Is a steak cooked well done any healthier?

dlp97dlp

Just curious on this one,

I don't eat much steak - probably once a month but is a medium or well done steak healthier than the other?

I hear about levels of carcinogens increasing when frying or grilling steak for longer periods but i rarely eat fried food so that does not worry me to be honest.

Is it just down to personal preference and taste which leads someone to have it done a certain way?

stanmann571

dlp97dlp wrote: »

Just curious on this one,

I don't eat much steak - probably once a month but is a medium or well done steak healthier than the other?

I hear about levels of carcinogens increasing when frying or grilling steak for longer periods but i rarely eat fried food so that does not worry me to be honest.

Is it just down to personal preference and taste which leads someone to have it done a certain way?

IF you burn it brown all the way through, you reduce/change the nutrient profile.

MalkinMagic71

Well done steak isn't even steak. It's not edible that way. Medium at the very most.

cs2thecox

**total overgeneralisation alert**

Given basically everything seems to increase the risk of cancer these days, I reckon the best kind of steak is the kind that makes you happiest.

The best way to cook steak does depend on the cut though... a lean cut like fillet can be served very rare, but a fattier cut needs to be more like medium to render the fat and make it tasty, otherwise the fat is just gross and raw and stringy, and no-one wants that.

(I also consider burnt crispy bits to be an important food group, but that's another story )

The_Enginerd

It's not healthy for the person who ruins my steak by turning it into leather.

H_Ock12

It reduces the odds that I'll get an illness from undercooked meat. It also reduces the odds of me vomiting when I see blood oozing on my plate, insuring I keep the protein ingested. ...So my vote goes to yes, more healthy!

bpetrosky

A well done steak would reduce my will to live, therefore unhealthy.

sgt1372

Why would you pay a minimum of $5/# for a steak at the supermarket (that's what pay for NY strip but I've seen prices over $10/# for the same) or $30-50 at a restaurant and then ruin it by cooking it well done, which dries it out and makes it as tough and tasteless as leather?

That's a ridulous waste of meat and money.

If you're so worried about the risk of cancer from pan frying or grilling meat beyond med-rare (which is as far as ANY beef steak should be cooked IMO), do yourself and your pocketbook a favor and eat something else instead.

naculp

It would definitely save calories, since I would be pitching it out. Although health-wise I would be worse off since my blood pressure would skyrocket after learning somebody ruined a steak by cooking it past medium

ckozl81

Nutrient wise – protein, iron, zinc, etc. – there's no difference between steak that is cooked medium rare or well done. The rest comes down to personal preference.

madwells1

Yes.

You will save at least 500 calories depending on the size of the steak.

(This is because you should never eat a well done steak and it should therefore be thrown directly in the garbage.)

singingflutelady

MotherOfSharpei wrote: »

It reduces the odds that I'll get an illness from undercooked meat. It also reduces the odds of me vomiting when I see blood oozing on my plate, insuring I keep the protein ingested. ...So my vote goes to yes, more healthy!

It's not blood though btw. It's from a protein called myoglobin

lemurcat12

The_Enginerd wrote: »

It's not healthy for the person who ruins my steak by turning it into leather.

Heh. And yes, I agree.

Moxie42

I think it's pretty much personal preference. I used to only order well done (don't shoot me guys, I've changed my ways!) because I hated the possibility of blood being on the plate. As in, at home I would squeeze steak against my plate with a spatula to get the juices out, and I would not eat anything on that same plate. I also drowned the steak in A1- for me, steak was definitely just the delivery device for A1. Then I learned that a lot of restaurants (at least here in the US) will use the older, maybe slightly questionable meat when someone orders well done, because it kills whatever nasties are in there. So I started ordering medium-well, and realized I preferred it. Now I order medium and am usually perfectly happy (still can't handle blood on the plate though. It has to be pink inside, NO red!) And yeah, I admit, as much as I love the taste of a good steak, nothing will pry that A1 one of my hands (I do use less of it though). A1 is also amazing on fries, especially steak fries (those big wedge potato fries) but I digress...

As far as carcinogens go, I haven't heard of that theory but I certainly wouldn't worry about it if you're only eating it once a month.

Wynterbourne

MotherOfSharpei wrote: »

It reduces the odds that I'll get an illness from undercooked meat. It also reduces the odds of me vomiting when I see blood oozing on my plate, insuring I keep the protein ingested. ...So my vote goes to yes, more healthy!

This is beef we're discussing not chicken or pork. You don't get salmonella or trichinosis from rare beef. And the red liquid is water and a protein called myoglobin. It's not blood. Please don't spread misinformation.

Wynterbourne

Moxie42 wrote: »

I think it's pretty much personal preference. I used to only order well done (don't shoot me guys, I've changed my ways!) because I hated the possibility of blood being on the plate. As in, at home I would squeeze steak against my plate with a spatula to get the juices out, and I would not eat anything on that same plate. I also drowned the steak in A1- for me, steak was definitely just the delivery device for A1. Then I learned that a lot of restaurants (at least here in the US) will use the older, maybe slightly questionable meat when someone orders well done, because it kills whatever nasties are in there. So I started ordering medium-well, and realized I preferred it. Now I order medium and am usually perfectly happy (still can't handle blood on the plate though. It has to be pink inside, NO red!) And yeah, I admit, as much as I love the taste of a good steak, nothing will pry that A1 one of my hands (I do use less of it though). A1 is also amazing on fries, especially steak fries (those big wedge potato fries) but I digress...

As far as carcinogens go, I haven't heard of that theory but I certainly wouldn't worry about it if you're only eating it once a month.

It's water and a protein called myoglobin, not blood.

Alatariel75

I'd rather die early than eat well done steak.