The first time I ever used a torch to finish a sous vide steak, I was able to get a nice crust but the aroma and flavor of the finished product were pure Burger King. I hate to say it, but I grew up eating a lot of fast food and as a child I was a staunch advocate for BK. (My brother always wanted McDonalds.) What set BK above the clown place for me was the distinctive flame broiled taste of their burgers... it's a flavor that I haven't really encountered elsewhere (outside of my own kitchen using a blowtorch). This is strange to me because I've eaten all sorts of broiled food in restaurants (from both gas and infrared broilers) and have never detected that "BK" note.
That flavor is fun to create sometimes (like when I'm cooking burgers at home and want to rip off the Whopper) but it's almost always something I want to avoid. I even noticed the flavor once on my creme brulee. (AH!) Since I discovered that my torch did this, I'd pretty much set it aside for everything but starting fires in my firepit.
This week, my Searzall came in the mail and I set out to sear all the things.
The first thing I did was blast some parm on top of raw oysters. In no time, the cheese had melted and toasted, and the oyster was still raw. Badass! But when I put it in my mouth... it tasted like The King. Crap. I've since used the Searzall on yellowfin, scallops, and steak. All of them had this problem to some extent. It seems like the deeper the sear, the more intense the Burger King taste. It also makes my kitchen smell like a fast food kitchen.
My question is... what gives? Am I the only one noticing this? How can I avoid it? Apart from this flavor, I'm really loving my new torch-based searing experiences. But I'm afraid that I won't use it if I can't get rid of the BK flavor.
