When it comes to enjoying a flawlessly cooked steak, steakhouses usually focus on flavour, tenderness as well as the presentation of the steak. But did you know that the cooking method of the steak also plays an important role in the steak’s nutritional value?

For steak enthusiasts, it is important to understand how the cooking method of the steak greatly affects its key nutrients like protein, fats and vitamins. Here at Tomahawk Novena, we are here to educate fellow steak enthusiasts regarding cooking methods and how it impacts steak nutrition in order to help you make wise decisions.  

Whether you are savouring halal wagyu beef options or wagyu beef steak in Singapore, it is essential to know how cooking methods affect steak nutritional values. This article will guide you on how to have your steak cooked for your pleasurable experience.

Source: Pexels

Steak Valuable Nutrients

Red Meat like steaks contains a significant amount of essential nutrients that can benefit the consumer. Various nutrients can be found inside meat such as, protein, iron, zinc, vitamin B12, vitamin B6, and magnesium. Nutrient dense food like red meat is crucial in our diet to ensure our health remains healthy.

Vitamins like B12 are important to humans as it helps produce DNA and also plays an important role in regenerating red blood cells. On the other hand, vitamin B-6 plays a crucial role in our normal brain development as well as keeping our nervous and immune system healthy. 

Nutrients that lie inside the meat can degrade mainly because of the method used when cooking the meat. That is why it is important to choose a suitable cooking method according to your needs. There are various ways to cook meat to ensure its preservation of the nutrients.

Source: Tomahawk Steakhouse

Cooking Methods and Impact on Steak Nutrients 

Grilling: The Classic Approach 

Grilling is one of the most popular methods for cooking steaks because it is the ideal method for many steak cuts. Grilling is a dry cooking method which involves utilising direct application of heat to the steak. Grilling causes food or in this case, steak cooked quickly which limits the nutrient degradation from the steak. However, the searing heat from the griller may cause the steaks to lose its heat-sensitive nutrients. 

Nutritional Impact

• Fat Content: Grilling method causes the steak to become dry by allowing the excess fat to drip off, ultimately reducing its total fat content. This method is suitable for those who are seeking a lower-fat option. 
• Protein Retention: Protein levels remain somewhat intact during the grilling process. However, prolonged grilling may cause slight protein alteration which affects the steak’s texture. 
• Vitamin Loss: High temperature can break down heat-prone vitamins such as vitamins B-6 and B-12. The longer the steak is exposed to high temperature, the more nutrients are lost.

Pan Searing: Flavourful and Quick  

Searing or pan-searing is a method in which the surface of the food, typically meat, is cooked at a high-temperature until a browned crust forms. To acquire the desired brown or black crust, the meat surface has to be seared exceeding 150 °C. This method requires the meat surface to be free of water because of its boiling point at 100 °C.

Nutritional Impact  

• Fat Content: Pan searing requires the use of cooking oil or fats like butter which can slightly increase the fat content of the steak. 
• Protein Retention: The high temperature used in the searing method causes protein degradation but only on the outer parts of the steak. Since the internal part of the steak is not exposed for long, the majority of protein is preserved. 
• Vitamin Loss:  Heat-sensitive vitamins like vitamins B-6 and B-12 may degrade from the steaks during the process due to high-temperature. Keep in mind that searing is only a short process and nutrient loss is relatively low compared to methods like grilling which require a significant amount of time.

Sous Vide: The Nutritional Powerhouse

Sous vide is a french word meaning “under vacuum”. This method is also known as low-temperature, long- time cooking (LTLT). Sous vide works by cooking vacuum-sealed steaks in a water bath , temperature between 55 to 60 °C for red meat, typically between one to seven hours cooking time. 

Nutritional Impact

• Fat Content: Sous-vide method does not require the use of additional oil or fat, thus the natural fat from the steak is maintained.
• Protein Retention: Sous vide cooking method preserves the most protein volume among other cooking methods because the temperature used is low and the cooking time is controlled even for long hours.  
• Vitamin Loss: As the cooking time is controlled as well as the cooking temperature is relatively low,  sous vide cooking method prevents major vitamin loss and helps secure the nutrients volume from breaking down.

Broiling: Intense Direct Heat 

Broiling is a cooking method in which the steak is exposed to extreme heat from the above either on a grill over live coals or below a gas burner or electric coil.  This method is similar to grilling except broiling uses heat from above whilst grilling the heat source is from below. 

For broiling, the temperatures are relatively high compared to grilling, ranging from 288 °C for home appliances and 371 and 538 °C for commercial appliances. This method is suitable for cooking most red meats like halal wagyu beef.

Nutritional Impact 

• Fat Content: Similar to grilling, intense heat from broiling releases melted fat from the steak which greatly reduces fat volume in the steak. 
• Protein Retention: The steak may lose its protein volume if it’s exposed to extreme heat for a long period of time, affecting its texture. 
• Vitamin Loss: Meat is known to be enriched in heat-susceptible vitamins like vitamin B6 and B12. Prolonged exposure to high-temperature may cause the loss of these valuable vitamins.

Source: Pexels

Conclusion

For those who are looking to savour delicious wagyu beef steak in Singapore at Tomahawk Novena, we recommend you to read and understand this information in order for you to make smarter and healthier decisions. If you want to make a reservation at Tomahawk Novena, feel free to reach out to us and we are happy to serve you for your pleasurable experience of eating wagyu steak in Singapore.

FAQs

References 

1. https://www.mayoclinic.org/drugs-supplements-vitamin-b12/art-20363663#:~:text=Vitamin%20B%2D12%20(cobalamin),meat%2C%20fish%20and%20dairy%20products.
2. https://www.beefresearch.ca/topics/nutritional-qualities-of-beef/#:~:text=Few%20foods%20are%20as%20nutrient,pantothenate%2C%20magnesium%2C%20and%20potassium
3. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sous_vide
4. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Searing#:~:text=Searing%20or%20pan%20searing%20is,until%20a%20browned%20crust%20forms.
5. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grilling#
6. https://www.acsedu.co.uk/uploads/Food/Lesson%201%20and%20Assignment%201%20Sample%20Human%20Nutrition%20II.pdf
7. https://www.britannica.com/topic/broiling
8. https://www.beyondveg.com/tu-j-l/raw-cooked/raw-cooked-2e.shtml
9. https://www.foodnetwork.com/how-to/packages/food-network-essentials/what-is-broiling