Chef Grills Steak, Volcano-Style, with Molten Lava
npr.org
npr.org
I generally finish in a cast iron skillet, and haven't seen any need to cool the meat off before the transfer. That's usually a good idea if you aren't going to sear right away, as it prevents bacteria growth from going into overdrive, but isn't strictly necessary to cooking if you're doing everything at once. Then again, I'm not an expert.
I really want to get a good torch though, since skillets are a lousy way to finish bone-in meat since the meat contracts away from the bone.
If you want to do the torch thing, you should look into the "searzall" attachment.
One in return: I've found that vacuum sealing meat when it's somewhat frozen helps maintain its shape.
Turns out as a nice medium rare, with lots of juices and a great flavor.
Don't do it whilst moving though! When a coal fired locomotive is in full flight, the draft though the firebars (the grate at the bottom of the firebox) is strong enough that the entire fire rises up and floats on a bed of air. Stick a steak in that and it will get sucked though the boiler tubes and out the chimney.
>> use home-made charcoal
The only method I am familiar with is the method used at Plimouth Plantation - a giant pile of wood buried under earth, tended round the clock for two days.
http://blogs.plimoth.org/pilgrim-blog/?tag=charcoalhttp://blog.medellitin.com/2010/08/sous-vide-historical-note...
Anyway, I wonder how the flavor changes with the type of rock that is molten. The article mentions 1.1 billion year old basalt. Why that particular type of rock? Did it just happen to be around? Is basalt easier to melt? Is it easier or safer to handle once molten, or easier to clean up afterward? What would happen if you tried to melt a different type of rock such as granite or marble? Would they produce toxic gases?
http://www.amazon.com/The-Sense-Style-Thinking-Persons/dp/06...
If there's a sweet spot between time to solidify, thickness of steak, and not burned to a gristle all the way through, it would be a great meal.
There's a series of articles in wired discussing basically this question:
http://www.wired.com/2011/12/the-right-and-wrong-way-to-die-...
http://www.wired.com/2012/01/can-you-walk-on-lava-falling-in...
From the first:
> Water has a density of 1000 kg/m3 and a viscosity of 0.00089 Pascal-seconds.
> Lava has a density of 3100 kg/m3 and a viscosity of 100-1000 Pascal-seconds.
> most of the red-hot lava pictures in movies [are] likely basaltic lava at ~1,100 to 1,200°C (for comparison, your oven on broil is ~275°C)
The general lesson here is that meat is much less dense than rock (astounding, I know) and that the more possible it is to penetrate a lava flow, the more likely that lava flow is to incinerate you just for being nearby. A steak that you managed to submerge in lava would most likely go through some combination of burning to a crisp and exploding (as any water within it rapidly vaporized).
Like 3d printing but with stone. I guess the next years will figure this years and we'll go all neoclassical with granite statues, pylons and stuff.
And that's exactly what it is: liquid stone that can be poured at room temperature. And if you add some rebar the compound material can have some pretty good tensile properties too.
That's why stones tend to be round, erosion gets the better of them over time. Concrete takes a long time to really set (depending on the thickness of the pour: up to centuries!) but can be used relatively quickly after the pouring in a load bearing construction.
And even if you don't particularly like the material, in the end it is what you can make out of it that is ugly or beautiful (Compare a bunker with say the CN Tower in Toronto or the Sydney Opera).
For the general use case of 'poured stone' concrete does quite well.
I thought you could at least have some kind of primitive rotating water-wheel-like mechanism and a circular flow with the pot integrated along the way.
http://rebuildingcivilization.com/content/how-hot-can-you-ge...
(apologies for the link source)
That doesn't get you such nice videos though, and you won't have to travel to exotic places, and 'molten lava' is so much more sexy than an air boosted forge.