OpenMac said:Quoted message said:You aren't going to get any simmering unless the liquid
is at the boiling point. At sea level, that would be
212F. At 180F you are just giving it a nice sauna. Three-
hundred is a pretty common temperature for braising. Some
people go to 325. Give it a try, it will be lots easier
than what you proposed.
=20
again, i'm after a long slow braise, and am interested in
the best method for monitoring/controlling the
temperature.
=20
as for the "simmer", that's not actually the case ...
=20
at 212F, the liquid is "boiling", not simmering.
=20
e.g., exploratorium.edu2 1Open ↗
03article.html
=20
"To keep meat tender yet safe during braising, you must
maintain an important balance. Cooking temperatures must
be high enough to kill microorganisms, yet not so high
that the meat toughens. Use a thermometer to check the
temperature of the surrounding stock and keep it at a
simmer of 180 F/82 C-190 =B0F/88 =B0C."
Yeah. I went to the site and read the brilliance there.
They're not a=20 very good source. "Braise" is French and
means "ember." The original=20 method was to bury the lidded
cast iron pot in the embers on the=20 hearth. Those
primitive cooks understood that the interior of the pot=20
would stay at or below boiling and didn't need any
measurements to do=20 the right job..
They make this assertion: "Too much space between the
ingredients and=20 the lid allows steam to condense and drip
from the lid's underside=20 onto the ingredients, diluting
the rich sauce."
They don't seem to grasp the notion that in their closed
vessel, all=20 the liquid that's going to be involved is
already in there. The steam=20 is the water from the liquid
in the container. It comes up out of the=20 sauce and then
drips back in. Good Dutch Oven lids have little nibs=20 that
stick down into the pot to exactly drip the condensate back
onto=20 the foods being cooked.
Their "science" lacks a certain, I dunno, science...
They can't seem to grasp that a closed container with water
in it=20 won't exceed 212=B0F. They don't understand the way
collagen works and=20 they have a flimsy grasp on what
happens when proteins denature.=20 They're simply wrong
about temperature effects on meats.
I love amateurs with degrees in Home Ec.
Clicking on their links get you to this dazzlement: " To
keep the=20 tissues from drying during cooking, fish
requires higher temperatures=20 and shorter cooking times
than meat. A general rule of thumb for=20 cooking is 10
minutes per inch of thickness, but this varies according=20
to cooking method, heat intensity, and fish size. Use a
cooking=20 thermometer to gauge doneness more precisely.
Fish is cooked when a=20 thermometer (we recommend the
slender digital kind) inserted into the=20 thickest part of
the flesh reaches 140=B0 F."
Really? Flounder should be cooked at higher temps than beef?
They=20 never heard of poaching? En papillote?
That "10 minutes" rule came from the Canadian Fisheries
folks and=20 their rule is that it applies *irrespective* of
cooking method and, to=20 my profound surprise, it works.
You need to insert about 4-inches of=20 the stem of the
thermo into food to get a decent reading, and then=20 it's
an average over the length of the shaft. If you can't look
at a=20 piece of fish and see when it's done, poke with your
finger and see=20 when it's done, step away from the food.
Quoted message said:from what i'm reading, 180-190F ~ "low" simmer, 190-200F ~
"med simmer", 200-210F ~ "high" simmer, and > 212F, by
def'n, is boiling.
=20
try it with a pot o' H20 and a probe thermometer ...
you'll start seeing your first simmer bubbles ~ 180F ...
Actually, you'll see bubbles way before that. They begin to
form well=20 below 140=B0F as air collects on the "seeds" on
the sides and bottom of=20 the vessel.
But you keep missing the points. 1) In spite of what these
two=20 non-cooks say on this web site, you don't need to
monitor the=20 temperature inside the cooking vessel; the
laws of physics do that for=20 you. 2) An attempt at
constant monitoring of the temperature means=20 you're
poking around into the process and losing vessel heat,
which=20 needs to proceed essentially uninterrupted except
for occasional=20 testing as you approach the end of the
cook. 3) Cooking time isn't=20 very critical because once
you get meat over about 180=B0F, not much=20 more will
happen to it structurally until it gets to a boil and
then=20 only after many hours.
You are sophisticating yourself into paralysis. You are
making an=20 essentially simple process into an angst-ridden
foolishness. Your=20 grandmother did this and took care of
real life as well.
Pastorio
