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I was Medium Well for years… now Medium. Now that I have a smoker and a temp probe, it is easy to make sure I get it to medium.
Medium rare, and closer to rare of I have to pick one.
Medium Rare is the best way.
Medium to medium well.
It’s difficult, because
Edit: <COUGH> sorry, my response got stuck in my throat. It was a little under done.
As I was saying, it’s difficult, because when I’m out I have to remember how the restaurant does it. I’ve been in places where medium ends up burnt to a crisp, and others where if you order it medium, they walk the steak out to you still chewing on some grass (I exaggerate, but you get the idea).
Shouldn’t have to worry about it, but not every place gets it the same. As long as they are consistent, I can deal with it.
So, really I’m probably at medium.
Well done but seasoned and juicy. It can be done.
Rare, maybe even blue depending on the steak.
Medium rare.
The only acceptable answer other than rare for the right cuts.
If i am honest i have no idea what all of them mean. I dont know the difference between a “medium” steak, a “medium rare” steak and a “medium well” steak. I don’t think I would be able to tell if I ordered a “medium rare” and they brought me “medium well” …
I just always order “medium rare” because people have told me that this is how a steak is supposed to be prepared and that ordering “well done” or something else would mean the steak is now basically garbage.
But yea. No idea :p
All these doneness levels really refer to the temperature the steak reached.
Rare: 120-130°F. Bright red center. Fat isn’t really rendered yet, meat generally a bit fibrous and slippery. Very juicy.
Medium rare: 130-140°F. Bright pink center. Fat is mostly soft and rendered, meat is a bit firmer now and not as slippery. Still very juicy (possibly more so than rare, depending)
Medium: 140-150°F. Pink/grey center. Fat is very well rendered, some would argue starting to render out a bit too much. Meat is firm, but still somewhat tender. Juicy, but not very.
Medium well: 150-160°F. Almost entirely grey center. Everything is getting quite firm, bordering on hard. Not much “juice” at this point.
Well done: 160°F+. Grey through and through. Very firm, depending on the steak possibly bordering on hard to chew, though that’s honestly not very common.
What most people are looking for are their preferred combinations of meat/fat texture, rendering level of fat (how soft/cooked the fat is), and juiciness.
There are other factors that influence all of these aspects other than the cooking temperature, such as salt penetration (salting overnight gives you a firmer, juicier steak), but doneness is a major factor.
The people telling you well done is garbage are spouting a common opinion, but you should feel no shame ordering what you like to eat.
However she chef wants to cook it.
Grew up with mom overcooking every thing, steak were usually black on the outside and grey on the inside. So long as there is some pink ill be fine.
This was my life. Did you fam do well done on purpose?
Yeah, mom liked her steak well charred. Once we were old enough to man the barbeque ourselves the quality in steaks improved, though she still insisted we burn hers black.
