[usaguedriedax]

A popular restaurant chain - I wouldn't call it fast food because it is far from fast - advertises that they serve a steak that has been slow cooked for at least 18 hours. It turns out that it is served as medium-rare, though I have never had one so can not confirm this. My question is how can something be kept in a warm environment for so long and, given that it comes out not completely cooked, not be swimming in bacteria or toxic bacteria by-products? Any idea how they actually cook it? Slow cook for 18 hours and then sear before serving or sear it then slow cook for 18 hours? Is the atmosphere in the slow cooker such that it is not conducive to bacterial growth? I'm just curious...

[maks_holi]

I don't know the answer but the steak in question is so tender that it tastes like it's been pre-chewed and half digested already...

[ehib8yPc]

I don't know the answer but the steak in question is so tender that it tastes like it's been pre-chewed and half digested already...

It probably has .. by the greeblies hinted at in the OP.
I have wondered the same thing :/

[Patgaepx]

I wondered the same and looked into it when pigman mentioned it a while back. As far as I can make out the temperature is enough to cook the meat properly and break down the proteins but not caramalise the sugars so you don't get the meat changing colour to brown. I was a bit wary and still am, I have done it a couple of times lately with roast beef and it is magnificent but it doesn't look exactly right, (coming from a family where mum cooked beef till it was reduced to a tough dry lump.) I am very happy with the taste and the tenderness, it even makes fairly cheap cuts pretty good.

[usaguedriedax]

I have done it a couple of times lately with roast beef

When you say that, do you mean you cooked it for 18 hours, putting it into a slow cooker raw? I imagine that when finished the middle would be at the right temperature but I would imagine it would take some time to reach that temperature and before it does I would have thought that bacteria would have the chance to do whatever it is that bacteria do...

[Ndptbudd]

Slight diversion. The technique works on potatoes too. If I am going to have potatoes for lunch, I will often put them in a saucepan in the morning, bring it to boil, turn off the gas, put on the lid and leave it sit untll lunchtime. By they they are cooked. Eggs work well too, on a faster time frame.

[Sertvfdnhgjk]

What temp is the slow cooker? If it is above 60* most greeblies will be dead, and it wouldn't take that long for the 60* to get to the middle of the cut.

[usaguedriedax]

Slight diversion. The technique works on potatoes too. If I am going to have potatoes for lunch, I will often put them in a saucepan in the morning, bring it to boil, turn off the gas, put on the lid and leave it sit untll lunchtime. By they they are cooked. Eggs work well too, on a faster time frame.

I'm not faulting the slow cook technique on the ability to cook but meat at low temperature for 18 hours seems risky so I was wondering what tyechniques, if any, they employed to avert that risk. Potatoes probably don't have the same risk and I have heard that the best way to boil eggs is in a pot of water that has been turned off after bringing it to the boil - never tried it myself though...

[usaguedriedax]

it wouldn't take that long for the 60* to get to the middle of the cut.

I guess that is my concern - and if it doesn't take long to get to the centre, isn't 18 hours a bit of overkill?

[Sertvfdnhgjk]

and if it doesn't take long to get to the centre, isn't 18 hours a bit of overkill?
----------------------
I think the total length of time is defined by the temperture and the amount of done-ness required. Low temp cooking means the choosen done-ness is very even outside to centre. Whereas high temp cooking causes a strong gradient in the done-ness.

[maks_holi]

The eighteen hours is more likely to be a ploy to use cheaper cuts of meat and marketing makes it desirable

Greeblies (as per the technical term) are more likely to be on the outside of the meat as that is the surface being exposed to air, blades and everything else that contains greeblies. The inside of meat is pretty good as far as greeblies go- it's not exposed. Raw meat is edible (think steak tartare).

[usaguedriedax]

think steak tartare

I'd rather not!

[Sertvfdnhgjk]

I'd rather not!

What about sashimi then? Yum-o

[ehib8yPc]

[maks_holi]

Of course, steak tartare, sashimi etc has to be carefully prepared using very clean instruments and cutting boards and such. Lessens the chance of contamination.

[Smeaphvalialm]

Sound's like they may be cooking Sou-Vide

From the link;
Food safety is a function of both time and temperature; a temperature usually considered insufficient to render food safe may be perfectly safe if maintained for long enough.[3]

Clostridium botulinum bacteria can grow in food in the absence of oxygen and produce the deadly botulinum toxin, so sous-vide cooking must be performed under carefully controlled conditions to avoid botulism poisoning.[15] Generally speaking, food that is heated and served within four hours is considered safe, but meat that is cooked for longer to tenderize must reach a temperature of at least 55 °C (131 °F) within four hours and then be kept there, in order to pasteurize the meat. Pasteurization kills the botulism bacteria, but the possibility of hardy botulism spores surviving and reactivating once cool remains a concern as with many preserved foods, however processed. For that reason, Baldwin's treatise[3] specifies precise chilling requirements for "cook-chill", so that the botulism spores do not have the opportunity to grow or propagate.

Extra precautions need to be taken for food to be eaten by people with compromised immunity. Women eating food cooked sous vide while pregnant may expose risk to themselves and/or their fetus and thus may choose to be more careful than usual.

[ehib8yPc]

Thank you Jonathan Teatime.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sous-vide

and welcome to the forum, should you be new ... if not, I beg your pardon.
(but welcome anyhow)

[ehib8yPc]

Thank you Jonathan Teatime.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sous-vide

and welcome to the forum, should you be new ... if not, I beg your pardon.
(but welcome anyhow)

[Smeaphvalialm]

New to this incarnation of the forum

[Ngwkgczx]

Wasn't there an episode of Heston Blumenthal with Sous-Vide cooking in it? Not being an avid fan of cooking programs, I can't remember exactly but I'm sure it was him as I saw a bit of it while mr ilago was watching it.