Whether it’s too tough, burnt to a crisp or just dripping in fat, cooking steak on the outside grill rarely does the cut of meat justice.
Thankfully, a British firm has created an artificial intelligence (AI)-powered grill that it claims makes a perfect steak in just 90 seconds under controlled conditions.
Perfecta, from Birmingham-based firm Seergrills, cooks the meat as it’s held in place vertically, like a piece of bread in a toaster, with ultra-hot grills on either side.
It has AI-powered software called NeuralFire, which relies on data gathered from sensors inside the machine and cooking preferences inputted by the user.
However, if you want to get hold of one you’d better start saving – the device has an eye-watering $3,500 price tag.
Perfecta cooks a steak as it’s held in place vertically, like a piece of bread in a toaster, with burners on either side
Seergrills was founded by Suraj Sudera, an engineering graduate at Aston University in Birmingham, who was dissatisfied with conventional steak-cooking methods.
‘We noticed there is often difficulty and inconsistency in cooking food – it’s mostly always overcooked and dry, taking a long time,’ he said.
‘So, we decided to use our skills and knowledge to apply AI to cook the perfect steak and set up Seergrills.
‘We developed our first product called Perfecta which is the world’s first AI powered grill.’
Usually, with conventional grills, fat drips from the steak into the flames and causes flare-ups, which dries out the meat and gives it an inconsistent texture.
Perfecta, in contrast, cooks a steak as it’s held in place vertically, like a piece of bread in a toaster.
This means water vapour and gases flow from an exhaust out of the top, while fat drips into a removable drip-tray below.
To use Perfecta, the customer firstly clamps their chosen steak in a metal grid, which is slid vertically into the machine.
Seergrills was founded by Suraj Sudera (pictured), an engineering graduate at Aston University in Birmingham
To use Perfecta, the customer firstly clamps their chosen steak in a metal grid, which is slid vertically into the machine
Once the meat is in, users tap on touchscreen buttons to select the cut type (e.g. strip steak), wellness level (rare to well-done) and sear level.
Meanwhile, sensors allow the AI to detect the size of the cut and how thick it is, as well as its fat content.
From all of this information, the machine knows the temperature to cook the steak at and for how long.
Burners on either side – powered by propane – cook the meat evenly, so no flipping is required.
Perfecta’s vertical burners emit infrared rays, which generate much higher temperatures than normal gas burners and therefore cooks the steak up to 10 times faster.
The infrared burners reach up to 1,652°F (900°C), while a gas burner typically reaches around 500°F to 600°F.
According to the firm, Perfecta optimizes conditions for a steak to form the Maillard reaction, a chemical reaction between proteins and sugars that gives browned food its unique flavour.
The software and sensors know when to stop cooking, preventing overheating and risk of fire.
When the user is done, they can rate the quality of the food, and the technology may use this information to tweak its cooking methods in the future.
Once the meat is in, users tap on the touchscreen to select the cut type (e.g. strip steak), wellness level (rare to well-done) and sear level
Perfecta can be used to cook other types of protein too – such as chicken and fish – and even pizza
Perfecta can cook a range of different foods and alter its cooking methods accordingly – not just beef, but lab, chicken and fish too.
Thankfully, the AI knows to take lightly longer to cook chicken so users aren’t poisoned by salmonella.
Users can also remove the vertical metal grid and put their pizza in there, replicating the ultra-hot conditions of a pizza oven for a nice even cook.
Suraj’s Birmingham-based company now employs 48 people, many of whom are Aston University alumni.
His product is available to pre-order in the US, while UK availability is scheduled for the third quarter of next year, he said.
Gordon Rams-AI! Scientists develop a robot CHEF that can recreate recipes by watching cooking videos
Gordon Ramsay better watch his back as there’s a new top chef in town – in the form of a robot.
The robo-chef can learn how to create the perfect dish, simply from watching cooking videos.
Researchers at the University of Cambridge have programmed a machine to make a meal by following how a human makes it.
Researchers at the University of Cambridge have programmed a machine to make a meal by following how a human makes it
Using sophisticated AI, the robot is able to work out from every frame which objects it is looking at – such as a vegetable, hand, or knife – and how it is being used.
Over time, it is then able to identify which ingredients work best together – and even point out when the human chef may have used the wrong amount.
