Tomahawk steak QF - would you use a thermometer

[kmcarr]

While watching the tomahawk steak QF on this week's Top Chef I didn't see a single cheftestant use a thermometer to temp their steaks. I will grant you that the editor may have left these bits of film on the cutting room floor, but since a few of the chefs did not have their steaks at the requested temperature suggests that they relied on less precise methods to judge doneness. These are professional chefs who are quite use checking the temperature of products and probably always have an instant read thermometer in the pocket of their chef's coat. I check the temperature of may steaks with a thermometer at home when just cooking for myself! (But I'm a scientist so it's sort of in my nature I guess.)

I'd like to know what CHers do or would have done. Do you check your steaks with a thermometer at home? If you were in a competition "to win $100,000 to fulfill your culinary dreams and earn the title of Top Chef" would you have used a thermometer to make sure your steak was the perfect medium rare?

[melly]

If I am roasting lamb, turkey, or a prime rib, I'll use the thermometer. I do the touch test on steaks and it works for me.

[dave_c]

I'm not a professional chef, but have years and years of grilling under my belt. Initially, I used the themometer and the finger poke method to calibrate my finger. lol.

Here's what's confusing about temperatures.

For beef, I use 130F for medium-rare and 140F for medium.

However, I recently purchased a digital thermometer with doneness temps pre-programmed. It appears the new temps for beef, med-rare is 145F and medium is 160F. Wow! 160F is well done to me.

I must be behind the times in regards to temperatures, but I find the finger poke test being pretty consistent to cook to my liking.

[ESNY]

Its all FDA scare tactics. Probably can't legally put a cooking temperature of below 145 for beef. I wouldn't eat a steak cooked to much more than 120.

Regarding Stephanie, I dont think she used a thermometer but rather put a metal skewer in the steak and then touched that to her finger or lip to gauge the temperature of the steak. I've seen a bunch of chefs, both on Top Chef and in restaurants, use this method.

[Docsknotinn]

If you re-watch the show you will indeed see that Stephanie used a thermometer. I never use one on steaks. After you do this for a while in as restaurant setting you can tell by feel and even the look of some steaks such as the sides of a fillet.
I may have used one in a competition though as it's never hurts to check your self. What was suprising is that she did and her steak was so rare. There was some criticism for under done steaks and there should have been more. Gordon Ramsey would have thrown those steaks at some of them ! (LOL) What took me back the most was that Stephanie was trying to baste the steak. You need to sear them and then they need to be put in a hot oven. Those were very thick steaks.

[meadandale]

I'd forgive a slightly under done steak far more than a slightly overdone steak, especially if I'm paying the bills. An underdone steak can be put back on the heat for a few more minutes if it comes back. An overdone steak goes in the trash.

[Docsknotinn]

That's true but probably not valid in a cooking competition. Stephanies steak was more than just a little under done. It was Rare with a capital R.
They had 30 minutes to cook a steak. More than enough time. If they had to create a dish that would have been a much more restrictive time frame but the QF was strictly for temp.

[HarryK]

I thought Stephanie basting the steak was rather strange myself.

[Blueicus]

There's more than one way to skin a cat, I've seen the basting and the no-touch methods used in both low and high end kitchens. I don't think basting will result in an inferior product though I am not certain of its overall effectiveness.

[cyberroo]

IIRC, Tramanto actually commented that he liked the basting - Stephanie wasn't the only one using the technique, I think Antonia was basting as well.

[Docsknotinn]

Stephanie was the loser of the QF. There is nothing wrong with basting other than the time frame. The steaks needed to be seared then hit a high temp oven in order to cook and have time to set inside the 30 minutes.

[momjamin]

It sounded to me like she didn't want to start it cooking too quickly so it didn't get overdone, but she didn't allow enough time for both cooking and resting.

[Docsknotinn]

IIR none of the steaks that didn't hit the oven were past rare. With only 30 minutes for a mongo chop like that you don't have any time to waste. 30 minutes is plenty of time to cook it but the only real flaw was the technique. It would have taken an hour to get that chop to MR basting like that unless you are a gonzo master baster. ;)
I'm still rooting for Stephanie.

[HarryK]

I am wondering, from reading all this, is using a thermometer in the arena of being a pro chef considered beneath them or wussy or something? Or is it considered a legit tool of the trade. Just wondering as I notice from TC and other shows that a lot of times things come down to ego and personality, so wondering if this is yet another one of those things. (Eg. ug, a real chef goes by looks and touch only, ug.)

As for myself, I'm just a lil ol' home cook and griller. I use a thermometer all the time. Now if I've got four or eight steaks I don't use it on all of them, just on the thickest and thinnest to have an idea.

[attractivekid]

professional chefs use the 'touch method' as chinowayne mentioned. the only time i've seen chefs and cooks including myself use a probe thermometer is for chicken and pork

[kmcarr]

AK, as I said in my reply to chinowayne I'm sure that the touch test is used under normal circumstances, but these were far from normal circumstances. What I'm wondering is, given the parameters of the QF challange, 30 minutes to cook one steak and having that steak judged by an expert, don't you think it would have been prudent for the contestants to rely on something more precise than the touch test?

[attractivekid]

no, if you've been working in the industry for a while, the touch test is more reliable than a thermometer for steaks. Notice, no one over-cooked their steaks. the only major criticism richard and stephanie got were that their butchering skills were on the sloppy side, which is expected considering most executive chefs don't reallly butcher their own meat.

[Docsknotinn]

Any Executive Chef should know how to break down meat. It is interseting how so many working chefs want to use the title "Executive Chef". Unless you are truelly executive in nature or a CEC then IMO you are a working chef.
I'm left to wonder what some of theese chefs would do if given a steamship round or a whole leg of veal or perhaps an entire venison. This challange was very basic.

[attractivekid]

this is a basic challenge?, seems more of a niche challenge if you ask me, like asking to see who can slice the best sashimi.

[Docsknotinn]

Breaking down a sub primal cut into steaks is very basic stuff. Any working chef should be able to do this with ease let alone those claiming the title of executive chef. Beyond that if you can't cook a steak properly in 30 minutes there is a serious problem. This is the only challange I recall that made me question Stephanies skill. For me this was right up there with not knowing how to make mayo.

[cleveland park]

I completely agree with you. That just shows that you are only used to working with the steaks that Sysco (edit to any meat vendor) delivers to you in a cryovac

[meadandale]

I worked as a broiler chef at the charthouse for several years many moons ago. On a busy friday or saturday night, we'd serve between 300 and 400 dinnners, most of those steaks cooked to order.

If you don't know how to cook a steak by touch you'll either learn pretty quickly or you won't be doing that kind of work for long. Everyone of your customers is validation of your skill at judging done ness :-)

[mpalmer6c]

Professional chefs generally use the touch test.

I've put together a have a chart (e.g., 1-inch steak 4 mins. a side) that works fine.

[ChinoWayne]

The time method, though, implies that the cooking heat is always exactly the same, which might not always be the case.

[Claudette]

Yes, and additionally, the steaks cook quicker/slower depending on how long they've been out of the fridge.

[ChinoWayne]

Yes, I do use a thermometer at home, especially if I have invested in some prime beef, however, I am not a professional who mans a grill station night after night. My understanding is that professionals can tell how "done" a steak is by touch. So maybe the pros rely on touch and avoid piercing a nicely crusted (charred) steak to avoid losing any juices.

http://thebfdblog.com

[kmcarr]

Chino, I agree with you 100% that a professional cook working the line on a Saturday night will use the touch test. But this was Top Chef with a huge prize on the line. Also, chef Tramanto noted some of the steaks were not done to the proper temperature so it seems that their touch was a little off.