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I don't need no stinkin' kitchen knives because I only eat TV dinners. They come pre-cut, so all I need is a fork.

Knives are for people who can't afford TV dinners and are stupid enough to cook their own…

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The only acceptable way to eat filet mignon is deep fried to mid-rare/rare. No, I'm not joking.

isnt most tenderloin technically shallow fried? certainly I wouldnt be cooking it without some additional fat, probably from grapeseed oil and (copious) butter.

now for an actual unpopular steak opinion; I would rather have a steak that's a little bit over but has a proper crust than one of those "perfectly cooked" sous vide steaks with weak ass caramelization.

furthermore, a well done burger is actually perfectly tasty if the fat content of the beef is high enough, and not every burger should be cooked medium. in fact, unless you're spending up for a proper, super fresh high cut blend, well done is probably a safer choice not only for safety but for taste/texture.

and Im really going to get it for this one, but chicken fried steak is an inherently flawed dish, where you have a deep fried food that you are introducing a wet sauce too. it just doesnt make any sense. please stop.
 
isnt most tenderloin technically shallow fried? certainly I wouldnt be cooking it without some additional fat, probably from grapeseed oil and (copious) butter.

now for an actual unpopular steak opinion; I would rather have a steak that's a little bit over but has a proper crust than one of those "perfectly cooked" sous vide steaks with weak ass caramelization.

furthermore, a well done burger is actually perfectly tasty if the fat content of the beef is high enough, and not every burger should be cooked medium. in fact, unless you're spending up for a proper, super fresh high cut blend, well done is probably a safer choice not only for safety but for taste/texture.

and Im really going to get it for this one, but chicken fried steak is an inherently flawed dish, where you have a deep fried food that you are introducing a wet sauce too. it just doesnt make any sense. please stop.

I think steak or hamburgers need a little crust to taste good. I have had slow cooked meat which I call grey meat. Not much flavor in my mind.

I can even eat Pittsburg red if it can be cooked right and not overdone as I like my steak rare.

I am a strange one in Texas that I like fresh squeezed lemon juice on my chicken fried steak. I even like tomato based hot sauce on my mashed potatoes instead of gravy because hardly anybody makes good old gravy anymore. I think there is too much instant gravy out there.

PS
The tomato hot sauces in Texas are homemade and everywhere. If I had to choose tomato jar hot sauce or instant gravy, I would not choose jar hot sauce. I basically don't eat tomato jar hot sauce. I mean dipping jar hot sauce. I eat stuff like Tabasco hot sauce.
 
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isnt most tenderloin technically shallow fried? certainly I wouldnt be cooking it without some additional fat, probably from grapeseed oil and (copious) butter.

now for an actual unpopular steak opinion; I would rather have a steak that's a little bit over but has a proper crust than one of those "perfectly cooked" sous vide steaks with weak ass caramelization.

furthermore, a well done burger is actually perfectly tasty if the fat content of the beef is high enough, and not every burger should be cooked medium. in fact, unless you're spending up for a proper, super fresh high cut blend, well done is probably a safer choice not only for safety but for taste/texture.

and Im really going to get it for this one, but chicken fried steak is an inherently flawed dish, where you have a deep fried food that you are introducing a wet sauce too. it just doesnt make any sense. please stop.

Mostly agree here. If a burger doesn’t have a good crust, it’s worthless. Ideally, it would have a good crust and allso some pink in the middle, but I’d sacrifice the pink if necessary.

Don’t agree with the chicken fried steak bit, tho. If you catch it at the right moment, crispy + saucy is awesome. Even more extreme: tempura in noodle soup.
 
I mean 3-stepped or chicken fried. But I've been a part of some experiments and 3-stepped is the way to go with filet.

I also agree burgers must have a good crust. I have enjoyed more than plenty of well-done burgers. Fat content is key.

In general, I think sous vide steak kind of sucks. Unless you have a very thick cut that you set to several degrees below desired temperature so that you have enough time with the grill or time to baste in a pan to create something worth a damn. "Boiled" steak with a flash sear over a typical home range is for the birds.
 
Funny thing you click on to this thread. The subject matter infinite. I find myself either in alignment or off center with the topics discussed. My wheels are turning. There are some really great exchanges
 
Like Costco Salmon burgers. Grilled onions, mushrooms, Vine ripe tomato, grillo's dill pickle, extra sharp cheddar cheese, lettuce, arugula, avocado, homemade tarter sauce.
Butter browned buns.

Better than beef & esp. fake meat burgers.
Those awful crispy chicken burgers.

Mahi Mahi grilled over coals makes awesome
Fish burger. 🐟🐟🐟
 
As a professional cook, I don’t care that much about food release. I have never heard any chef mention food release from a knife. I think it is only a home cook thing. Pros just learn how to deal with it.

I think it’s more likely that it’s a knife nerd thing. There are plenty of pro cooks/chefs on here that love food release.
 
I think it’s more likely that it’s a knife nerd thing. There are plenty of pro cooks/chefs on here that love food release.
Great point. I bet pros can adjust to anything and we know that most pros who are not knife enthusiasts use relatively crappy knives, so being a pro doesn’t necessarily make one a knife connoisseur.
 
So, doesn't a knife taper keep food from sticking? I don't really have an understanding of this. Is it because I use German knives?
 
So, doesn't a knife taper keep food from sticking? I don't really have an understanding of this. Is it because I use German knives?
Taper from spine to tip, not really. The blade face being rounded does. 2 flat surfaces have more friction than a flat and curved surface. Less surface area in contact with each other.
 
So, doesn't a knife taper keep food from sticking? I don't really have an understanding of this. Is it because I use German knives?

One benefit of the German knives is they have nice convex faces that aid in food release. The drawback is that they tend to wedge or split denser foods before cutting all the way through. Very thin knives have less room for convexity. Flatter grinds have more issues with suction.
 
I care about food release. Sucks to stop while cutting something to pry it off. That said, if it doesn't suction on, I can make it work.View attachment 136264

If that's spine of knife on peeled potato in picture it looks pretty thick. 😆 is that a Deba? Don't peel potato always skin on home cook. Cut before cook.🤪

My blue moon has relatively thick spine Nashiji finish potatoes don't stick because top of knife
is thick bottom assem. grind.
 
One benefit of the German knives is they have nice convex faces that aid in food release. The drawback is that they tend to wedge or split denser foods before cutting all the way through. Very thin knives have less room for convexity. Flatter grinds have more issues with suction.
What convexing? :| My Wüsthof is only second to my Robert Herder in stickage...
At least the Herder has thinness behind the edge / lack of wedging as an excuse.
 
If that's spine of knife on peeled potato in picture it looks pretty thick. 😆 is that a Deba? Don't peel potato always skin on home cook. Cut before cook.🤪

My blue moon has relatively thick spine Nashiji finish potatoes don't stick because top of knife
is thick bottom assem. grind.
Bad picture, taken with crappy camera phone, in the middle of service. It was the Milan Gravier pass around knife.
 
What convexing? :| My Wüsthof is only second to my Robert Herder in stickage...
At least the Herder has thinness behind the edge / lack of wedging as an excuse.

So, I guess my German knives have convex faces because I use belts to sharpen with instead of stones?
 
So, I guess my German knives have convex faces because I use belts to sharpen with instead of stones?
I honestly don't know what results your belt have. Could be simply because yours were older so they were still manually ground. This discussion is more about the original factory grind (so not so much the edge itself, but the but everything above it).

I just checked and to be fair, it's not 100% flatgrind on mine, there seems to be a tiny little bit of convexity, it's just not enough to contribute anything positive. So as a result my Wüsty is both sticky & wedgy. And mine hasn't really been thinned or polished, so apart from some minor edge sharpening it's still in essentially it's stock configuration.

On the Robert Herder I have a feeling it's also caused by the excessive amount of polishing they do. Yes, it looks better, and it might make it rust slower, but mirror-ish polishes just have a habbit of sticking a lot more; found that out accidentally on some of my other knives when I went nuts practising.
 
One benefit of the German knives is they have nice convex faces that aid in food release. The drawback is that they tend to wedge or split denser foods before cutting all the way through. Very thin knives have less room for convexity. Flatter grinds have more issues with suction.

I agree, but I also have a sneaking suspicion that Coxhaus’s vintage 4-stars are a fair bit thicker behind the (obligatory mention: Ken Onion Worksharp cultivated) edge than some of us here may be accustomed to. Add in what seems a likely preference for a hammer grip and perhaps more downward Texan chopping style force and I’m not envisaging fine slices sticking to a laser in classic sticktion style. It would be uncharitable to suggest that the separation is achieved in a fashion more akin to an axe splintering wood, but I suspect the reality is somewhere inbetween
 
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