you don't need to oil the steak before cooking it, because the salt block will infuse the steak and will not allow the steak to stick to it, when you oil the meat you create a barrier where the salt can not penetrate the meat. Hope that helps when you try it again.
I'm in no way shape or form a chef but i have a question. If the oil created a barrier so the salt couldn't penetrate then how come when i see cooking videos on the internet that revolve around steak they'll put things like butter,garlic,thyme,pepper and then salt and oil. Why would the people i've seen put salt and oil if the oil creates a barrier.
The salt used in pan cooking is very fine, thus having a higher surface are to volume ratio, which means it's going to dissolve easier. This means that the oil will better absorb the salt flavor and better infuse the salt flavor into the steak. With a salt block, it's just not going to do this as well.
Anthony Antoine nah. Salt will never dissolve in oil. Which is why you put the salt on top of the meat (which does absorb some) and the oil on top of that.
@@DivineFriedChicken i dont think so. The pan doesnt give away material. But that would be meat, giving out vapour. And water and salt wouldn't stick together. Thats my assumption.
DMeloMan Agreed. Also, I believe hydration is crucial to searing. I'd like to see a test of two steaks being seared. One with, and one without pat drying the juices off the steak. See if it has a better sear with out drying.
ivraalia hate to burst your bubble but hydration (water) is the enemy of a good sear. Water evaporates and turns to steam, which penetrates the meat and leads to over cooking. Padding it dry allows the fats and oils to come directly in contact with meat and essentially fry it. Remember water and oil don’t mix. You won’t see a pro grilled or pitmaster who doesn’t pat dry their meat first.
Very rarely do I see a video where people admit that the food was just ok. Usually they will always say it was the best steak they ever had, then strangely a week later they have a new steak and again it's the best they ever had and so on.
Dude, I gotta say, you have a baller pad, non-stop awesome steak, and a family that loves you. Coupled with how down to earth you are, I've got nothing but respect for you. Some people chase the dollar and lose their sense of decency in the process. Really glad to see you living well, enjoying life, and being with family. It's what I live for too.
Thank y’all so much for the shout out!!! I have not had much luck with cooking really thick pieces of meat like filets on the salt block. Try a thinner steak with more marbeling like a ribeye or picanna and it will be wonderful! You need lots of the surface area of your steak touching the block at once to cook and salt it evenly. Also as the fat melts it will help release some of the salt. Thanks again and that was a great cook
I have a family member that owns two of these salt blocks. What they do is preheat both of them in the oven to 500 degrees. While heating, they prepare their meat by slicing it very thin. Maybe like an 1/8 or an inch or so. Then they take one block out, put it in the center of the table and each person Sears and cooks their own meat. Being so thinly sliced, it supposedly seasons it more effectively this way. And each person can cook their steak to their liking. When one block gets too cool to sear, they trade it out with the one in the oven. Message me if you have other questions.
SheffNation this seems similar to the Japanese way of cooking wagyu beef (I forgot what it is called exactly). Works best if the steak has a lot of well-distributed fat
Hey Guga, try this with the salt block. Do a reverse seared steak in the oven. Put your probe in and put your oven below warm until your peppered steak reaches 100° while flipping it halfway through. Then take it out back and kill it with the flame thrower to finish. It will be salty enough and delicious. Do a video like this and let me know what you think. But use a 2” steak.
Hi Guga. Hello from Australia! Just wanted to say that im a huge fan of your channel/s. I love the way you bring your family and friends into your videos. It’s clear you have a very big heart and love what you do. Keep being you, it’s contagious. Take care and all the best.
Another great video! - I have yet to use my salt block, but I did "cure" it (as the directions indicated). I think that was to allow it to get super hot without cracking. I assume you did that too? - Also, perhaps the oil you put on stopped the salt from getting into the meat? Did it seal the salt out? - I suggest you redo the experiment. One on a griddle next to the salt block as a "control", one with oil, one without, one pre-seasoned with salt (to see if that would be too much salt).
Guga Foods I agree completely! There's some great tips in here, and I think that second filet has shown that it has some great potential! I also think the guy up top is probably right in terms of the fat sealing off some of the salt.
@@GugaFoods Please retry this with a properly cured block of salt, and no oil. Sous Vide then sear on salt block. Do not pat dry. I would love to see how this turns out.
Okay, i think the benefit of this salt block is just perfect searing. I can imagine that the salt draws the moisture out of the surface of the meat as it cooks, leaving a perfect sear on a dry surface. But still, it's so much hassle to cook with one.
Our park has been making filet mignon like this for almost 100 years. We make our own salt block with kosher salt. It is cooked on big drums. Layer of butcher paper, then salt block, put meat. We season our meat, it does not pick up the flavor of the block. We cover the meat with camp white towels. The meat comes out incredibly tender and flavorful. People come from all over for this event which is held once a year.
Just as an FYI, I hope this lad knows that even as a Vegetarian I love the absolute bits out of Guga foods videos, the guy is such a lovely guy and I love everything this man churns out. Lots of Love, the vege who still pines for fillet...
I agree with Hugh Jafro, do NOT use table salt it has to much crap in it. Use sea or kosher salt actually Himalayan is the best for us but no table salt. Guga keep up the great work my friend
Don't use olive oil. It has a very low smoke point at like I THINK 350F? Not good for high temperature searing. Use a higher smoke point oil like clarified butter, vegetable oil, etc
Absolute bull. Olive oil has one of the highest smoking point for vegetable oils, even the extra virgin which you shouldn't really use for cooking has a smoking point of 200 C which is about 375 F
Never cook above the smoke point (unless you like carcinogens). Never use canola, or unfermented soy anything including oil. Avocado oil smokes at 520 fahrenheit, Ghee 485, Olive oil (EVOO) 375, Lard 370, Butter 300-350
Rod Nixon that looks like the classic barbecue made out of bricks we have in Brazil. Sometimes they make those attached to a wood burning stove and a pizza stove. It's awesome.
From watching the video it looks like the middle is hotter than the outer part of the salt block. Maybe that's why the second one you tried was better because the first one was in the middle and got a bit "overcooked"?
It just seems like overall it's inconsistent. Maybe the density of the block is inconsistent leading to hotspots. Could be the one you got, or it could just be part of being salt. Seems like an accessory that doesn't really add anything, to me.
It's good to see you using Maldon Sea Salt. I swam in the water today wear that salt is made. Never realised it was used so far from my little town in Essex, UK.
I have used them in the past and found this mostly to be true. Meat has to be free of oils when putting it on the block and it still does not season like you think it would. Better for seafood in my opinion. Sous vide still rules with Searzall treatment and good seasoning.
I tried this method once...but instead of heating up my house with 3 separate oven cycles and using one large piece of salt, I just sprinkled hundreds of smaller ones on each steak and placed them directly over the coals....worked wonders!
Dustin Juell that sounds like a great idea. I've been cooking on these things for years and have always had to season afterwards. Thanks for the great tip.
If you don't have a salt block, a cheap solution is to heat your pan to maximum heat with some salt sprinkled on it. It'll have three effects, seasoning your meat is one, but for that brief moment, will also prevent your steak from sticking to the pan and create a beautiful Maillard reaction when the salt kicks in, and the third, the umami effect when the salt combines with the glutamaic acids to create natural MSG. Man, glad I didn't fall asleep when I took basic chemistry as a kid.
Now Guga, I would assume that was just the appetizer, I'm sure Mrs. Guga and Angel's lovely Lady might have otherwise had to have a second supper. Thanks for sharing.
The people who sell these salt blocks telling you that you need no salt to season anything are the white vegan girls who go to stsrbucks and do crossfit, of course it needs more salt
