Why ruin a good piece of meat?

Depends on the quality of the meat and the cook. At a big bbq (cheap meat, cooked without skill) I like it well done. Stuff it in a bread roll and enjoy the umami taste of the burnt bits. If I'm cooking it at home or ordering at a 3 star restaurant (good meat, mediocre skill), medium suits me. If it's a top quality piece of steak cooked by someone who really knows what they are doing, rare is good. (But I'm not that keen on steak, so I don't eat it often - give me a nice casserole or something more interesting any day).

I worked at a place that served steaks, they described the different degrees of grilled you could order steak, under well done it said, "Chicken"

Medium Rare

Medium Rare. I prefer to cook it at home on a smoker with wine barrel oak smoking chips and a little homemade seasoning.

I like mine medium - and my husband likes med well. Pisses me off when he gets dirty looks when he orders. Why do you care? He likes it. He's the one eating it.

If you have never tried a steak cooked properly

That's completely subjective.

Also, while we're on the subject of properly cooked steaks, bacteria does not penetrate very far into whole muscles of meat. This means that as long as you get the outside done, you will be fine as far as bacteria goes. In ground meats, the outside is on the inside, so they have to be all the way cooked. This is why you can eat a properly cooked medium rare steak. No one needs to be scared of steak. I hope this helps.

You should not eat raw hamburger because little attention is paid to keeping it clean from bacteria when it's prepared in a huge meat packing plant that takes the meat from hundreds of cows and smash it all together. You can eat raw ground meat however if it is prepared specifically to be consumed raw. My butcher selects the meat carefully and also cuts off the outsides prior to grinding and is extremely careful of contamination. You should tell your butcher that you intend to eat the meat raw he'll be extra careful for you. I've even had my butcher tell me that he doesn't have any kibbe meat because although the meat he had was very lovely and fresh, he didn't deem it fresh enough to be consumed raw.

If it's not still actually cold in the middle (and I mean cold, like from the refrigerator cold) wish just some faint grill marks on the outside, it's not worth eating.

d'oh - wish should be with

If you have other things that you are looking for, then by all means eat it the way you want to.

Thank you for the permission. My "proper" way is medium well. :flowerforyou:

Where I come from (Texas) it's a sin to order your steak any more cooked than medium rare. And lord help you if you ask for A-1., or gosh, I don't know if I can even say it... ketchup! If it's a good steak, don't ruin it!

If you have other things that you are looking for, then by all means eat it the way you want to.

Thank you for the permission. My "proper" way is medium well. :flowerforyou:

I apologize if I have offended you. I hate talking over da webz. I am only trying to educate. As I have said in each of my posts, if you have tried a properly-cooked medium rare steak and prefer it another way, then by all means. My point is that as far as what a large majority of people consider the zenith of steak, medium rare is the perfect steak. If you're more into mouthfeel or some other variant that I couldn't possibly know then please ignore my posts.

If you have other things that you are looking for, then by all means eat it the way you want to.

Thank you for the permission. My "proper" way is medium well. :flowerforyou:

I apologize if I have offended you. I hate talking over da webz. I am only trying to educate. As I have said in each of my posts, if you have tried a properly-cooked medium rare steak and prefer it another way, then by all means. My point is that as far as what a large majority of people consider the zenith of steak, medium rare is the perfect steak. If you're more into mouthfeel or some other variant that I couldn't possibly know then please ignore my posts.

Oh, I'm just picky, in general, in what I prefer to eat. If it doesn't "look good" or has a certain texture, 9 times out of 10 I won't like it. I'll try it, but most times that I've tried something that has an appearance that displeases me, the taste ends up turning me off as well. For instance, I strongly dislike any shellfish; especially shrimp, yet most people (at least people I know) love shellfish. I don't feel the need to try rare or medium rare steak since it doesn't look appetizing to me, but I don't think it's wrong others like it that way. Hell, my best friend loves her steak mooing.

I *do* think it's rude for chefs to purposely pick bad cuts or purposely burn the steaks (I've had this happen once and spoke to the manager about it) of people who ask for anything higher cooked than medium, though. It's pretty ridiculous and forcing their preferences off on their customers - the people who contribute to their salary.

Not offended, but I appreciate the apology. :-)

As long as you promise it has nothing to do with believing that beautiful pink color has anything to do with blood or bugs, then I will defend your right to eat burnt steak against all enemies, both foreign and domestic. However, if you still believe that the pink color of the meat or the juices on the plate have anything to do with blood or bugs, then I implore you to give a properly-cooked medium rare steak a fair chance. If you do end up giving it a fair chance and don't like it, I would love for you to bill me to make it up to you.

When I eat out - Medium Rare - when I cook it myself most probably more on the rare side.....cant eat a piece of well done meat - how unapetising!!


Week 44 - Food by .donelle, on Flickr

Damn that looks good!!!

Medium rare to rare - depending on who's definition.

If I know someone who eats only well done steak is coming to dinner - I serve chicken. Good steaks are pricey and it pains me to overcook them. I've done it only by accident :ohwell:

My friend @ work tells me of how he cooks the perfect temp monitored medium rare filet mignon.... and then dips bathes it in A1 sauce.... Oh the horror :noway: I know some people love it, but for me, it's the cure for a BAD steak, not a good one.