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Guest Blog - Which Equipment Cooks Meat Best?
10:07 am
So rather than run
through every type of cooking equipment sold at Nisbets, I thought I would talk
about a couple of my own personal favourites and the benefits they bring to cooking meat.
This year, Nisbets launched
its very own Buffalo clip-on water bath, an appliance proven to be a huge
success amongst a range of caterers and chefs. The Sous Vide method of cooking was
invented in the 1960’s when scientists were searching for the optimum way to
cook fois gras. The appliance however proved to be so successful that now a
wide range of meals are cooked using Sous Vide machines or Water Baths.

I personally love the
Sous Vide method of cooking as it offers you precise temperature control
(generally to less than ½ ˚C), ensuring you get rare, medium or well done perfect every
time for your guests. Sous Vide in comparison to the two more common methods of
cooking cuts of meat, (braising and roasting), both of which can dry out the
meat, also allows you to tenderise some cuts of meat. Skirt or cheek for
instance, although very flavoursome, may have been dismissed for being too
tough. By the using Sous Vide method, such cuts have again found favour amongst
chefs.
The fact that the
meat is sealed in a bag (often with herbs or a marinade) means it doesn’t lose
any moisture and absorbs the flavour from the herbs better. This not only gives
you some of the most tender, but also the flavoursome, results possible.
However, Sous Vide
does have some drawbacks.
The Sous Vide method of cooking does
not colour or caramelise your food, an important step in the cooking of a wide variety
of meats. Colouring or caramelising your meat not only produces an
aesthetically appealing texture and colour, but also releases previously hidden
flavours. This means that you also need to “finish” your meat using a direct or
radiant heat method.

The major benefit of
this contact grill (other than its impressive size) is that you have the choice
of using it as a regular griddle, or clamping down and finishing both sides of
your meat in half the time, whilst also producing aesthetically pleasing charred-markings on top. The flat bottom plate also not only allows for easy
cleaning, but allows you to also cook other foods, such as eggs.
It also comes with a
programmable audible timer, making multi-tasking in a busy commercial kitchen
easier than ever before!

It’s also really
important to season your pans before use and not wash in soapy water or
dishwashers, and of course the more you use them, the better they will be.
So that's my favourite way to cook a perfect steak! I'd love to hear yours, along with your favourite pieces of Nisbets equipment.
Richard Ebbs CFSP
Head of Product Training
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