Does Your Steak Cause Global Warming?

Updated 032410@1854

For those who want to know whether or not livestock (especially beef cattle) are responsible for global warming, read the latest CNN news report and the latest FoxNews report. Much of the information in these articles was taken from a scientific, peer-reviewed study last year, as reported in a blog by Dr. Chris Raines, of PennState.

In summary, claims that livestock produces significant greenhouses gasses have been discredited by new evidence. In fact, "raising animals for food accounts for about 3 percent of all greenhouse gas emissions in the U.S., while transportation creates an estimated 26 percent."

Celebrities like Paul McCartney, an outspoken vegetarian, may be "well-intentioned" but "not well-schooled in the complex relationships among human activities, animal digestion, food production and atmospheric chemistry." Many who promote the "meat = heat" misinformation are hard-core vegetarians and vegans who strive to eliminate meat from everyone's diet.

Their emotionally-driven, anti-scientific approach led to climate-gate, in which true-believers in global warming knowingly and intentionally used fraudulent data to cover up the evidence that there has been no global warming in the UK over the last 15 years. Even the U.N.'s own researchers had to admit that their forecasts of melting Himalayan glaciers, disappearing polar ice caps, and dwindling Amazon rainforests were based on shoddy evidence.

The extremists' response? Do they apologize for their errors? No, of course not. Like true-believers throughout history, when proven wrong, they deny any error, they attack the messenger, and they change their words but not their message. Thus, they no longer call it "global warming": it's now called "climate change". If new, real scientific evidence shows that there is no change in "climate change", extremists will deny that fact, attack the science and scientists, and rename "climate change" to -- what?.

Extremists are not concerned with science or truth. They are driven by their emotions and beliefs. They will continue to use unfounded claims to attack steak lovers, farmers, and everyone else connected with livestock and the meat industry.

For extremists:
Earth is their god.
Mankind is their devil.
Veganism is their religion.

SteakPerfection welcomes your comments: please share them, below.  SteakPerfection is a complex process that involves every detail, from pasture to plate.

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Film Review: Food, Inc.

Food, Inc. is the 2009 film about the food industry. It was was nominated but did not win Best Documentary at the 2010 Academy Awards.

The film goes far beyond even propoganda by making intentional misprepresentations, lies and distortions.

Propoganda means "a form of communication aimed at influencing the attitude of a community toward some cause or position. As opposed to impartially providing information, propaganda in its most basic sense, presents information primarily to influence an audience. Propaganda often presents facts selectively (thus possibly lying by omission) to encourage a particular synthesis, or uses loaded messages to produce an emotional rather than rational response to the information presented. The desired result is a change of the attitude toward the subject in the target audience to further a political agenda." See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Propaganda

"Food, Inc." goes beyond propoganda because it lies: that is, the film knowingly misrepresents facts. Many of these lies are documented in the film review by SafeFoodInc.org.

Because the SafeFoodInc review details the film's lies and distortions in such detail and with scientific citations, the lies and distortions will not be repeated here. Suffice it to note that, if the film makes even one statement that is knowingly false, then no rational person will bother to examine the other claims in the film, since its other claims are suspect.

Finally, click here to see the rational reason that hog farmers keep sows in individual stalls rather than let them live together in the open or even in pens.

Please share your comments, below.

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Terminology: "Artisan"

The word "artisan" is often used to describe some steak, beef and other food. But what exactly does it mean?

There is no legal defintion of "artisan" in the United States. Neither the United States Department of Agriculture nor any other federal or state authority has defined the word or regulates its use.

However, most steak consumers do not know that the word has no legal meaning. They assume that a steak with an artisan label means that the steak has been produced and butchered by a highly skilled indivual craftsman. But this is wrong. The artisan label has no legal meaning.

Seak vendors often intentionally misuse the artisan label. As a result, steak consumers should place little importance on the artisan label itself. Instead, steak consumers should look beyond the label to determine exactly how the steak was actually produced and butchered. It is up to the consumer to determine if the steak meets a meaningful definition of artisan.

Although the word "artisan" has no legal meaning, its general, non-legal, dictionary meaning is a skilled manual worker who uses tools and machinery in a particular craft.

As applied to steak, the word means the following:

Please review and update these definitions. Post a comment below or email us.

Artisan farmer means a family farmer, who owns the farm and who cares personally for the livestock and/or crops raised on the farm.

Artisan farm means a farm owned by an artisan farmer to raise artisan livestock and/or crops.

Artisan cattle means cattle raised by an artisan farmer on an artisan farm.

Artisan beef means beef which comes from artisan cattle and which is slaughtered and processed by an artisan beef processor.

Artisan beef processor means a skilled beef processor, who owns the slaughterhouse and processing facility and who personally processes artisan cattle.

Artisan beef slaughterhouse and processing facility means a slaughterhouse and processing facility owned by an artisan beef processor to slaughter and process artisan beef.

Artisan beef butcher means a skilled butcher who personally butchers artisan beef.

Artisan steak means steak which is cut by an artisan butcher from artisan beef.

Carrie Oliver founded The Artisan Beef Institute, whose website has more information about the meaning of Artisan Beef. She has written the Artisan Beef Institute Cheat Sheet, which describes preferred attributes of artisan beef, including the identity and location of the farm, cattle breed, cattle feeding history, etc. She also defines artisan cattle as having received no preventative antibiotics, no artifical hormones and a high-quality, all-vegetable diet.

Again, please give us your thoughts and comments on these definitions.

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Great American Steak Out: March 20

Join the Great American Steak Out!!!

This Saturday, March 20, is the first day of Spring. Enjoy a great grilled steak. Then take a picture of your SteakPerfection and share it with us, send a copy to the Governor of Michigan, and enter it in the Earth Day Photo Contest.

Why send a steak pic to the Governor? Because Governor Granholm told Americans not to eat meat on this Saturday, March 20th, "Michigan Meatout Day”.

Let's stand shoulder-to-shoulder with America's farmers.

So on Saturday:

(1) Set up your backyard grill for the first steak of Spring. (If it's too cold, then pan-fry a steak on the stove.)

(2) Take a picture! This is important.

(3) Email the picture to the Governor of Michegan.

(4) Post your picture on Twitter. Tell us your cut of steak (top loin, tenderloin, ribeye, or?), how you cooked it, and how good it was!

(5) Post your picture to enter it into the Earth Day Photo Contest (see details at the National Beef Ambassadors website)!

The Great American Steak Out was created by Dewey Mann.
See more information at @Farm3rsDaught3r


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8. Cooking Temperature: Inverse Square Law

This is the first in the following series of blogs on the ideal cooking temperature for grilling a steak over live coals:

1. Cooking Temperature: Ideal Temperature
2. Cooking Temperature: 1600 Degrees?
3. Cooking Temperature: Need to Modify Grill Height
4. Cooking Temperature: Measure Temperature
5. Cooking Temperature: Measure Grill Height
6. Cooking Temperature: Calculate Ideal Grill Height
7. Cooking Temperature: Modify Grill Height
8. Cooking Temperature: Inverse Square Law

Previous blogs describe (1) how to measure the temperature of a grill at the grill level and (2) how to measure the distance from the grill level to the live coals.

With these two measurements, the ideal distance from the grill level to the live coals can be calculated. As described in a blog on how to calculate this ideal distance, the calculation is complex. This blog describes the complex formula, for those who are comfortable with math.

One of the fundamental laws of thermodynamics, as applied to a backyard grill, states that temperature varies in inverse proportion to the square of the distance between the grill and the coals. This is called the inverse square law.

The formula of the inverse square law is as follows, where:

d1 = original distance

t1 = temperature at d1

d2 = new distance

t2 = temperature at d2

Using these variables, then the basic formula of the inverse square law is:

t1 / t2 = d2^2 / d1^2

Since d1, t1 and t2 are known, the formula for solving for d2 is:

d2 = ((t1 / t2) * d1^2)^0.5

In a previous blog, we show that the ideal cooking temperature at the grill level is exactly 750°. Applying this temperature to the formula assumptions, t2 (the new temperature) always equals 750°, so the formula may be resolved as follows:

d2 = ((t1 / 750°) * d1^2)^0.5

As an example, if the original distance of the grill above the coals is 5” (d1), and if the temperature at this distance is 370° (t1), then, in order to increase the temperature to 750° (t2), the formula may be applied, and the result shows that the distance of the gill above the coals must be changed to 3.5” (d2).

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7. Cooking Temperature: Modify Grill Height

This is the first in the following series of blogs on the ideal cooking temperature for grilling a steak over live coals:

1. Cooking Temperature: Ideal Temperature
2. Cooking Temperature: 1600 Degrees?
3. Cooking Temperature: Need to Modify Grill Height
4. Cooking Temperature: Measure Temperature
5. Cooking Temperature: Measure Grill Height
6. Cooking Temperature: Calculate Ideal Grill Height
7. Cooking Temperature: Modify Grill Height
8. Cooking Temperature: Inverse Square Law

If the temperature of your backyard grill is too low at the grill level (which is usually the case), then you should make a modification to change the distance between the top of your grill and the top of the live coals.

Previous blogs describe (1) how to measure the temperature of an unmodified grill, (2) how to measure the distance from the grill level to the live coals, and (3) how to calculate the ideal distance from the top of the grill, at the meat level, and the top of the live coals. With these calculations, you can determine the distance to raise the level of the charcoal grate. In most cases for a Weber Kettle, this distance will be about 1 1/2".

In most cases, there is no easy way to lower the grill level by this amount, so it is usually easier to raise the level of the charcoal grate (the metal grate on which the charcoal burns) by this amount.

Use bricks or balls of alumunium foil to raise the charcoal grate to the correct amount by using bricks or balls of aluminum foil. For most, the charcoal grate will have to be raised about 1 1/2",

It is very important to raise it my the exact amount, within 1/8”. The reason for the needed precision is that a tiny change in the charcoal level translates into a huge change in the temperature. For example, an error of 1/8” changes the temperature 20°.

After the grill level has been adjusted to the ideal distance, and before cooking a steak, light the normal amount of lump charcoal and let it come to the correct temperature (after about 30 minutes). Then measure the temperature at the meat level. (See how to measure the temperature. Verify that the temperature at the grill level is 750°. If the temperature is not between 720° and 780° (which is within 5% of the ideal temperature), then repeat the process.

SteakPerfection is a complex process that involves every detail, from pasture to plate.

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6. Cooking Temperature: Calculate Ideal Grill Height

This is the first in the following series of blogs on the ideal cooking temperature for grilling a steak over live coals:

1. Cooking Temperature: Ideal Temperature
2. Cooking Temperature: 1600 Degrees?
3. Cooking Temperature: Need to Modify Grill Height
4. Cooking Temperature: Measure Temperature
5. Cooking Temperature: Measure Grill Height
6. Cooking Temperature: Calculate Ideal Grill Height
7. Cooking Temperature: Modify Grill Height
8. Cooking Temperature: Inverse Square Law

Previous blogs describe how to measure the temperature of an unmodified grill and how to measure the distance from the grill level to the live coals.

With both the temperature and the distance of your grill, one can calculate the ideal distance between the top of the grill (the meat level) and the top of the live coals.

The calculation of this ideal distance is complicated. A future blog will describe the formula for this calculation.

The ideal distance between the top of the grill and the top of the coals differs for every grill. SteakPerfection uses a special computer program to calculate the ideal distance. Because the math is so complicated, SteakPerfection is offering as a free service to calculate the ideal distance.

To take advantage of this offer, email the two numbers you calculated above:

(1) The first number is the temperature at meat level, when you’re grilling with good lump coals. For most people, this will be about 370°.

(2) The second number is the exact distance -- to one-eigth of an inch -- between the top of the grill (where the steak rests on the grill) and the top of the burning lump charcoal. For most Weber grills, this is a distance of about 5”.

Email these two numbers to Joe.OConnell@SteakPerfection.com and then I will run the calculations and email back the ideal distance for your grill to cook at 750°, using your normal amount of lump charcoal.

SteakPerfection is a complex process that involves every detail, from pasture to plate.

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5. Cooking Temperature: Measure Grill Height

This is the first in the following series of blogs on the ideal cooking temperature for grilling a steak over live coals:

1. Cooking Temperature: Ideal Temperature
2. Cooking Temperature: 1600 Degrees?
3. Cooking Temperature: Need to Modify Grill Height
4. Cooking Temperature: Measure Temperature
5. Cooking Temperature: Measure Grill Height
6. Cooking Temperature: Calculate Ideal Grill Height
7. Cooking Temperature: Modify Grill Height
8. Cooking Temperature: Inverse Square Law

After you have measured the temperature at grill level, you have to measure the distance between the grill and the top of the coals. This is an extremely precise measurement, so do it correctly!

If the charcoal is still lit, find the exact spot on your grill where the temperature is hottest. (See How to Calculate the Temperature.) Being careful not to burn yourself or anything else, take a long screwdriver or butter knife, and use it to mark the distance between the top of the grill and the top of the burning coals. Don’t burn yourself!! When you’ve found the exact distance on the butter knife, use a ruler to find out this distance to an accuracy of 1/8”.

REASON: The reason you have to be so precise is because of the law of thermodynamics (discussed in more detail in another blog). A difference of 1/8” in the distance results in a change of 20° in the temperature. So make a very precise measurement of the distance between the top of the grill and the top of the live coals.

SteakPerfection is a complex process that involves every detail, from pasture to plate.

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4. Cooking Temperature: Measure Temperature

This is the first in the following series of blogs on the ideal cooking temperature for grilling a steak over live coals:

1. Cooking Temperature: Ideal Temperature
2. Cooking Temperature: 1600 Degrees?
3. Cooking Temperature: Need to Modify Grill Height
4. Cooking Temperature: Measure Temperature
5. Cooking Temperature: Measure Grill Height
6. Cooking Temperature: Calculate Ideal Grill Height
7. Cooking Temperature: Modify Grill Height
8. Cooking Temperature: Inverse Square Law

The ideal temperature for a backyard steak master to cook a steak on a grill over live coals is 750°, as measured at the grill level. As described in a previous blog, most grills are designed by the manufacturers for a temperature of only 370°.

In order to determine whether the grill owned by a backyard steak master needs modification, the temperature at the grill level should be measured. The easiest and most accurate way to measure this temperature is to use an infrared thermometer.

An infrared thermometer is the same one used by car mechanics to check disk brakes. It is also often used by backyard cooks to check the temperature of the oil when deep frying a turkey. If possible, the grill owner should borrow rather than purchase an infrared thermometer, since it is needed only once. If this is not possible, an infrared thermometer may be purchased online or at a local auto parts store for about $30.00.

Before measuring the grill temperature with an infrared thermometer, check its calibration with boiling water. To do this, bring a pan of water to a boil, and use the infrared thermometer to measure its temperature. It should measure 212F -- the boiling point of water at sea level. (If the altitude is significantly higher than sea level, then the boiling point of water will be higher. To find out the temperature for calibrating to boiling water, call a competent local chef, since all chefs should know the boiling point of water in their location.)

After calibrating the infrared thermometer, light the grill, using the same amount of charcoal as “normally” used.

What is the “normal” amount of charcoal? Every backyard steak master must learn how to use the same amount of charcoal, measured by weight, every time. To learn how much a “normal” amount weighs, fill a paper bag with this amount of lump charcoal, and then use a scale to weigh the bag. A bathroom scale works well: without holding the bag of charcoal, note the weight; then weigh, while holding the bad; the difference is the weight of the bag of lump charcoal.) Use this procedure to ensure that the “normal” amount of lump charcoal is used.

Light the lump charcoal, using no lighter fluid. After lighting, wait until the charcoal reaches its maximum temperature: when all the lumps of charcoal are covered with a layer of ash. Then use long tongs to break up any large the lumps and distribute the love coals evenly in the center of the charcoal grate.

Next, place the cooking grill over the live coals, and allow the temperature of the cooking grill to rise and stabilize, which may take 5 minutes. At this time, place a thin metal object (an empty beer can works perfectly -- just stomp it flat first) on the cooking grill, and allow it to heat up completely, which may takes 5 minutes. When it has reached its maximum temperature, use the infrared thermometer to measure its temperature. Move the metal object to different sections of the cooking grill, wait 5 minutes for the temperature to adjust, and take the temperature again. Repeat this several times, writing down the various temperatures and sections. This list will be useful in the future, so retain it.

The temperature on the hottest spot is the grill’s “current temperature” -- which means the temperature at grill level using a normal amount of lump charcoal.

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3. Cooking Temperature: Need to Modify Grill Height

This is the first in the following series of blogs on the ideal cooking temperature for grilling a steak over live coals:

1. Cooking Temperature: Ideal Temperature
2. Cooking Temperature: 1600 Degrees?
3. Cooking Temperature: Need to Modify Grill Height
4. Cooking Temperature: Measure Temperature
5. Cooking Temperature: Measure Grill Height
6. Cooking Temperature: Calculate Ideal Grill Height
7. Cooking Temperature: Modify Grill Height
8. Cooking Temperature: Inverse Square Law

The biggest mistake made by backyard steak masters is grilling steaks at too low a temperature.

The single most important thing that a backyard steak master should do to improve steak quality is to modify the grill to reduce the distance between the top of the grill (i.e. meat level) and the top of the coals. As discussed in a previous blog (see http://bit.ly/dixHpA), the correct temperature for cooking steak, when measured at the level where the steak sits on the grill (called the meat level or grill level) is 750°.

Most grills are designed to cook at a temperature of only 370°, using a normal amount of charcoal briquettes or lump charcoal. The way to increase the temperature to 750° is to reduce the distance between the grill level and the charcoal level.

The problem for most backyard steak masters is that most popular grills, such as the Weber Kettle, do not have adjustable grills, so the distance between the grill and the charcoal cannot be changed up or down. Grills usually have a fixed distance at 5” between the grill and the top of the charcoal. At a distance of 5", the temperature of a "normal" charcoal fire will be between about 370°.

REASON: Manufacturers design their grills for 5" between the top of the grill and the top of the layer of charcoal briquettes, so that the temperature will be about 370°. A temperature of 370° is ideal for cooking hamburgers all the way through. At a higher temperature, the hamburger would burn on the outside before cooking thoroughly on the inside. So it is safer for manufacturers to design their grills to cook at a lower temperature, where hamburgers will be safely cooked on the inside. But 370° is much too low to cook a steak perfectly, because it would not develop an exterior crust and would be overdone on the interior.

So that’s the problem. You want your hamburger grilled at 370° but your steak grilled at 750°.

The backyard chef has three major options to achieve these two temperature variants.

One option is to purchase a new grill -- one which can raise and lower the grill and/or charcoal grate. The problem with this solution is money: variable grills are very expensive, compared with non-variable grills.

A second option to reach a higher temperature on a grill is to use much more charcoal than normal. But that wastes charcoal and might even overheat the grill to create a fire risk. More importantly, however, the goal is to reach a grill temperature of exactly 750°, so adding more charcoal does not solve the problem of achieving the exact temperature.

A third option is for the backyard steak master to modify the grill to reduce the distance between the top of grill (the meat level) and the top of the coals. The next blog will explain how to modify the grill to increase the cooking temperature to the ideal steak cooking temperature of 750°.

SteakPerfection is a complex process that involves every detail, from pasture to plate.

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2. Cooking Temperature: 1600 Degrees?

This is the second in the following series of blogs on the ideal cooking temperature for grilling a steak over live coals:

1. Cooking Temperature: Ideal Temperature
2. Cooking Temperature: 1600 Degrees?
3. Cooking Temperature: Need to Modify Grill Height
4. Cooking Temperature: Measure Temperature
5. Cooking Temperature: Measure Grill Height
6. Cooking Temperature: Calculate Ideal Grill Height
7. Cooking Temperature: Modify Grill Height
8. Cooking Temperature: Inverse Square Law

As discussed in a previous blog, the correct temperature to achieve SteakPerfection is 750°. See http://bit.ly/dixHpA

If the temperature for SteakPerfection is 750°, why do steakhouse chains claim that they cook their steaks at a much higher temperature? For example, Ruth’s Chris advertises on its website that "Our famous steaks are seared to perfection at 1800° and topped with fresh butter so they sizzle all the way to your table."

Advertisements like this are true but misleading. The truth is that the temperature 2” from the walls of the oven is 1800°. But this is misleading, because the steaks are cooked 3” from the oven walls, where the temperature has dropped down to 750°. Yes, that single extra inch results in the temperature difference. This is the result of the inverse square law, which will be described in more detail in a separate blog.

The steaks at Ruth’s Chris and most other steakhouse chains are not cooked over live coals. Instead, they are cooked inside a specialized infrared oven. The oven uses natural gas to heat the ceramic top and bottom walls from the outside. The steaks are cooked inside the oven with the infrared heat from the tiles on the roof and on the floor of the oven. Thus, the steaks cook from the top and bottom at the same time.

There are three major advantages for steakhouse chains to use infrared ovens. First, because the steaks cook from the top and bottom at the same time, they do not have to be flipped and thus cook in half the time and with no flipping necessary. Second, because the cooking temperature, distance from the heat and steak thickness are constant, the ovens are automated with timers. The cook puts the steak into the oven, hits the start button, and takes it out when the buzzer sounds. Therefore, the oven can be operated by lower-skilled workers. The third advantage to using a specialized oven is that the steak does not acquire the metallic off-taste from natural gas, because the natural gas burns outside the oven.

On balance, infrared ovens produce a much better steak than gas grills (which cook with gas heat from below the steak) and gas broilers (which cook with gas heat from above the steak), because infrared ovens impart no gas-taste. However, because the infrared ovens do not impart a distinct taste to the crust, most steakhouse chains season the steaks before cooking them, so that the exterior crust acquires a complex layer of flavor.

SteakPerfection is a complex process that involves every detail, from pasture to plate.

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1. Cooking Temperature: Ideal Temperature

This is the first in the following series of blogs on the ideal cooking temperature for grilling a steak over live coals:

1. Cooking Temperature: Ideal Temperature
2. Cooking Temperature: 1600 Degrees?
3. Cooking Temperature: Need to Modify Grill Height
4. Cooking Temperature: Measure Temperature
5. Cooking Temperature: Measure Grill Height
6. Cooking Temperature: Calculate Ideal Grill Height
7. Cooking Temperature: Modify Grill Height
8. Cooking Temperature: Inverse Square Law

What is the correct temperature to achieve SteakPerfection?

Food scientists have conducted extensive tests, which show that the perfect temperature for cooking a high-quality steak over live coals is 750°. That is, the temperature at the meat level (where the steak sits on the grill) is 750°. This is a very high temperature for a charcoal grill and is a real challenge for backyard chefs, because most grills are designed to cook at a temperature of only 370°, using a normal amount of charcoal briquettes or lump charcoal.

Some steakhouse chains claim that they cook a steak in an infrared oven at 1,800°, but this is misleading. If a steak is cooked at 1,800°, it would be inedible, because, by the time it is cooked medium-rare on the inside, it would be burnt to a crisp on the outside.

There are two ways that steakhouse chains make the 1,800° claim but do not burn the exterior. One way is to use an 1,800° oven but place the steaks 3” from the heat, where the temperature at the meat level is only 750°. A second way is to use an 1,800° oven to cook the steaks for only a minute or two, to give the exterior a rich crust, and then remove the steaks to an ordinary oven for finishing at a much lower temperature. Both these ways are regularly used by steakhouse chains.

SteakPerfection is a complex process that involves every detail, from pasture to plate.

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