You don't need the Searzall to sear meat

Costco Prime ribeye cooked (straight from frozen) at 129f for 2 hours, and then seared outside using Bernzomatic TS8000 with MAPP gas.

I did my research around Searzall before deciding to buy just the torch. From what I gathered the Searzall was originally marketted as a "necessity" to avoid the torch flavour, however it takes much longer to sear. I discovered, from further research, that avoiding torch flavour is simply matter of adjusting the TS8000 enough to produce an oxidizing flame (characterized by that hissing sound) and being careful not to turn it on/off when already pointed at the meat.

Find more posts tagged with

What About Tools?

Comments

FrankM_3301

Maybe...not as cool looking though. For me, a grill or cast iron pan is preferable for this job. The searzall melts cheese, toasts, and "tightens up" things that come out of the oven.

srid_866183

As far as searing meat is concerned I'm yet to hear someone give an actual utilitarian reason for buying it.

dancurren

I've cooked a bunch of things in my offfice, including a 12 lb, 70 day dry aged, prine grade Prime-Rib. No tools other than a microwave available at the office... so Sousvide in a cooler plus Searzall was great utility as using a brulee torch would have besn death.

If you arent interested in pulling off such a elaborate, quircky work meal for ypur co-works, I cant say there would be a utilitarian readon for buying it. It is fun though.

srid_866183

using a brulee torch would have besn death

Are you implying that using the torch indoors (in an apartment or an office kitchen) is dangerous?

Colin_Gore_60299

I don’t think you’ll find many that assert that you NEED it to sear meats, but it’s a handy tool to have around. I use mine ~3 times a week for various finishing tasks. My wife uses it too. I was one of the first preorders for it years back, and it is still going strong. I rarely use it for steaks now, but do for evening out or recrisping chicken/turkey skin, doing a controlled broil to finish off other dishes, etc.

For steak searing I exclusively use a charcoal chimney starter now. It’s faster than anything else I’ve tried, there’s way more heat in a large slug of coals than in any pan or torch. The heat is even, and you can do a whole side of the meat at once. Also, the smoke that is a byproduct of successful searing all stays outside and doesn’t set off my smoke alarms. See here: https://www.seriouseats.com/2016/06/how-hot-is-too-hot-steak-searing-adam-savage-tested.html

I’d say your sear has more blackening on the fat than I’d usually go for, which is understandable with a naked flame. I used to have the same issue. It’s part of what makes a Searzall attractive. It’s the same quantity of heat, but spread more evenly. A naked flame isn’t actually faster since you need to move it around the steak to get an even crust. The attachment lets you get in close, do a large area at once, and not get acrid blackening.

Also, modern MapPro is not the same as OG MAPP gas. The modern stuff doesn’t burn appreciably hotter in air, ~50C hotter. The TS8000 specs show only a 5% increase in BTU/hr with MapPro, so the ~2x price increase doesn't feel worth it. I go through a camping gas tank every few weeks. Fuel oxidation is part of my field of research, FYI. In a stoichiometric flame when mixed with pure oxygen, MAPPro is a few hundred degrees hotter, but nobody is doing that. I went on a diatribe in these forums maybe 4 years ago. People can look that up for further details.

Colin_Gore_60299

Just kidding, rant was here:

https://www.kitchenknifeforums.com/threads/looking-for-a-high-power-blow-torch.18284/

Colin_Gore_60299

Also I see blackened sears are what you are going for. For you that’s not a flaw. I’d still suggest trying the chimney starter and see how you like it. If you already have a charcoal grill, you should already have all that’s required.

srid_866183

Good points. On to that "black king on the fat" (charring sear) I actually prefer the taste of that searing; in fact I used to try to replicate it on a pan. When I first bought the torch about a week ago my sear looked like this however overtime I learned the technique to produce a more charring sear without overcooking the interior.

montebello1964

Didn't Dave Arnold demonstrate that "torch taste" is actually caused by over-cooking the meat, and usually has nothing to do with residue from the fuel? It seems possible that the hotter the torch, the more likely it is going to accidentally over-cook the meat and cause torch taste? Actually, personally I actually like the flavor of "torch taste" lol. Must be some memory from my childhood and my dad's gas grill.

Be that as it may, I don't use a torch to sear steak and I have no interest going outside in the middle of the winter just to sear a steak. But the more diffuse flame of a Searzall IS superior to a TS8000 for melting slowly melting cheese on my burgers without over-cooking them, and as Colin noted, also works well for touching up things coming out of the broiler. The only thing I use a TS8000 for is creme brûlée (although I'm still not very happy with my technique there).

Obviously, searing promotes flavors due to the maillard reaction, but if you take it too far you start to loose that effect and just get carbon, which is not a flavor most people prefer (with rare exceptions, people don't like burnt food). However, that texture may be pleasurable to some.

Colin_Gore_60299

Thanks for looking past typos (checking forums with one hand while bouncing around my baby with the other...then add in some autocorrect). Your charring sear preference makes your approach make sense, and I now learned Pittsburgh Black and Blue is a style. I do like char on the edges of grilled meats, but my preferred sear crust for low temp'd meats is deep brown, thick, almost like it's fried in the surface fat that melts off. The intense cone of heat is probably necessary for what you prefer. The Searzall may be able to get there, but the naked flame can likely get blacker in one spot with less heatup of the meat beneath.

Colin_Gore_60299

Right, DA's angle is that it's not from the fuel itself, torch taste was ID'd as coming from high temp oxidation of the food surface. When Arielle Johnson was at UC Davis (now at MIT Media Lab), she ran some GC/mass spec tests for Dave that was the source of that finding. That said, I don't know if the results were ever published in a peer-reviewed source. It's possible that the interpretation of the results were a stretch and helped the business case of the Searzall, or simply that research is expensive and time consuming and that seedling result was good enough for the purposes of their project. Just because Dave's in my avatar doesn't mean I'm not skeptical until proven otherwise, but his team has generally done solid taste testing (triangle tests, etc) and other research-oriented work over the years (whereas I reserve more skepticism for the Myhrvold clan).

They shared this plot without much explanation, but I've run GC analysis on tanks of camping gas for my own research needs, and none of these compounds are in it or are products of combustion with air (you don't form large hydrocarbons from small ones while burning fuel). It looks like they are showing compounds with odors and the relative changes in concentration between samples. Arielle is fairly active on Twitter and may provide more info if asked.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1708738346/the-searzall

All in all, I've been working toward a hunch that torch taste is something akin to cilantro or peated scotch or other polarizing flavors, only it it less standardized and less accessible. Differences in technique, meat, and environmental factors may change what compounds people are getting in the first place, then on top of that some people may like the flavor of nonanal (what an unfortunate name.... but I suppose it was named that be cause it DOESN'T taste like ass?)

Colin_Gore_60299

Also, my steak searing needs are perhaps atypical. I don't prepare them often, but when I do it's 8-10 of them for a large group, so the chimney starter works a treat for doing multiple at once and getting through them all quickly so they can be served all at once at an optimal temp. If it was a weekly thing for 1-2, I'd likely do something else.

Fredd_843086

I have had and used many highend BBQ’s and Webers I find fantastic.

If the £500 was my money it would be on this – my bro in law has one and its great to use. The flavousizer bars work a treat. They also smoke food pretty well.

http://grillguru.org/best-gas-grill-under-200