" wrote:
On Feb 18, 9:54 am, Ed Pawlowski wrote:
On Mon, 18 Feb 2013 06:11:55 -0800 (PST), "

wrote:

Microwave cooking can be done very well if you use the proper
techniques. I'd say 98% of the owners have no idea how to use one
properly, what different power settings are for, importance of waiting
time, etc.

The biggest downside is you get no crust in a MW. Aside from that,
you actually can cook a beef roast to the doneness you desire and a
more rare interior, just like a regular oven. You have to get past
the no outer crustiness though.

And eating a gray piece of meat. A lot of the flavor, probably
most of it, comes from the searing that you get with a
conventional method.

No, my point is, you don't have to eat gray meat. The major
difference is you don't get the outside sear but you do get the inside
flavor and gradient of doneness. I've done it.

When we bought our first mw some years ago, the store offered a three
class program. Appetizers, entree, desserts. They demonstrated what
can be done and how to do it. We cooked real food and ate it at the
end of each class. The beef roast was very good, not gray.

There is more to it that just setting the time on high power for
everything.

From your comment, I'll have to put you in the 98% category I
mentioned.

Have you ever seen a professional chef at any restaurant
even the local crap diner, cook a steak in a microwave?
Can you produce a steak that tastes and looks like these in a
microwave?

http://www.on-stjohn.com/2009/05/05/...vittles-steak/

http://thesuiteworld.com/dining/mast...e-los-angeles/

You acknowledged that you don't get an outside
sear. That sear is what produces the Maillard reaction that
gives proteins a lot of their taste. Why do you think, for example,
that when you're making braised short ribs, or even chili,
you BROWN the meat first? Why do you think you deglaze a
pan to get the brown bits when making a sauce? It's not just
about looks, there is a tremendous amount of flavor coming
from the searing process. To most people the look of the piece
of beef is very important too. Not having that seared surface,
you lose all that potential flavor. And sorry, but it looks like
crap too. What's next? Boiling it?

From your comments, I'll have to put you in the category of
those that have no idea of what food should taste like, what it
should look like and how to cook.

Applebees cooks their food in the microwave. Well it's already cooked. I'm
not sure if they really have a grill.

Greg