Exploding Steak/Don't Drive Angry 

Original Air Date: August 6, 2008

Episode # 103

Exploding Steak

The Myth:
Can you really tenderize a steak with explosives?

The Experts:
Frank Doyle Jr.  and Sgt. JD Nelson help the guys to stay safe.
Steak Chef Joe Kohn
Ron Siegal – American winner of Iron Chef

Memorable/Quotable Moments:
Jamie:  We’ve done Baby Bear and we’ve done Papa Bear- this is Goldilocks, right?

The Action/Results:
First, the guys go to the bomb range.  There, they put the meat in a vacuum-sealed bag, then float the bag in water, and set off explosives in the water.   Supposedly, the shock wave from the explosive creates tears in the tissues of the meat – making it tenderer.

For the first test they use too much explosive, and the whole barrel disintegrates.  For the second test, they use a low explosive, and there is a very little bang.  On the third test, they use specific instructions from someone at the Department of Agriculture.  They place a steel plate in the bottom of the barrel, and they use a specific amount of high explosives.  Then they taste-test the steaks at the bomb range.  Unfortunately, neither Adam, nor Jamie, nor Ron Siegal agree on which steak is the most tender.  So, they decide to find a different way to test the tenderness of the steak.

They decide to use the same procedure that the USDA uses to judge meat for tenderness.  So, they build the device, and Adam starts testing the meat.  Meanwhile, they also test some other ways to tenderize steak.  They wrap some steak in Kevlar and shoot it out of the air cannon at the Flower of Death from the Painting with Explosives episode.  They also put some steak in a dryer with a bunch of ball bearings, and leave it running for twelve hours.  Then they test these possibilities as well.

In the end, all the meat that was tenderized is tested.  The steak that was shot out of the air cannon, the steak that was put in the dryer, and the steak that was treated to a shockwave and explosion are all tested using the USDA machine.  The final determination is that all of the steaks are more tender than the control steak, and so this myth is CONFIRMED.    

Don’t Drive Angry

The Myth:
Driving angry and stressed wastes fuel.

The Experts:
Tory, Kari,and Grant

Memorable/Quotable Moments:
Tory: Does this GPS sound condescending, or is it just me?

To test this myth, the team goes out to Cypress Knolls, which is an abandoned housing area.  Kari sets up a course, complete with a few “stressors” to test the guys and their reactions to stressful situations.  They decide to use an older car for the test, and they use a bag to contain the gas, not the gas tank, so that they can measure the fuel consumption by weight.  Then Kari needs to get a baseline measurement, when the boys are calm.  

To ensure his calmness, Grant gets to play with some puppies for an hour.  Meanwhile, Tory gets to watch the Director’s Cut of Blade Runner, while munching on his favorite desserts. He also gets a massage.  When the guys do their calm drive, they just laugh at the stressors as they are presented.  Their fuel consumption is noted, and then Kari starts to stress them out.

She gives them each plenty of caffeinated beverages to drink, and then tells them that they cannot go to the restroom.  Also, she tells them that there was a laxative slipped into their drinks.  Then she places a circle around each of them, and tells them that they cannot go anywhere.  She makes the car unpleasant to be in – with a sticky, gooey steering wheel, and unpleasant smells coming from the back seat.  She also makes it hard to hear the GPS, and she adds two rats running around as the final touch.  

Tory is also given a “man massage” and Grant has to sit with his feet in a bucket with goldfish in it.  By the time they are allowed to drive again, both are stressed.  Tory speeds around the slow driver, and then he skips a third of the course, because he cannot hear the GPS.  Grant almost misses a turn.  Both use 1/3 more fuel in the second test.  At the end, Kari reveals to them that the “laxative” was really a placebo, and that they should be fine.


This myth is CONFIRMED.