Probably going to upset some people. I don't get the intense love for Steak.

[Scam]

Problem is there are far too many badly cooked poor cuts of meat flying around.

And terrible quality. I walked past a big billboard for Tesco advertising it's "21 day aged steak" I mean that doesn't even really mean anything does it? 21 days is barely aged, I wouldn't even call a steak aged unless it's >28 days.

 

[ttaskmaster]

The way some talk about it it's as if eating is akin to pure unadulterated bliss. Heaven on a plate.

The only thing worse is the people who berate you for not liking it the way they do, or insist there's only one way to have a steak. The "rare or medium-rare" thing is just a poor excuse for being an incompetent cook, I find - I like to make them cry when I order mine medium-well, as their tears make excellent jus!

It's all just steak and really comes down to how it's cooked. Mostly it sucks, as the red inner texture just tastes like cold, raw meat.
Only once have I had a steak that was better than pork chops - I'd done it myself, on a barbecue, well seasoned with Robertsons sprinkles, medium-well, slightly crispy outside. Best steak ever.
If you have to be lectured on how you should have your food, then the food isn't that special to begin with.

 

[spoffle]

If you're going to correct him at least use the correct name for it. It's myoglobin, not "meat juice".

The quality of the meat makes an enormous difference to the taste and texture. Dry aging helps to enhance the flavour too, so it's worth looking for steak with more marbling and aged for at least 30 days (the longer the better up to about 90 days).

Oh wow. Yeah, no. It is meat juice. Myoglobin is what makes it red...

 

[chroniclard]

Used to like it well done until I actually tried some properly cooked, just pink inside for me. Well done is 100% wrong.

 

[MissChief]

Absolutely, I knew it wasn't blood, just a figure of speech really. I also knew it was myoglobin too!

 

[Scam]

The only thing worse is the people who berate you for not liking it the way they do, or insist there's only one way to have a steak. The "rare or medium-rare" thing is just a poor excuse for being an incompetent cook, I find - I like to make them cry when I order mine medium-well, as their tears make excellent jus!

Well, actually each particularly cut of steak should be cooked in a slightly different way. Ribeye is probably technically better done medium as it has more fat to render. If you have that rare you'll be chewing gristle. Whereas fillet has little fat, so you can have it rare for a lovely texture. Get a fillet done well-done and you might as well be eating a shoe. It's not some snobbish food-elitism, if you actually went to a steakhouse and did some blind testing it'd be completely obvious.

It's all just steak and really comes down to how it's cooked. Mostly it sucks, as the red inner texture just tastes like cold, raw meat.

Well, it's not actually. Thanks to the magic of sous-vide cooking it's easy to judge temperatures for steak and take out the guesswork. Rare is 49c which is hardly cold, medium-rare is 54c. If it's cold in the middle, it's blue which 90% of people wouldn't recommend.

If you have to be lectured on how you should have your food, then the food isn't that special to begin with.

It's not lecturing, it's just about having an awareness on how to cook something. Yes, people bang on about steak too much which grates, but it's no different from telling you how to cook pasta correctly, with a bit of wiggle room for personal preference.

Buying a fillet steak and cooking it well-done is like buying a Ferrari and only ever driving it in a 30mph zone. It works, but you're not getting the full experience.*

*I've never cooked a fillet, because I like fat for flavour. Again; personal preference.

 

[spoffle]

Absolutely, I knew it wasn't blood, just a figure of speech really. I also knew it was myoglobin too!

My point really was about how chicken has the same sort of fluid, it's just lacking the red pigmentation because it isn't red meat.

 

[Junglist]

I don't know. A really good blue/rare fillet steak is literally heavenly. Some of my favourite meals I've eaten out have been steak... But it is bloody expensive for what you get.

I used to eat steak well done when I was younger until I went to a fancy restaurant. It came out rare and I didn't want to send it back... Best choice I ever made.

 

[ttaskmaster]

Well, actually each particularly cut of steak should be cooked in a slightly different way.

Why?
Why doesn't it depend how that person likes it?
Why does technicality trump actual taste?
And if any of that were at all true, why don't I like it the way you say I should?

Certainly each different cut might more readily lend itself toward being done a certain way, but that doesn't mean it's the only way that cut should be done, or that it cannot be liked a different way by someone, even if that someone is in a minority.

It's not some snobbish food-elitism, if you actually went to a steakhouse and did some blind testing it'd be completely obvious.

Having done exactly this, I can quite categorically state that I like my steak one particular way and no other.
How someone else likes theirs is of no concern to me unless I'm catering for them. The mere fact that one would tell someone else how they should like something is both quite snobbish and a little elitist.

Rare is 49c which is hardly cold, medium-rare is 54c. If it's cold in the middle, it's blue which 90% of people wouldn't recommend.

Texturally it's red and cold, which I do not like. If it's not cold already, it goes cold very quickly. I can only assume there's a ****-load of michelin starred chefs out there who cannot cook steak for ****...?

It's not lecturing, it's just about having an awareness on how to cook something.

OK, so do I grill, fry, barbecue, bake, roast or sous vide this steak?
Because that's always the next point of argument that gets people all fired up....

Buying a fillet steak and cooking it well-done is like buying a Ferrari and only ever driving it in a 30mph zone. It works, but you're not getting the full experience.*

Which is what, exactly?
Tell me exactly what it is I should be experiencing and why it is so much better than what I already know I like... for both a Ferrari and a steak - Bearing in mind I already own a vehicle that hits 60mph in under 3 seconds and can pass 150mph without blinking, but rarely even exceed the 70mph speed limit... and bearing in mind I have already tried dozens of steaks dozens of different ways, from supposedly amazing chefs, but have already found a method I like better than much of what I was given as 'the best'...

 

[Scam]

Certainly each different cut might more readily lend itself toward being done a certain way, but that doesn't mean it's the only way that cut should be done, or that it cannot be liked a different way by someone, even if that someone is in a minority.

Sigh. All I'm saying is that yes, each cut lends itself to a particularly method of cooking (and well-doneness). You can have your steak how you want. I just get frustrated with people that go "eww blood" and insist on having steak well-done and wonder why it's chewy and terrible. It's no different from advising someone how to cook a chicken breast. If you bung it in the oven for 45mins it'll be dry and horrible.. if you pan sear in butter and finish it for 15mins in the oven until it hits the correct temperature, it'll be much nicer. (note: I rarely cook chicken breasts).

Having done exactly this, I can quite categorically state that I like my steak one particular way and no other.

Again, that's your prerogative. But to use the pasta example again -- to most steak lovers you might as well be arguing that you prefer your penne cooked for 3mins. You're not getting the best out of the ingredient in terms of flavour and texture. But hey, do what you want. I've sat there in Hawksmoor on a business lunch when 3 people ordered the £40 fillet butterflied and well-done. I just smiled sheepishly and rolled my eyes at the waiter. We both knew they may as well gotten out two £20 notes each and set fire to them

Texturally it's red and cold, which I do not like. If it's not cold already, it goes cold very quickly. I can only assume there's a ****-load of michelin starred chefs out there who cannot cook steak for ****...?

I don't know what you mean here. 49c is obviously not cold. If it's cold when you get it then that's a mistake from the kitchen. It's not rocket science to dish up on a warm plate and get it to you within good time. I'll admit that most big steaks will be cold by the time you've finished them, granted. That's the only downside.

 

[kindai]

This times a thousand. After years of unknowlingly eating rubbish steaks, I only eat Ribeye steaks now that have been aged at least 30 days. You can actually get half decent ones from Aldi/Lidl too - although if I'm going to treat myself I get one from the local butcher.

Strange you mention this, I recently (say last 6 months) have gone from fillet/sirloin to 100% ribeyes...

 

[Junglist]

But hey, do what you want. I've sat there in Hawksmoor on a business lunch when 3 people ordered the £40 fillet butterflied and well-done. I just smiled sheepishly and rolled my eyes at the waiter. We both knew they may as well gotten out two £20 notes each and set fire to them

My mothers partner had a steak in france once and asked for it well done. When it came out rare he asked to send it back... A few minutes later the chef came storming out of the kitchen, furious, saying something along the lines of that he wont be doing it more than a medium as it's a waste of meat!

 

[flea.rider]

hmm ask yourself why those that do like steak .. it's in your dna it's meat a high protein source .. yeah chicken and all that to ..
but as hunter gatherers we like/liked red meat . as a youngster my father made steak on the bbq it was always well done and I hated it .
now if I go out and eat it's rare warmed up meat jelly as we used to eat it .. if I cook it at home it's black and blue ... a nice thick piece straight into a red hot pan
charred on the outside just warm in the middle ... let your inner animal out enjoy it like it's supposed to be

 

[ttaskmaster]

You can have your steak how you want. I just get frustrated with people that go "eww blood" and insist on having steak well-done and wonder why it's chewy and terrible.

Blood's not a problem, as I will happily get stuck into black pudding and the like. I don't like the texture of uncooked meat. But neither is a properly well-done steak rubbery, chewy or burnt to ashes - That's the poor chef coming through again.

It's no different from advising someone how to cook a chicken breast.

And yet few people can. Even more so with turkey.

If you bung it in the oven for 45mins it'll be dry and horrible.

Which works great for certain recipes... and again comes down to what the individual likes best.

But to use the pasta example again -- to most steak lovers you might as well be arguing that you prefer your penne cooked for 3mins. You're not getting the best out of the ingredient in terms of flavour and texture.

Best is subjective and undercooked pasta is often preferable and quite a big thing - "Al dente", they call it. Can't be completely wrong if they give it such a specific term.

I just smiled sheepishly and rolled my eyes at the waiter. We both knew they may as well gotten out two £20 notes each and set fire to them

I assume you roll your elitist eyes at people here who don't utterly overclock and watercool their computers to the fullest possible extent of their components' capabilities, then....? How else could they get the most out of their machines, right?

I don't know what you mean here. 49c is obviously not cold. If it's cold when you get it then that's a mistake from the kitchen.

It goes cold very quickly and the centre of a rare/medium steak is usually the first part to go.

A few minutes later the chef came storming out of the kitchen, furious, saying something along the lines of that he wont be doing it more than a medium as it's a waste of meat!

Incompetent dickheads like that get to watch me leave without paying the bill.

 

[cheesyboy]

A former employer of mine liked his steak well done, but would always order it medium rare and then send it back for a bit more cooking - he reckoned they would just give out the worst bit of meat to people who asked for well-done, so this avoids that.

 

[MikeTheNative]

I do like a good steak and the ones from my local butcher are consistently excellent. However I would never buy it from a restaurant, cheaper places the meat is often a bit crap and/or cooked poorly. Expensive places I want to see high quality cooking and I can't justify the cost of getting a steak I could cook myself.

 

[Scam]

But neither is a properly well-done steak rubbery, chewy or burnt to ashes - That's the poor chef coming through again.

Sorry, I disagree. If you get a piece of well-done fillet, science tells us it will be more chewy than something done under medium/medium-rare. That's not an opinion, that's the way meat works under different temperatures. There's a reason you go to Michelin starred restaurants and get a bit of red meat (venison, lamb etc.) and it is served up medium/medium-rare. You don't get a choice because the chef knows how to cook the meat to impart the best flavour/texture combination.

Best is subjective and undercooked pasta is often preferable and quite a big thing - "Al dente", they call it. Can't be completely wrong if they give it such a specific term.

Well, I said 3mins as I was talking about generic dried pasta. Where 3mins would be totally inedible; I said that to prove my point.

A former employer of mine liked his steak well done, but would always order it medium rare and then send it back for a bit more cooking - he reckoned they would just give out the worst bit of meat to people who asked for well-done, so this avoids that.

@ttaskmaster -- regarding the above quote. Don't you wonder why chefs would imagine doing that?

 

[Armageus]

Might just be me, but over time my preference to steak has changed - used to be Well done, but as I've got older have moved to medium-well and depending on where I go will have medium.


Not convinced a "good" steak is just down to the cooking temperature/time though - at the weekend I had a "bar meal" steak @ https://www.theexchangestoke.com - medium-well but would still rank it as one of the best steaks I've ever had, as was juicy and soft all over, with the right amount of pink in the middle.

 

[robfosters]

I would wager that 90% of people who think they can cook steak properly, actually can’t. I include myself in that 90%.

 

[Quartz]

The way some talk about it it's as if eating is akin to pure unadulterated bliss.

Different people have different tastes. It's all cool.