Wokking Tenderloin

Boilermaker Ben

I've been having troubles getting a good sear on wokked sliced beef tenderloin. I'm cooking over high heat, but the tenderloin has a tendency to give off a lot of juice (despite being lean) which is interfering with the sear. Anyone had success with this before? Do you keep the beef up on the sides a bit to keep it away from the pool of juices in the bottom of the wok?

emilluca

Dry age the tenderloin. It is holding too much natural moisture in the muscle.
Might try top blade steaks or flank sliced thin they would be tasty and should naturally have less moisture..
E

Richard Fl

Are you using the wok for a special meal? Is the tenderloin thin sliced oriental style, fillet cut or?
Would a cast iron flat pan work for your project or a quick high sear in the grill direct?

Boilermaker Ben

The most recent meal was a stir fry recipe for "dry fried" beef. That is, it's (stir) fried so that it comes out dry, not saucy.

The recipe called for the meat to be sliced into thin strips and marinated. The beef should be drained and patted dry before getting an initial sear in the wok in small batches, (this is when I've had problems with the juices), drying the wok between batches. The meat is then removed from the wok and patted dry with paper towel. Garlic and ginger are then briefly stir fried, after which the beef is then added back to the wok and cooked briefly until it is dry on the surface. Then the small amount of sauce is added, then scallions (very briefly) and serve.

I sliced the meat (after seeing Martin Yang use this technique) by "unrolling" the tenderloin as if I were doing a roulade, but less than a 1/4" thick, then slicing across the grain. I wind up with strips similar in size to bacon lardons.

Richard Fl

You might try 2-3 Tbs peanut oil and get it very hot. Toss strips of meat in and stir a few times to sear/cook until almost done. The moisture should boil off rapidly. When removed to paper towels and the rest of the moisture and oil will get on the towel. You will pick up some moisture from the sauce. Sounds like you want the meat very cooked to get dry.

Boilermaker Ben

Yeah, I'm wondering if I'm still wussing out and not letting the fire get hot enough. Still trying to get the hang of wokking on coals.