- Boys, I hope you're feeling naughty,
'cause we are about to break some rules.
Lift the cloche.
- All right.
- [James] Always sift dry ingredients.
- That's got to make a difference, surely,
otherwise you get a lumpy batter.
- Well, I think no, it won't make a difference.
- So, today we're taking your recommendations
and we are breaking some cooking rules
to see if the old way is the right way.
To test this theory,
you guys are gonna be making two batches of cupcakes,
one sifted, one just dumped in.
- Do you want to be the control
or do you want to be the rebel?
- I wanna dump.
- Okay, you're the dumper.
- I'll be the rebel.
- There are some bowls, whisks, spoon,
and, most importantly, a sieve.
Get cooking.
- Butter. - Butter.
(upbeat funky music)
- Sug'. - Sug'.
- Mike, what are your assumptions
when it comes to sieving flour?
- Well, the fact that a lot of the marketing
around packets of flour say it's pre-sieved,
makes me think that it's a job that needs doing.
- So, before flour was as processed as it is today,
it may contain husks or- - Yeah.
- Bits from the field, therefore-
- Insects. - Yeah, insects.
They need to be sieved out, to be cleaned,
before cooked with.
- Oh, so it's nothing to do with
actual just pockets, or lumps, of flour itself.
- That's where it started.
It also is good for, in humid conditions,
getting out the clumps
where the humidity has made the flour clump.
The reason you can get sieved flour in the bag or the boxes
is because there's no humidity in there.
It can't clump in that environment.
- Oh, this is hard work.
(bowls clattering)
Yeah, I never sieve my dry ingredients.
- Ever?
What, even when baking bread?
- No.
The only reason I would think is, like, aerating it.
- [Barry] Yeah?
- Like, getting some air through the flour.
- I think a cup of sieved flour
will be lighter than a cup of unsieved flour.
- Hence the aeration. - Yeah.
(bowls clattering)
- Right, I think I'm good.
- I'm nowhere near good.
(James Laughs)
- This is where you can tell that James climbs mountains
and Mike can barely climb a stepladder.
(crew laughing)
- Sorry! (Barry laughs)
Who's this coming from?
(upbeat funky music continues)
- At this point, I would usually add, like, a-
- Teaspoon. - Spoon of flour.
Just to bring it together, yeah.
- Teaspoon of flour to bring it together.
But again, Mike, has to be sieved.
- Okay. (spoon clinks)
- Yeah, spoon of flour for every egg
helps it just- - Not split.
- Two things, sifting is, potentially, useful
when used in a case
where you don't want to work the gluten too much.
Also, sieving flour is said to be easier to combine
when mixing ingredients together.
So, let's see if that's true.
- Okay, ready? (spoon clinks)
- Yeah.
- I'm dumping.
- Let's do the chocolate as well.
(upbeat funky music continues)
- [James] I've definitely got some clumps,
but it's more cocoa powder than the flour, for sure.
- Mine's come together pretty easily.
- [James] Okay, should we go in with some
(spoon clatters) vanilla paste?
- Yours does look smoother.
- I dunno.
I think they look exactly the same.
- Right, let's get these in. (spoon clatters)
(upbeat funky music continues)
- [James] Delicious.
(upbeat techno music)
- [Barry] All right, freshly-baked cupcakes.
Can we tell the difference?
Sieved, non sieved?
- Well they look good.
They look the same. - Look the same.
- [James] They look exactly the same.
- How do they tear?
- Hotly. - They are warm.
- Cheers.
- How do they taste?
- Like cupcakes. - Like a cupcake.
- Okay, next one. (laughs)
(upbeat techno music continues)
Important to point out we are not bakers,
but if you are, and you think this makes a difference,
then comment down below.
- There are definitely no lumps in the unsifted one.
I can't notice any difference whatsoever.
- So, always sift the dry ingredients.
Are you gonna obey it, bend it, or break it?
- I'll break it, especially in this instance.
- I've always broken that, break it.
- Broken the rule straight away.
(hands clapping)
- Great, what a start. - Next one.
(upbeat rock music)
- Listen, I'm not gonna lie.
I want to win.
So, I think the standard of food in this battle
is probably gonna be some of the best you've ever seen
at Sorted.
- Do I consider James a threat in this battle?
Well, he left the role, I've filled Ebbrell's slot,
so now, he's just coming in to, you know, help sell tickets.
(upbeat rock music continues)
- This next one might make people angry.
Lift it.
- Excellent, do you wanna go for it?
- Yeah, you read the first one.
Don't cook steak from fridge cold.
- Bring in the steaks.
(plate scrapes)
- [James] Interesting.
(crew laughs)
- Hi mate, no you're not in this video.
No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no.
Go sit down, go sit down.
Sit down, sit!
There you go.
So, one of those is room temperature, the other fridge cold.
- They're the same cut of steak?
- The exact same.
- I'm assuming fridge, room temp.
- Yeah.
- Did the room tempt one look like the fridge one
when it came out the fridge?
- [Barry] Yes.
- It's very different. - It's very different.
- [James] It's relaxed.
- [Mike] So, what's happened here?
- I'm guessing they were both vac packs.
So, that has really, like, held its form in there.
And it's just come straight out the fridge.
- So, this is what the community are saying.
"Cooking from the fridge cold
may lead to a less juicy steak.
One, more likely to overcook the outside
whilst under cooking the inside.
Two, some say the steak will become more dehydrated
cooking from the fridge cold.
And then, finally," not sure about this one,
"Less oil splatter as temperature difference is reduced."
- Fascinating.
I think with steak, there are so many rules around steak,
you could do, like, a whole video around breaking the rules-
- Yes, steak rules. - With steak.
- Okay. - Yeah, season with salt.
- Okay, oil. - Bit of oil.
- [Mike] Yep.
- If I'm at home, I'm very lax with cooking rules,
I'll be honest, and I'd probably just oil the pan.
- If you had Gordon Ramsay over your shoulder
and you're under pressure,
what would your instinct tell you
was the right way of doing it?
- I might oil the steak and the pan just to make sure.
- [Barry] Okay.
- You're gonna get a really even covering.
- Make sure Gordon's happy.
Right, this is really hot, so let's get these in.
(steaks sizzling) (upbeat rock music continues)
- But I, generally, don't cook steaks
in, like, a screaming hot pan either.
- Do you not? - No.
Not unless it's really thin.
But if it's thick enough,
you can cook it on, like, a medium to a medium high heat,
get the colour that you want,
but also cook it a bit more evenly,
bring it up a little bit slower.
- Mike, are you flipping?
(steaks sizzling) - I can flip.
I think I might need to flip. - Let's have a look.
- Because it's quite crispy.
- [Barry] Yeah, you have to.
- Yeah, they're quite black, aren't they?
So, I think they both could have done
with a little lower temp.
And that's why I think,
if you're cooking the whole thing in the pan,
you've really gotta think about that temperature,
and not automatically think steak, screaming hot pan.
You can cook it over a medium heat and it's fine,
and that's why it's really nice to get a thicker steak
rather than a bigger steak.
(upbeat music)
- [Mike] So, they have the same amount of time in the pan?
- [James] Yep.
- We've now put a little pepper over the top.
Leave them to rest, for how long?
- Probably, like, four or five minutes.
They look quite different.
- They do look very different.
Mine looks drier and it's actually got-
- Yeah.
- It's juiced less.
- [James] It's juiced less.
- [Mike] It's juiced less.
- Which is weird,
'cause I expect that to be less cooked than that.
- Yeah.
- This looks more appetising to me.
- Yeah, absolutely.
- Even though that's more even I think this is a nicer look.
(upbeat music continues)
That is so rare.
- Wow, thing is, by looking, you go,
well, obviously, one's thicker than the other,
but it's not that, they're the same cut of meat,
it's just one has relaxed.
So, do you feel, like,
with a slightly different cooking technique,
you could have got the fridge cold steak to a better finish?
- I'd have cooked this a lot slower,
and possibly in the oven,
'cause it's so...
- High.
- It's just, yeah, it's got such a depth.
(upbeat music continues)
- First impressions?
- It's tasty steak.
- Still cold? (laughs)
- It's still tasty.
I wouldn't say it's as nice.
- It tastes less of steak.
- Yeah, yeah, it tastes less, yeah.
- Is it what you expected?
- We broke the rule
and it's proven that the rule's there for a reason.
- I think taking it out
half an hour before you wanna cook is ideal.
It comes up to room temperature, it relaxes a little bit.
This is probably too far the other way.
- Over relaxed.
- And taking it straight out,
obviously, it probably makes it harder to cook
'cause it looks cooked on the outside
and it's definitely not cooked on the inside.
- The thing is, once you find what's right for you,
just repeat that, and perfect it over time.
- Steak is all about practise.
- Yeah.
- Like, just cook steak after steak after steak
and, hopefully, you get a feel for it.
And you have your rule, your personal rules,
as to how you cook it.
- Cooking steak at room temperature,
obey it, bend it, or break it?
- Obey it.
- I think obey it, yeah, yeah.
- This one splits the room.
Lift it.
- [James] Never cook with cheap wine.
- So, many argue
that cooking with cheap wine is unacceptable.
And many others claim that nuances of a fine wine
are lost when cooking.
- Why do you cook with wine?
It's to deglaze. - It's the flavour.
- Deglaze, to add depth or sweetness or acidity.
- I would cook with cheap wine.
I couldn't bring myself
to cook with a really expensive wine.
- So the argument I always hear from Ben
is you're cracking open a bottle of wine,
it may as well be a delicious wine
that you can enjoy and cook with.
- Yeah. - I get that.
- But then, part of me goes,
I always feel a little bit weird
when I'm pouring expensive wine into something
going, "I could be drinking that."
- It's going to be a fun onto to test, that's for sure.
- I will buy two separate bottles of wine
and, if I'm not using the whole bottle of wine,
I'll just put it in the fridge, and use it next time.
- Yeah, that's not Ben.
- Even if it's a week later.
- Yeah, that's not Ben.
- I know. (Mike laughs)
- Right, let's make a red wine gravy.
Boys, you have two Ebber's portions of wine in front of you.
(both laughing)
We want you to make some red wine gravy.
- So, we've got onions, chicken stock,
oh, and two differently looking red wines.
- Tell you what, have a taste
and let's do a quick game of pick a premium.
Flavour wise, what are you getting from each?
- It tastes like red wine.
I'm gonna go with what James says.
I think that's hard.
- That is hard.
I think this one's the more expensive one.
- I agree.
There's more going on with this one.
It gives you more of the huh.
- Boys, you've still got it.
You've picked the premium straight away.
- Yes! - Yeah.
- [Barry] The cheaper one is a six pound bottle.
The more expensive one is a 40 pound bottle.
- Wow, okay. - Oh wow, okay.
- So, good difference.
- So, again, when you're using this in cooking,
it'll be a little bit painful to pour it away.
- So, without playing into people's preconceptions,
do you wanna do the bougie, I'll do the cheap?
- Yeah, sure, sure, sure.
- We're making a red wine jus,
or a red wine gravy.
You're reducing stock anyway,
so you're getting your meatiness,
and probably some saltiness from there anyway.
This, for me, is purely just for a bit of fruity acidity.
- In my day to day, I can't actually use wine,
so I will use vinegar.
- Yeah, like cider vinegar.
- Just for, like, a touch of acidity.
(upbeat music continues)
So, ready? - Yeah.
(wine sizzles)
- Okay.
- Oh, instantly you can see the colour difference.
(Mike coughs) (James laughs)
That went deep within me. (James laughs)
- Yep, so we're just making a quick gravy here.
The onion is, kind of, just to carry the flour.
So onion, flour, butter, we've added the wine,
we're gonna reduce it for a couple of minutes,
and then chicken stock,
and reduce that until it's nice and glossy.
- So, some people in the comments are saying
that it's not about the quality,
it's about the sugar content,
or how acidic the dish may be,
rather than its overall flavour profile.
- I think mine looks darker.
- Definitely.
- And I think it reduced slightly quicker perhaps.
- Yeah.
- Well, in that case,
it all comes down to the taste, doesn't it?
- Yeah, it's looking thick.
- Yeah, I think these are gravy like.
- Yeah. - Shall we pour?
- Let's pour.
(upbeat music continues)
- [Barry] First impressions?
- Yours is definitely more saturated.
I'd say a deeper, darker colour.
- They were really different in the pan.
- Yeah.
- And I feel like, as they've reduced,
they've become closer.
- Well, get your face in there.
- It's tasty.
- For the short amount of time that we cooked it.
- Yeah.
- It's not bad. - Yeah.
- It's quite acidic.
- Yeah, the acidity at the back
of both ends of your tongue at the end.
- Yeah. - Just go ding.
Let's go For the bougie one.
- Pretty different. - It really is.
- This one is stickier. - Yeah.
Sweeter. - It's definitely sweeter.
- The acidity- - Wow!
- Is far more pleasant.
- It's more rounded.
- Wow.
- It feels glossier. - Yeah, yeah it does, yeah.
- I dunno whether, maybe, yours was reduced more,
or the sugar content in it
meant that it's given that effect,
but it is quite, significantly different.
- [James] Yeah.
- Even even bearing in mind the price difference?
- I mean, you could definitely do something good with that.
You could make that taste a lot better.
But, in its most basic form,
it's a six out 10.
That's with the exact same effort,
but just a better quality of wine,
is probably pushing an eight out of 10 already as well.
- Don't cook with cheap wine, obey, bend, or break?
- I'm bending. (James laughs)
- I'm tempted to break, but I think bend as well.
- Okay.
- I bend because I'd go
a little bit more expensive than that.
I think it's a good enough foundation
and does what it needs to do for you to build on it,
but it will require more effort and more skill.
We bent but we did not break.
(hands slapping) (Barry laughs)
- Next one.
- One more. - One more.
- One more.
Don't mix salt into burger patty mixture.
- This has been tested many times in our burger battles.
Everyone seems to do it differently.
But some chefs say
that you have to season on top, not inside.
Shall we try it?
- Let's try it.
- Do you wanna go in or on?
- In?
- Ooh, great, I'll go on
- (laughs) Make some burgers.
So, some of you guys in the comments were saying
that when you season the burger throughout,
there's a danger it becomes more like a sausage mix.
- In terms of consistency?
- [Barry] Consistency, because you've worked the meat,
but also the salt helps
bind the meat together when it cooks.
- [Mike] I'm a seasoner on a burger, are you?
- Me too, me too. - Yeah.
- I think because I like a thin patty,
you really don't need to season the meat.
You just season when it's in the pan and it's done.
- People will say when you season on top,
it doesn't affect the texture within the burger.
People want the burger to fall apart in your mouth.
- That's okay.
(upbeat music continues) (burgers sizzling)
Do I get to season as well on the outside or no?
- No.
- So, I've got a note here saying
that videos have been going viral
of people throwing burgers against a tray,
one with seasoning in the mix,
one seasoned right before cooking.
The one with the seasoning in the mix stays firm
and bounces off the tray,
whereas the others break apart.
(meat sizzles)
- [Mike] Look at that.
- We've done a steak and we suggested no screaming hot pan.
For a burger, I'd always say screaming hot pan.
- Right, okay, yeah.
- [James] You wanna cook that outside as fast as you can.
- And go crispy?
- Before the middle overcooks.
- Oh, it got me.
- Yeah, you want crispy. (meat sizzles)
- Hup. - Yeah.
- Right? - Yeah.
- Yeah.
(upbeat rock music)
- [James] Right, I think it's ready.
- Fine.
- [Barry] Oh, you maverick.
You nutters.
- That's an obeyer.
- Michael! (laughs)
(upbeat music)
They're good looking burgers.
- They're absolutely basic. - They look nice, don't they?
- No additional seasoning,
so that we can actually taste them.
So, one's seasoned in the middle, one's seasoned on top.
Colour, they're still pretty breaky.
(upbeat music continues)
- Control test one. - That tastes seasoned.
- Mm, it's a tasty burger.
They taste very similar.
- They taste exactly the same.
- Oh!
- I've just tasted both the patties.
I think mine tastes better.
- Tastes better?
- Not just 'cause it's me.
- No, but as an individual patty?
- [James] Yeah.
- So, as you're tasting it again,
can we remind ourselves of the definition of a rule?
- Rules exist as guidelines to be broken.
- Rules are there for many reasons,
either for somebody's safety,
to help keep the world in order,
or, in some cases, just to make the best thing possible.
- Oh, I think you might be right.
The seasoning throughout tastes better.
It's a better patty.
But then, that's because it's been seasoned throughout.
- I think, in cooking, interestingly,
rules are created by people
who are trying to create the perfect product.
- Okay.
- And in day-to-day cooking,
you don't need to create the perfect product.
You just need to create something that you enjoy.
- So, the rule of don't mix salt
into your burger patty mixture,
you're going to obey it, bend it, or break it?
- Break it? - Break it.
- The only rule is that it always has to be a double burger.
- That's it. - Yeah, yeah.
- Double patty every time. - Obey that one.
- Well, what do you think of these rules?
Should you break them, bend them, or obey them?
Comment down below and let us know.
Also, some more rules for next time to break would be great.
(upbeat rock music)