Answers to life's vexing cooking questions...
Simmer Meat or Boil it to Death? (cont.)
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(Page 2 of 2)
With tender meats and fish, you don't need to break down collagen, so you never want to approach the higher temperatures that are going to dry out your meats. And 212°F is higher than 200°F, which is higher than 180°F, etc., etc. And if you only want to cook the meat to an internal temperature of 140°F (60°C) for fish or veal, 150°F (66°C) for chicken breasts or barely pink pork, or 160°F (71°C) for well-done pork, all of those temperatures are quite high. If your water is at 200°F, you must be much more alert to removing the meat from the water once it is done than if you cook it at 180°F. For example, a 1-inch-thick fish steak that starts out at 40°F (4°C) — that is, a few minutes after coming out of the refrigerator — will take 11 minutes to cook to 140°F in 200°F water. But let it go a minute longer, and it will already be 150°F — overdone. If you cook it in 180°F water, however, it will be done in 13 minutes, but you'll have three additional minutes before it reaches 150°F inside, which may mean you don't have to watch it like a hawk.
McGee says 180°F (82°C) is an important target temperature, because essentially all common harmful bacteria that could be found on the surface of meat are killed when heated to that temperature for 5 to 10 minutes. So while you can cook a pork chop to 160°F in 160°F water, it is not necessarily safe to do so.
The reason you don't boil tough cuts of meat is that boiling causes too much turbulence in the pot, and any fat that you might like to skim off never has a change to collect in one place, but is emulsified into the stew itself, turning it a bit greasy. McGee says braising or stewing a tough cut of meat at 180°F rather than 200°F just results in a longer cooking time, so you might as well turn up the heat as long as you keep it below the boil.
Now, as mentioned previously, many naughty cookbooks encourage you to braise in an oven set to at least 325°F (160°C). If you are willing to lower the temperature significantly, it will take longer to cook your dish, you will have to invest in an accurate thermometer, and you'll have to rely on yourself rather than the cookbook author. But, as Mr. McGee says, it comes down to how much you value moist, tender meat.
And just for the record, water — at sea level — boils at 212°F in the oven, on the stovetop, in a train, everywhere, and never gets above that temperature.
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