It’s the “Dawn” of a new cooking era.
An Australian BBQ buff has tested the dishwasher’s culinary potential by cooking the perfect steak inside his cutlery cleaner, as detailed in a recent viral Instagram video.
“We were going to post this as an April Fools’ video, but it turned out so damn good,” read the caption to the unorthodox tutorial, which came to light on the “Under Seasoned BBQ podcast.“
Show co-host Simon Luxton was attempting to prepare the meat via sous vide, in which foods are vacuum-sealed in a bag and cooked for a long period in a low-temperature water bath — generally from 120 to 160 degrees Fahrenheit, depending on the desired outcome.
The process ensures the meats are perfectly cooked with a tender texture and moisture retention.
However, instead of the standard water oven or immersion circulator, the Aussie said he popped the vacuum-sealed meat “in the dishwasher” and let it do its thing.
“I put it through an actual cycle,” recalled Luxton, who said he initially tried the ribeye rinse as a goof, not thinking that it would actually work.
However, he told co-host Jay that he didn’t “put soap in the wash” for fear of tainting the steak.
Accompanying footage shows the meat sack sitting on the machine’s upper rack alongside apparently dirty dishes.
After taking it out of the washer, Luxton said he rested the steaming steak for 20 minutes and “cut it out of the plastic to stop it cooking any further.”
The BBQ chef said he then seasoned it with salt, pepper and other ingredients before searing the thick cut for 90 seconds with butter to form a crackling crust.
Despite his initial skepticism, Luxton said that the result “was unreal” (and presumably squeaky clean), recalling, “Even the fat was so perfectly rendered, like that knuckle of fat that runs through the middle of the Scotch [rib filet], it was butter.”
The footage showed that the cut was perfectly pink in the middle, not unlike something out of a prime steak house.
And while the podcaster still recommends a Traeger Grill or regular BBQ device for the smoky flavor, he said, “If you’ve got to put a dishwashing cycle on before dinner, give it a crack [and] chuck a steak in.”
“That’s what your dishwasher’s turned into,” Luxton quipped. “An express sous vide.”
The MacGyver’s meat method divided commenters, with one skeptic calling him a “Philistine.”
“You didn’t sous vide s–t, you streamed the s–t out of it maybe some homework will help save some embarrassment,” said another.
“Or you can just buy a sous vide,” observed a third.
However, others were on board with the steak cycle.
“I legit did this last week and it was incredible,” declared one fan.
Even industry insiders agreed, with one writing, “I’ve worked at a Michelin star restaurant and they did this with fish and meat.”
Indeed, Luxton is far from the only person to swear by sirloin à la dishwasher.
A video tutorial posted to the “Cook With Meat” YouTube channel instructs home chefs to toss their vacuum-sealed steaks into the machine for 90 minutes at 122 degrees.
Then, per the clip, they should finish it in a pan with olive oil and butter so it’s medium rare.
In fact, the dishwasher is apparently not just perfect for steak, with many peeps showcasing how it’s ideal for prepping seafood as well — a fishwasher, if you will.
In 2023, TikTok cook Elaine Lainey Zany admitted she uses a similar technique as an unconventional method to cook salmon — which requires no pots or pans.