Heat transfer analysis of traditional Balinese satay grilling process

Abstract

Cooking time and temperature are some of the most critical aspects of the cooking process. Traditionally, we depend on intuition in controlling both variables during the process. This intuition originates from years of experience commonly inherited throughout generations. This work developed a finite element model of the cooking process of an authentic traditional food, Balinese satay lilit, to predict the time-temperature profile during cooking. The model was later confirmed with experiments to ensure its validity. Two cases were studied: pan-frying and charcoal grill. The temperature measurement results confirm the predictions of the theoretical model, with differences originating from the uncertainty of the thermal properties used, differences in geometry and dimensions of the model samples, and simplification of boundary conditions between the model and experiments. These results help to preserve the culture by understanding the grilling process of traditional Balinese satay lilit.