfectly? In all the time I have known you I have never once seen you burn or overcook anything."
I smiled and replied light-heartedly, "I guess I just have a knack for it that's all."
Disappointed at not receiving some great revelation on how to grill meat he just shook his head and went to grab another beer. As he walked away I quickly looked around to see if anyone was watching and then pulled my magic wand from my back pocket. After waving it over the meat I tucked it safely back into my pocket and smiled.
"Magic wand!", you say? Well yes, in a sense, but we will get to that in a moment.
It isn't only on the grill that my secret will produce outstanding, succulent morsels of beef, chicken, pork, and fish (or any other meat), it works just the same cooking with a frying pan, baking, broiling in the oven or braising.
We recently had a couple over for dinner on and Saturday night and I made some baked chicken breast in a marsala sauce. Our friend's wife was surprised at how juicy the chicken breast was when she took her first bite.
"Oh my God!", she exclaimed, "This is amazing! How do you get it to stay so moist? Whenever I cook chicken breast they come out dry no matter how I cook them."
My wife chimed in and said, "You should taste his turkey at Thanksgiving!"
She looked at my wife in disbelief.
Don't worry, I shared my secret with her (as I did with my friend eventually).
The most common misconception people have when their steak is overdone like old shoe leather or their chicken comes out like dried sawdust is that the grill, pan, or oven was just too hot. That the forest fire temperatures were to blame. In fact, in most cases, you want your cooking medium to be extremely hot (unless you are cooking pulled pork, whole poultry, or some types of fish). It is called searing and it is an important part of the process to keep the juices locked in the meat.
So then what is the true secret to perfectly cooked, succulent meat?
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Wait for it . . .
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Almost there . . .
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BAM! There it is!
Yes, my so-called magic wand is a simple thermometer.
What? You were expecting some great revelation like my friend?
This little gizmo is the absolutely, most important thing any Grill Master or Home Chef can own. A quick read or Instant read meat thermometer!
These little gems can be found easily just about anywhere in the world where there are stores. I bought mine off of Amazon.com for about $10 and it is digital.
I prefer a digital instant-read since I have found them to be more precise.
Most professional chefs will always be carrying one of these in their pockets. I have seen a very few that have a real knack and the experience to go with it that can tell the doneness of a cut of meat by pressing on it lightly to see how soft or firm it is. I personally have not been very successful with that method myself but I have never missed it when using a thermometer.
On the chart below you will see the desired temperatures for different types of meat for rare to well done. I have also included both C (Celsius) and F (Fahrenheit) since #HIVE is a global platform.
| Meat | Rare | Medium Rare | Medium | Well Done |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beef | 60C / 140F | 63C / 145F | 71C / 160F | 77C / 170F |
| Lamb | 63C / 145F | 71C / 160F | 77C / 170F | |
| Pork | 71C / 160F | 77C / 175C | ||
| Chicken | 81C / 178F | |||
| Turkey | 81C / 178F | |||
| Fish | 58C / 137F |
Important:
Keep in mind that the temperatures on the chart above are FINISHED temperatures. The meat will continue to rise in temperature for anywhere from 3-15 minutes after being removed from the heat source. For example, a steak will rise in temperature for about 5 minutes therefore if you want a medium-rare ribeye steak (63C/145F) you would need to remove the steak from the heat source at 60C/140F or maybe just a bit sooner. Let the steak rest for about 5 minutes and check the temperature again before serving, this does two things - first, it allows the meat to reach the desired temperature and doneness, secondly, it causes the juice inside the meat to be reabsorbed into the tissue fibers so it doesn't all run out when someone cuts into it. Both of these small details can be the difference between a world-class steak and a simply ordinary steak!
The same goes for chicken, it cooks fast, watch the temp and pull it from the heat a little early and let it rest for 3-5 minutes before serving. When I cook a whole chicken or pieces like breasts and thighs, I watch for the 60C/140F mark and then I recheck it every few minutes. It cooks remarkably fast from that point and will sneak up on you.
Anyone can cook good food, it isn't that hard for most people. My grandmother was a very good cook and I loved the food she made. Cooking great food however takes dedication and attention to detail. Checking temperature, for example, takes some time and a little bit more effort on the part of the cook but trust me when I say you WILL taste the difference!
I hope you enjoy the post and found it useful. This is something I learned over a number of years through trial and error. When I failed I simply pulled up my big boy pants, bought another cut of meat, and tried again. If you don't get it the first time out don't be surprised or get discouraged - TRY AGAIN! AND AGAIN! Until your friends are begging for recipes and wanting to know how you do it.
I typically use my own photos in most of my posts but with this one, it would have taken more time than I had available to photograph what I needed so I turned to Pixabay for the images I needed. They host many photographers and the images are all free to use. You don't even have to give credit or links if you don't want to but I find that kind of rude not to give credit where credit is due. I encourage you to check them out.
Thanks again for visiting and taking the time to read my post. If you have any questions or comments please feel free to post them in the comments below.