Steak, How would you like it?

[El Presidente]

It was 10 days ago and I caught up with a mate who has been working OS for the past 4 years. I took him to one of my favourite steak places for a T Bone / Bistecca Alla Fiorentina. It's not cheap. It is bloody superb. 

It is a big cut of beef meant for two and so we are going to share it.  He knows the "Maître d'" as well as I do and so decides to throw a spanner in the works by asking for the steak done "medium well".  WTF?  "Don't listen to him Francoise, do it like it should be.....medium rare. 

and so it started. He assuring me I was a barbarian while I pointing out that his time in Austria had obviously  "pussified" him. 

Francoise ruled out cooking it 1/2 and 1/2. Medium was the obvious solution. my shout however so I passed the football to Chef  and told him to cook it the way it should be cooked in his eyes. 

I know your preference for how a steak is cooked can depend from time to time on the cut of steak, marbling etc. 

However.....In general, how do you like your steak cooked?

 

I am going to cook this steak for you. Go to the poll and let me know how you would like it. 

[99call]

Rare. But it depends on the quality of the steak and the skill of the chef. Ideally you get the best of all worlds In one steak with rare...

- 2mm outer great salty, carbon-y roasted meat sugars

- Next 3mm in is moist but cooked

- Central 30mm. Blue

Happy to go blue rare with very good meat, but anyone trying to convince themselves blue rare is a pleasurable with anything mediocre is lying to themselves.   

When is comes to blue rare. I'd much rather have some sort of Japanese or Korean dish with completely raw beef.

[JRB]

I want a good sear on both sides, and medium. Butter baste it with butter garlic rosemary/thyme. Then hit it with a squeeze of lemon! A good Cab Sav to drink. 

[Ford2112]

Medium rare, on the medium side. Never ruin a steak!

[Ken Gargett]

leaving aside the obvious fact that some can get way, way over the top and precious about steak, i am rare, verging on blue in Australia, but medium rare in the states. i was staggered at the difference when i first went to the states. your rare/blue is way more rare/blue than ours. i have ordered medium rare in the states and had it arrive more blue than blue in Australia. so we are not necessarily always talking about the same thing.

i'll confess that i grew up hating steak. one sister insisted on extremely well done - still does - and that was how mum always cooked them. could not understand anyone raving about a lump of charcoal that would hurt my teeth. when i actually discovered, rare, it was like scales fell off my eyes. 

[chasy]

I maintain that nobody actually likes a steak Blue Rare, they just do it for show.

[Habanoschris]

I'm going on Wednesday to a very solid steak house here in NY. It was supposed be last week. I'm looking forward to a medium rare steak, I'll try to take pics. 

[mikejh]

Medium rare, sometimes okay with rare.

[Wookie]

Medium rare for fatty cuts, rare for tenderloin, duh. 

[Ford2112]

Prime rib I will eat rare. Lots of horseradish.

[BossHogg]

I'm eating a ribeye as I read this post. Medium rare for me all day with a beautiful sear on both sides 👍 

[MoeFOH]

Medium rare - sometimes closer to the rarer side of things, depending on the cut, fat, etc. 

Anything over that in a restaurant and you may as well have bought a cheap supermarket steak, murdered it at home, chucked the balance of the cash in the bin.  

[DennyPaul]

Medium rare for 80% of steaks. Medium for the fattiest ones. Helps render it better. Not many things better on this planet than a good char on a fatty cut. 

[Tinny]

8 hours ago, DennyPaul said:

Medium rare for 80% of steaks. Medium for the fattiest ones. Helps render it better. Not many things better on this planet than a good char on a fatty cut.

Agree 100% depending on cut and quality some need to be brought up to medium temps to render fat or help break down some connective tissue.

[westg]

9 hours ago, chasy said:

I maintain that nobody actually likes a steak Blue Rare, they just do it for show.

Fair enough. Each to their own. Not sure why anyone would even bother to eat a rare steak if they where not enjoying it. That's an awful task. 

90% of the time I am cooking steak for myself only. 2 minutes hard on each side let it sit for 5, salt and pepper nothing else. Half decent bottle of red job is on. I growl. 

[El Hoze]

I consider Bistecca Fiorentina to almost be it’s own dish/preparation. Needs to be at least 4 fingers thick, needs to be served close to what some call “Pittsburgh Style” here in the US. Nice char on the outside, cool/very rare on the inside. Also needs to be served with copious amounts of old Brunello as a side dish. 

For me it definitely depends on the cut. Filet ultra rare, NY strip rare, ribeye medium rare. 

[El Rushbo]

Regularly chastised by my friends, but I’m generally a medium. I’ll go medium rare if I’ve learned a particular steakhouse has a tendency to go a little long with leaner cuts. And I do favor a strip or filet.


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[REesq]

Being originally from Chicago, one of the great steak cities in the US, medium rare is definitely my preference. If I want rarer, then its time to go straight to tartare.

[unaslob]

Shoot for rare but always go over a touch. Reverse searing for the win.  

[Chibearsv]

Based on the pictures in the OP, I’d say medium rare to medium is perfect for me. I always order medium and it’s just slightly more cooked than the medium rare pictured. 

3 minutes ago, unaslob said:

shoot for rare but always go over a touch.

You posted as I was typing. Yours looks perfect to me. If I order steak medium in a restaurant, that’s how I expect it to look. Nice

[MickVanWinkle]

General rule for me is the more tender/lean the more towards rare - the more marbled cuts a touch towards medium. Anything more than medium should be served with ketchup (don’t get me started on the ketchup / bottled sauce atrocities).

[Ken Gargett]

2 hours ago, chasy said:

I maintain that nobody actually likes a steak Blue Rare, they just do it for show.

i'd be inclined to agree for American blue/rare but Aussie blue/rare is perfect for me. 

[Chas.Alpha]

Why in God’s Name are you getting that fine piece of cow anywhere near the flame? (Wipe arse, knock horns off.)

[Sir Diggamus]

Medium rare for me most of the time. Every once in a while with a good cut I will get it black and blue.


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[Chucko8]

Rare for me thanks Rob. If you go a touch over and hit medium rare I won't be upset.