Reminisce for a moment on the best steak you’ve ever had. Remember back on the savory umami goodness of the tender meat, blushing with its fatty juices and salty richness. What made it so good? It’s all due to the Maillard reaction, a chemical reaction that no one cares about unless you’re a boring food blog writing without any interesting content and need an intro paragraph. Luckily this ain’t yo grandmas food blog so the takeaway there is to just always sear your fucking meat.
I took this to heart this week and blowtorched the fuck out of every cut of beef I had this week. The attachment you see on top of the blowtorch is called a Searzall. It dissipates the heat evenly along a surface and reduces the amount of gaseous aromas that typically result when cooking with blowtorches because of un-ignited propane particles.
A5 Wagyu with Uni
I took the fattiest end of the Japanese A5 Wagyu I had and sliced it into 1cm thick slices. Took my blowtorch and then seared each one till the fat sizzled and edges crisped. Placed these seared slices on a fresh shiso leaf and then topped it off with rich Uni goodness. This was the richest dish and was essentially savory textured butter balanced by a fresh cool Shiso leaf. Reminds me of an asian chicken/duck lettuce wrap but slightly less peasant.
Prime Beef chuck with Truffle Salt
I seared the beef chuck with the blowtorch and then seasoned it with truffles and salt. Extremely simple yet delicious pairing.
Beef Tongue with Green Onions
Beef tongue is amazing seared, so yup you guessed it! I used the blowtorch again. Topped it off with a generous heaping of freshly sliced green onions and some lemon juice and you have one of my favorites BBQ dishes.
Short Rib with Yuzu Koshou
I cooked the short rib in a pan this time as it was a bit thicker than the other slices. I seasoned the short rib with Shichimi Togarashi, which is a Japanese spicy powdered assortment of dried chil peppers and other seasonings. A dab of Yuzu Koshou, which has a citrusy flavor profile, added another dimension of flavor to the meat. Laid the slices on a bed of onions cooked in sweet soy ponzu.
Seared A5 Wagyu with Porcini Salt
No explanation needed here. Seared the Japanese A5 Wagyu on my expensive AF copper clad skillet which spreads heat extremely consistently across the surface of the pan and allowed me to cook this steak to perfection. The crust on the outside had a satisfying crisp as you bit into it and you can see the perfect medium rare as I slice the wagyu. Sprinkled a porcini salt over the top and that’s all the seasoning you need for this heavenly cut. Bite into it and the Malliarded umami richness gushes out onto your tongue, paired with a crispy crunch of the seared crust. Probably the most perfectly cooked steak I’ll ever make in my life, not sure if I can ever top this.
