How do you order your steak?

Questions on how we spend our money and our time - consumer goods and services, home and vehicle, leisure and recreational activities

How do you order (or cook) your steak?

Very rare/"Blue"
3
1%
Rare
14
7%
Medium rare
98
46%
Medium
46
21%
Medium well
21
10%
Well-done
9
4%
I never eat steak
23
11%
 
Total votes: 214

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OkieIndexer
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How do you order your steak?

Post by OkieIndexer »

I was just curious how everyone likes to order or cook steak, so I thought I'd start a poll on it. :beer
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gkaplan
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Re: How do you order your steak?

Post by gkaplan »

I never eat steak. I'm a vegetarian.
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The Wizard
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Re: How do you order your steak?

Post by The Wizard »

Lately, I've been grilling mine to 135 deg internal, which is around medium rare once it's ready to be sliced...
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chaz
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Re: How do you order your steak?

Post by chaz »

Well done.
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scrabbler1
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Re: How do you order your steak?

Post by scrabbler1 »

chaz wrote:Well done.
Same here. I want my steaks to look dead, really dead. Nothing pink or red in there.
tim1999
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Re: How do you order your steak?

Post by tim1999 »

I ask for "medium" for pretty much every steak or burger that I order.

I would never order anything rare, and sure as heck would never eat beef carpaccio.

If a steak comes out more like "well done", I'll eat it, but it's not my favorite.
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Bogle101
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Re: How do you order your steak?

Post by Bogle101 »

OP, for your follow up poll please do one that asks what type of cut people order
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hicabob
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Re: How do you order your steak?

Post by hicabob »

Cherokee8215 wrote:I ask for "medium" for pretty much every steak or burger that I order.

I would never order anything rare, and sure as heck would never eat beef carpaccio.

If a steak comes out more like "well done", I'll eat it, but it's not my favorite.
Properly prepared carpaccio can be quite amazing - beef sushi!
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frugaltype
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Re: How do you order your steak?

Post by frugaltype »

gkaplan wrote:I never eat steak. I'm a vegetarian.
+1
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cheese_breath
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Re: How do you order your steak?

Post by cheese_breath »

Medium. I used to order it rare before we had to worry about getting mad cow disease with every bite.
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mike143
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Re: How do you order your steak?

Post by mike143 »

Rare on better cuts, medium rare on lesser cuts. If it was super fresh good quality I would eat it raw. I am waiting for Andrew Zimmerman to retire. The only thing I think I would not like to try is anything he describes as diapery (taste of diapers). I like to get a t-bone or porter house cut 2" thick, salt and pepper, and hit it for 5 minutes a side on the hottest setting on the grill. Also do some mushrooms with onion, salt, pepper, butter and wine.......yummy. Haven't had a restaurant steak that beats mine.

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Dutch
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Re: How do you order your steak?

Post by Dutch »

scrabbler1 wrote:
chaz wrote:Well done.
Same here. I want my steaks to look dead, really dead. Nothing pink or red in there.
Waste of steak
hicabob
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Re: How do you order your steak?

Post by hicabob »

cheese_breath wrote:Medium. I used to order it rare before we had to worry about getting mad cow disease with every bite.
It wouldn't help - Prions, which cause "mad cow" are tough little things and can survive 1000 degrees or so at which point your steak would be ash w/ the prions still intact, so go back to whatever you like.
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mike143
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Re: How do you order your steak?

Post by mike143 »

Dutch wrote:
scrabbler1 wrote:
chaz wrote:Well done.
Same here. I want my steaks to look dead, really dead. Nothing pink or red in there.
Waste of steak
See the chart I posted: Well done: Waste of a good quality steak. I make/take my burgers medium rare.
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wingnutty
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Re: How do you order your steak?

Post by wingnutty »

I really like rare to medium rare. I feel more comfortable eating rare if I know the animal that it came from and the way in which the meat was handled.

Most of the wild game we eat is usually rare to medium rare as well. Cooking any wild game (deer, elk, duck, goose, grouse, pheasant, antelope, sandhill crane, moose...) past medium rare makes it unpalatable.

We usually buy a grassed finished hair-sheep (katahdin) each year as well and that is best medium rare. It's actually fantastic!
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mike143
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Re: How do you order your steak?

Post by mike143 »

wingnutty wrote:Most of the wild game we eat is usually rare to medium rare as well. Cooking any wild game (deer, elk, duck, goose, grouse, pheasant, antelope, sandhill crane, moose...) past medium rare makes it unpalatable.
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Spirit Rider
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Re: How do you order your steak?

Post by Spirit Rider »

At my favorite steakhouse, the chef considers cooking their aged grass-fed beef past medium a culinary crime.
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jeffyscott
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Re: How do you order your steak?

Post by jeffyscott »

mike143 wrote:See the chart I posted: Well done: Waste of a good quality steak.
While I agree with that part, your description of "medium" stikes me as just rare steak eater's snobbery, implying it's dry, tough, and barely palatable.

Here's an alternate description:
Medium (135 degrees F core temp): The center is hot and red surrounded by pink. The outside is brown and fully cooked. Medium is truly a great temperature because every part of the steak is piping hot when eaten.
http://www.steakuniversity.org/viewPage ... emperature
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mephistophles
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Re: How do you order your steak?

Post by mephistophles »

I order mine medium rare or medium, depending on the restaurant. I have a few relatives and friends who order theirs very well done. Might as well be eating shoeleather.
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htdrag11
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Re: How do you order your steak?

Post by htdrag11 »

About 4 - 5 times a year, medium rare.

Yep, ordering a steak well done is a crime (that was me 40 years ago when I did not know better). Love raw fish and sushi too.
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mike143
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Re: How do you order your steak?

Post by mike143 »

I always compare sushi (raw fish) to a good quality rare steak when explaining it to someone that has never tried it.
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ThatGuy
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Re: How do you order your steak?

Post by ThatGuy »

Blue. No sauce. Good meat should stand on its own, and if you're not eating good meat, why even bother?

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ThatGuy
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Re: How do you order your steak?

Post by ThatGuy »

mephistophles wrote:I order mine medium rare or medium, depending on the restaurant. I have a few relatives and friends who order theirs very well done. Might as well be eating shoeleather.
A friend of mine warned me before I met his girl at the time. She ordered her steak butterfly-cut & well-done. I was able to keep silent until directly asked my opinion.
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Wolkenspiel
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Re: How do you order your steak?

Post by Wolkenspiel »

mike143 wrote:Rare on better cuts, medium rare on lesser cuts. If it was super fresh good quality I would eat it raw. I am waiting for Andrew Zimmerman to retire. The only thing I think I would not like to try is anything he describes as diapery (taste of diapers). I like to get a t-bone or porter house cut 2" thick, salt and pepper, and hit it for 5 minutes a side on the hottest setting on the grill. Also do some mushrooms with onion, salt, pepper, butter and wine.......yummy. Haven't had a restaurant steak that beats mine.

Image
I suggest getting a vacuum sealer and immersion circulator to get rid of the ugly grey/brown band around the nice rare or medium rare center :wink:
dickenjb
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Re: How do you order your steak?

Post by dickenjb »

hicabob wrote:
Cherokee8215 wrote:I ask for "medium" for pretty much every steak or burger that I order.

I would never order anything rare, and sure as heck would never eat beef carpaccio.

If a steak comes out more like "well done", I'll eat it, but it's not my favorite.
Properly prepared carpaccio can be quite amazing - beef sushi!
No, beef sashimi. No rice as part of carpaccio.
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Jake46
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Re: How do you order your steak?

Post by Jake46 »

Medium rare. I want my steak juicy not shoe leather.
scrabbler1
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Re: How do you order your steak?

Post by scrabbler1 »

mike143 wrote:
Dutch wrote:
scrabbler1 wrote:
chaz wrote:Well done.
Same here. I want my steaks to look dead, really dead. Nothing pink or red in there.
Waste of steak
See the chart I posted: Well done: Waste of a good quality steak. I make/take my burgers medium rare.
To me, what is a true waste of steak is when I bite into something I can't chew because it is undercooked and I have to spit it out. Cooking it well done assures this will not happen. :)
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mike143
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Re: How do you order your steak?

Post by mike143 »

scrabbler1 wrote:
mike143 wrote:
Dutch wrote:
scrabbler1 wrote:
chaz wrote:Well done.
Same here. I want my steaks to look dead, really dead. Nothing pink or red in there.
Waste of steak
See the chart I posted: Well done: Waste of a good quality steak. I make/take my burgers medium rare.
To me, what is a true waste of steak is when I bite into something I can't chew because it is undercooked and I have to spit it out. Cooking it well done assures this will not happen. :)
As stated above better cuts I take rare, lesser cuts I take medium rare to aid in the chew qualities of the cut. I really wish I could select London broil that is tender. I got a few that were tender and a few that were chewy. It was nice getting a cheap cut I could cut medium rare but I since gave up cooking the cut that way cause more often than not the cut was chewy.
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wilpat
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Re: How do you order your steak?

Post by wilpat »

As they say in Texas "Wipe its a$$ run it bye and I will tear a chunk off!"
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wingnutty
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Re: How do you order your steak?

Post by wingnutty »

mike143 wrote:
wingnutty wrote:Most of the wild game we eat is usually rare to medium rare as well. Cooking any wild game (deer, elk, duck, goose, grouse, pheasant, antelope, sandhill crane, moose...) past medium rare makes it unpalatable.
I need to hangout with you. So awesome to have so much exposure to different types of protein.

I'm pretty sure my wife feels the opposite sometimes when we are eating duck and goose :twisted: We actually eat our ducks and geese a lot of different ways, but the best way is take the breast out, wrap it in bacon and throw it on the grill till it is medium rare, ummmm, you seriously can't tell the difference between a duck breast and a sirloin steak when it is done that way, (even my wife will attest to that).

Sandhill crane is actually surprisingly good, they are known as 'flying t-bones'. In some areas where I've lived they migrate through by the thousands, darkening the skies...you can't hear another person talk when you are near a flock of them. They are also often hunted in parts of Canada where their populations are very, very high. There are a lot more sandhill cranes than most folks would think.

I like a good steak, but I"m increasingly leaning more towards grass-finished. Better for one's health, better for our environment and usually direct-marketed, so better for the rancher as well! But, I don't think I"ll ever stop enjoying the occasional corn-fed t-bone either 8-)
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widestance
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Re: How do you order your steak?

Post by widestance »

Depends on my confidence in the person/establishment to cook my steak correctly.
If it's a true steakhouse, i'll order Medium, everywhere else, medium rare (since most cooks tend to overcook steaks).
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scrabbler1
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Re: How do you order your steak?

Post by scrabbler1 »

mike143 wrote:
Dutch wrote:
scrabbler1 wrote:
chaz wrote:Well done.
Same here. I want my steaks to look dead, really dead. Nothing pink or red in there.
Waste of steak
See the chart I posted: Well done: Waste of a good quality steak. I make/take my burgers medium rare.
Who are you to judge someone else's steak choices? I don't care what some anonymous chart says. Can't we just post our choices without disparaging the choices of others?
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mike143
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Re: How do you order your steak?

Post by mike143 »

scrabbler1 wrote:Who are you to judge someone else's steak choices? I don't care what some anonymous chart says. Can't we just post our choices without disparaging the choices of others?
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The Wizard
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Re: How do you order your steak?

Post by The Wizard »

I think Mike is trying to say NO!; we need to get the TRUTH out to non-believers...
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Frobie
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Re: How do you order your steak?

Post by Frobie »

Medium, but if they are going to [mess --admin LadyGeek] it up I'd rather it be more toward the medium-well side.

People like what they like.
scrabbler1
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Re: How do you order your steak?

Post by scrabbler1 »

widestance wrote:Depends on my confidence in the person/establishment to cook my steak correctly.
If it's a true steakhouse, i'll order Medium, everywhere else, medium rare (since most cooks tend to overcook steaks).
We must be attending different restaurants LOL. Until a few years ago, I used to order my steaks medium-well and not minding it if they overcooked it but I did mind it if they undercooked it. But they more often undercooked (i.e. medium) it so I had to increase the cooking to well done to assure nothing worse than medium-well. The chefs, however, are very good at cooking it well done so I never get it cooked medium-well which is just fine.
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Re: How do you order your steak?

Post by rotorhead »


Re: How do you order your steak?

Postby wilpat » Sun Aug 11, 2013 7:20 pm
As they say in Texas "Wipe its a$$ run it bye and I will tear a chunk off!"

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wilpat

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Must be from a different part of Texas. Where I'm from it's said that after cooking we throw the meat away, and eat the charcoal. ;-)

Actually my wife and I are both "mediums". But we never order meat when eating out; can't do better than cooking a good piece of meat on your own grill at home.
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pennstater2005
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Re: How do you order your steak?

Post by pennstater2005 »

Rare to medium rare depending on restaruant. I like a little blood. A good steak for me almost melts in my mouth. Like M&M's.
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cheese_breath
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Re: How do you order your steak?

Post by cheese_breath »

hicabob wrote:
cheese_breath wrote:Medium. I used to order it rare before we had to worry about getting mad cow disease with every bite.
It wouldn't help - Prions, which cause "mad cow" are tough little things and can survive 1000 degrees or so at which point your steak would be ash w/ the prions still intact, so go back to whatever you like.
Good to know, or maybe bad to know. I'm not sure, but I guess I can go back to my rare steaks.
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Gnirk
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Re: How do you order your steak?

Post by Gnirk »

widestance wrote:Depends on my confidence in the person/establishment to cook my steak correctly.
If it's a true steakhouse, i'll order Medium, everywhere else, medium rare (since most cooks tend to overcook steaks).
Same here, though I don't order steak very often, because we can grill a lovely tenderloin to perfection at home.
tim1999
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Re: How do you order your steak?

Post by tim1999 »

I grew up with a somewhat annoying aunt who was one of those "if it isn't cooked well done, you'll die when you eat it" fanatics. I remember dozens of times when she took me out to a restaurant, I'd order a burger or steak cooked medium, and she's immediately chime in to the waiter "NO! He wants it WELL DONE!" :oops:
mhalley
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Re: How do you order your steak?

Post by mhalley »

I had to stop ordering steaks out because no one will cook it enough. I can't stand any pink in my steak. I hate when people tell me that the steak is "ruined" if I cook it the way I like it. they don't have my taste buds or my squeamishness at the thought of the germs that could be present in poorly cooked meat.
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island
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Re: How do you order your steak?

Post by island »

Med rare to med and if I'm having steak, it's usually ribeye.
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LowER
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Re: How do you order your steak?

Post by LowER »

I never order it; I make it. I have had steak in all the best steakhouses in my large city and this recipe beats them all. 500 degree cast iron skillet. 30-45 seconds per side up to 1 minute for 1.75 inch steaks. I usually do ribeye. Let steaks warm to room temp prior to cooking. Moving from plate to plate can speed this process a bit. Pepper steaks prior to placing in the skillet and add salt to the the skillet, not the steaks. Do not put oil in the skillet unless it has a very high smoke temp, and it's NOT needed. Most important: tent/rest (place steaks on big plate and cover tightly with foil) the steaks for 10-15 minutes prior to serving. No bleeding and tasty like no other. Get some plates that are oven proof so they can be heated to 500+ degrees, and do it in the same oven that heated the cast iron skillet. We eat very little red meat, used to be a veggie, and absolutely love these. Better than most super high-end steak house steaks. Adding melted butter and blue cheese can add some decadence, and adding some chipotle to that takes them right over the top. Enjoy!
island
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Re: How do you order your steak?

Post by island »

LowER wrote:I never order it; I make it. I have had steak in all the best steakhouses in my large city and this recipe beats them all. 500 degree cast iron skillet. 30-45 seconds per side up to 1 minute for 1.75 inch steaks. I usually do ribeye. Let steaks warm to room temp prior to cooking. Moving from plate to plate can speed this process a bit. Pepper steaks prior to placing in the skillet and add salt to the the skillet, not the steaks. Do not put oil in the skillet unless it has a very high smoke temp, and it's NOT needed. Most important: tent/rest (place steaks on big plate and cover tightly with foil) the steaks for 10-15 minutes prior to serving. No bleeding and tasty like no other. Get some plates that are oven proof so they can be heated to 500+ degrees, and do it in the same oven that heated the cast iron skillet. We eat very little red meat, used to be a veggie, and absolutely love these. Better than most super high-end steak house steaks. Adding melted butter and blue cheese can add some decadence, and adding some chipotle to that takes them right over the top. Enjoy!
OK now I'm hungry! Never cooked a steak inside, only on the grill. Will try this. Thanks for sharing.
MIGIHIDARI
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Re: How do you order your steak?

Post by MIGIHIDARI »

I never eat steak, I am not a vegetarian.
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bertie wooster
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Re: How do you order your steak?

Post by bertie wooster »

mhalley wrote:I had to stop ordering steaks out because no one will cook it enough. I can't stand any pink in my steak. I hate when people tell me that the steak is "ruined" if I cook it the way I like it. they don't have my taste buds or my squeamishness at the thought of the germs that could be present in poorly cooked meat.
Mike
Any bacteria present are on the outside of the steak, not in the interior. So getting a well done steak to kill all of the germs is a bit of overkill.
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bertie wooster
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Re: How do you order your steak?

Post by bertie wooster »

scrabbler1 wrote: We must be attending different restaurants LOL. Until a few years ago, I used to order my steaks medium-well and not minding it if they overcooked it but I did mind it if they undercooked it. But they more often undercooked (i.e. medium) it so I had to increase the cooking to well done to assure nothing worse than medium-well. The chefs, however, are very good at cooking it well done so I never get it cooked medium-well which is just fine.
In general chefs try and not kill the steak, so they err on the side of undercooking it (which can also be cooked more if the customer desires).

When a customer orders a well done steak or burger, the chef literally puts the meat on the grill with an iron on top and forgets about it, so you get a pretty dry, brown piece of meat (what we who love rare steaks call a ruined steak, or shoe leather :happy ).
barnaclebob
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Re: How do you order your steak?

Post by barnaclebob »

Many restaurants will give you a poor cut of meat if you order it well done. They don't want to waste the good meat on someone who is going to destroy its flavor and probably cant tell the difference between a poor cut and a good one anyway.
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Re: How do you order your steak?

Post by Slick8503 »

bertie wooster wrote:
mhalley wrote:I had to stop ordering steaks out because no one will cook it enough. I can't stand any pink in my steak. I hate when people tell me that the steak is "ruined" if I cook it the way I like it. they don't have my taste buds or my squeamishness at the thought of the germs that could be present in poorly cooked meat.
Mike
Any bacteria present are on the outside of the steak, not in the interior. So getting a well done steak to kill all of the germs is a bit of overkill.
This is true. Get your steak cooked how you like it, the bad stuff, if it would happen to be there(not likely) will be on the outside. Hamburger, on the other hand, should be heated enough throughout because bad stuff could be residing on the inside because the meat is ground and mixed up.
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