This is a dead serious project of how to measure the electrical characteristics of blasted and non-blasted steaks. It was done in cooperation with Omicron Labs, the creators of the Bode 100 low frequency vector network analyzer and Bernd Salzgeber, a premium blast engineer from Vorarlberg, Austria. Thanks to both of you ! They may be reached under Omicron Labs, the Manufacturers of the Bode 100 LF VNA and Sprengtechnik Salzgeber (in German) respectively.
The Bode100 is USB powered and looks like this:
The Scientific Background
It may sound awkward, but blowing up steaks to improve meat quality is not a new idea. The first trace of it I saw was a documentary from a researcher working at the American ministry of agriculture.
Click here to see a Steak Blasting by the American Ministry of Agriculture …
Another popular science movie is from a german TV series called Terra-X:
Click here to see another Film about Steak Improvement
The Experimental Setup
What was missing for my taste was a more refined test method regarding the change of the meat quality caused by the blasting. To make this workable, the following test procedure was proposed:
- We took different kinds of steak, cut to the same size and thickness. We chose a filet steak, a rib eye steak and a pork steak. All steaks were dry aged before use.
- For each kind of steak, we measured the impedance over frequency using the Bode100 LF VNA before doing anything with it (“Pre-Blast”).
- Then, we did three blast runs, one with an ignitor only (0.8 grams), the second with 5 grams of a gelatine type explosive (similar to dynamite), and the third with a C4-type of explosive (a piece of detonating chord filled with NitroPenta). The post-blast impedances were measured for each type of explosive and type of meat. All explosions were carried out in a water tank located in the middle of Omicron Labs soccer field. All charges were electrically set off by a type 861 trigger machine. One series of steaks was not subjected to the blasting to create an impedance and taste reference. All steaks were vacuumized before the blast, and the vacuumized packages were fixed to a steel disk (2cm thick) using Ducktape. The water tanks used only survived the 0.8 gram tests.
- After measuring the impedances, the steaks were grilled on a classic Weber Genesis gas grill and tested by 8 independent experts. The ratings were collected for all, and the preliminary outcome was that the dynamite did the best job. The steaks were flagged to relate them to the explosive used.
Everything went very smooth, as can be seen in the video below:
What a blast !
Summary
To the surprise of all participants, the explosions do change the electrical properties of the meat, as well as the taste and structure. We could give the following recommendations:
- Use good meat right from a start.
- Cut it to about 2-3cm of thickness.
- The best explosive for rib eye is dynamite or similar, about 5 grams per blast.
For the filet steak, no improvement was found (it was perfect right from the start), and the C4 even made it worse. Pork was like the rib eye. - Dont try this at home. Handling explosives is only legal if you have a license from the government (I have one) and if all safety regulations are valued.
Electronic Projects for Fun 