Ratatouille & Chateaubriand

[foodnfoto]

Sounds like a good recipe, but I'd add a little basil too to complement the sweetness and a touch more garlic.
Still wouldn't serve it with Chateau, maybe a good rib eye, though.

[deltadoc]

Originally Posted by IronChefATL

If you really wanna know what happens to your meat during the browning reaction (not caramelization) that it undergoes...look up Maillard Reaction.

Well, technically speaking, the Maillard Reaction involves amino acids and a reducing sugar in the presence of heat. Carmelization is a similar process in that it is non-enzymatic browning. However, a piece of meat is not composed simply of protein. It also is loaded with blood. Blood contains glucose, which is a sugar, so the browning/searing of a steak is really a combination of the Maillard Reaction and carmelization.

My guess is that, technically speaking, the resultant flavor is probably due more to the Maillard reaction simply because there is more protein by weight than blood glucose.

However, not having studied the composition of meat (I'd rather be carnivarous and eat it!), I'm not sure what else is going on. For one point of interest, there is fat to contend with, which is neither a sugar or a protein. I can only conjecture that since fat is the result of a living body converting glucose for storage purposes and if one is on a diet, if the body requires more glucose than is being consumed, it takes the stored fat and reconverts it back to glucose. Maybe the heat is doing the same thing to the fat, I don't know! Again, I like the flavor that fat gives to meat (i.e. hamburger) but I don't particularly like eating pieces of fat.

My mother used to cut the browned rind off of steaks and swallow it whole, like a long snake! Ugh!

doc

[cheft57]

Originally Posted by ducatony

I wanna impress (my self really) but also my girlfriend with a French theme dinner. Chateaubriand I make like this...
Paint about 500 g (12-14 oz) of tenderloin (of course, after maturation for a week or son, not more) with olive oil and sprinkle it with a peppers mixture. I put it on a hot pan and leave it there for a minute on each side just to close the pores and kkep the blood inside. Then I put it in a hot (230 celsius) oven for about 15 mins depending on the rednees I wish to achieve. And that's it. Open to suggestions. And what about ratatouille? I've found numerous recipes for it but I don't want to try them all. Do you have one you like? One that's actually properly good?

the oven temp is too high, this temp will give you rings of well done around the outside 1/6th of an inch. The oven should be around 190c or around 350 - 375 F. let it rest for about 30 mins before carving it. As for the Ratatouille you need to find the one you like, thats why there are so many!