I'm cooking two special steaks this evening for my girlfriend and I. I love mine well coloured but still pink in the middle and without any blood. I would usually ask for "medium rare" at the pub or a restaurant. When I hear other people ordering steaks, "well done" seems to be asked for more than any other cooking type. Is that really the most common request?
As I understand it, medium rare is how a steak is supposed to be cooked to get the best flavour. Some fancy restaurants won't even give you a choice. And according to industry research, cooking a steak to about sixty-five degrees - I think maybe sixty-seven, I can't quite remember - will get it to optimal tenderness. It's right at the point that the sinew relaxes and melts, but before the rest of the meat begins to break down.
I like a nice, caramelised, just slightly crispy outside, with a juicy pink interior, with no gristle, bone or big lumps of fat. There's something about a barbecue that seems to get the best results.
But my wife, a chef mind you, insists on having it well done.
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When I hear other people ordering steaks, "well done" seems to be asked for more than any other cooking type. Is that really the most common request?
Most common does not make it correct. There are a lot of ignorant people in this world.
Many people get meat cooked well done because they are afraid of germs. A germ free piece of food is as tasteless as it sounds.
Also, there is a correlation behind germ free and almost germ free and taste. Not all meat is the same either. Primal cuts (like steak) have less germs to begin with. Ground meat, has more surface area and touches more surfaces that the % of germs is much higher inside the meat itself. Therefore a meatballs/hamburgers/etc. need to be on a higher temperature to get to the center of the meat.
Basically, use your judgement. If the place seems like they value cleanness, then order a rarer cooking. I do that in the US. If it is like some of of the places I go where I live now, with the meat hanging in the facility cooking area and it is fly covered, you want the meat cooked for a longer time & hotter temp.
Not much of a meat eater, but when I do order a steak (and it's always ordered--I'm just not talented enough to cook a steak properly) I prefer it medium rare.
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Quote by Porgy87 Medium rare. I think if a steak is cooked any more than that it starts to dry out, and I don't want to pay a bunch of money for steak jerky.
Quote by BethanyFrasier I eat very little red meat, but if its being served, and I'm asked, I want mine cooked medium well with just a hint of pink in the center.
why did I get an entirely different image with that 'hint of pink in the center'? part of the post
I think you must be the first in the Mooing category. Is a "blue" steak cooked at all?
The steak must be at least 20cm thick. (A bit less than an inch.)
Seared both sides and sealed over a hot flame - then two minutes on each side over a medium to hot flame. NOT pan fried.
Its all accomplished in less than 5 minutes. Generally there is no need to rest the meat afterwards as in a medium cooked steak.
Result - warm right through with a nice crust on the outside and the juices set not running.
It takes a good chef to get one perfect - and I am not bad at it, and better than my guys.
The steak must be at least 20cm thick. (A bit less than an inch.)
Seared both sides and sealed over a hot flame - then two minutes on each side over a medium to hot flame. NOT pan fried.
Its all accomplished in less than 5 minutes. Generally there is no need to rest the meat afterwards as in a medium cooked steak.
Result - warm right through with a nice crust on the outside and the juices set not running.
It takes a good chef to get one perfect - and I am not bad at it, and better than my guys.
Sounds yummy. Get yourself across the globe and cook me one!
Mid Rare. I can even handle it on the Rare side, but I won't eat it Blue or over Medium.
In case you ever want to know what the difference is:
TIP: If you don't want your meat to run bloody, let it rest. 5mins covered with foil. That goes for any from Blue to Mid Well. If you cut into it, the "beef tea/au jus" will run all over the place because the steak did not sit long enough for it to be incorporated back into the meat.
Quote by TheDevilsWeakness Mid Rare. I can even handle it on the Rare side, but I won't eat it Blue or over Medium.
In case you ever want to know what the difference is:
TIP: If you don't want your meat to run bloody, let it rest. 5mins covered with foil. That goes for any from Blue to Mid Well. If you cut into it, the "beef tea/au jus" will run all over the place because the steak did not sit long enough for it to be incorporated back into the meat.
