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How do you like steak cooked?

How do you like your steak cooked?


  • Total voters
    34

Matt N

TS Member
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Mako (SeaWorld Orlando)
Hi guys. In terms of favourite foods, I’ve noticed that many people very much like steak, and steak is also an interesting food in that people like it cooked differently. Some like their steak very rare, with blood oozing out of it, while others like it well done, with not a hint of rawness about it. So my question to you today is; how do you like steak cooked, if you eat it? From what I can tell, there are 5 widely accepted ways of cooking steak (rare, medium rare, medium, medium well and well done), but if there’s another one I haven’t mentioned, then I’d love to know!

Personally, I don’t actually like steak, in spite of being a meat-eater; I’ve tried it once or twice, and I find it a bit tough & gristly for my liking, personally. I also find that it has a bit of an odd taste compared to the meats I like. I know I’m in a minority there, though; steak seems very popular!

If I did eat steak, I’d have to have it well done, personally, as the thought of eating meat with the slightest hint of blood or rawness about it does put me off a bit…

I was interested to do this poll, however, because I know quite a number of steak lovers, and all of them seem to gravitate towards the rare end of the spectrum in terms how they like their steak cooked. No one I know likes their steak cooked to a greater degree than medium, with preferences ranging between rare and medium!

But how do you like your steak cooked, if you eat steak? Do you prefer your steak rarer, or more well done?
 
Aah I was waiting for a @Matt N corner coffee thread thought it had been a while since the marmite thread which by the way love is in the lead!
Anyway in terms of stake I'm a big fan and do very much like it. To be honest I prefer it was a sauce as it adds extra flavour. If your not a fan of steak Matt maybe try it with some sauces my personal favourites are peppercorn sauce and BBQ and both go really well with steak. I like it medium-well preferable more towards the well however I don't want it so each mouthful takes twenty minutes to eat.
 
Well done or medium-well. Based on my visit to Florida, I'd say the Americans have perfected the method of doing them well done but retaining juiciness, unless of course they are just deep fried...

Steak is however overrated and a lot of its popularity is driven by masculinity statements and proclamations of how men have it cooked, rather than its taste, I find.
 
Personally, I don’t actually like steak, in spite of being a meat-eater; I’ve tried it once or twice, and I find it a bit tough & gristly for my liking, personally.
...
If I did eat steak, I’d have to have it well done, personally, as the thought of eating meat with the slightest hint of blood or rawness about it does put me off a bit…
That's where you're going wrong. A well-done steak will be dry, tough and tasteless. It's got to be medium (at the most) if you want to get some decent flavour out of it. Similar to roast beef... if it's just grey all the way through then you might as well not even bother.

Personally I'd order medium but it depends if I trust the venue. If it's somewhere like Alton Towers I would go rare on the assumption they'll overcook it and it will still be fine. I'd rather it was under than over.

In reality though steak isn't something I have much of except as an occasional treat.
 
Medium. If it bleeds onto the plate and turns my chips red I don’t want it.
This brings back memories of going to a steakhouse in Florida, where my sister and my dad both ordered fairly rare steaks (either rare or medium-rare; I can’t remember), and there was blood oozing all over their plates! They loved their steaks, which is of course the most important thing, but if it were me, the thought of eating something that was bleeding would put me off straight away, if I’m being honest!
Aah I was waiting for a @Matt N corner coffee thread thought it had been a while since the marmite thread which by the way love is in the lead!
Anyway in terms of stake I'm a big fan and do very much like it. To be honest I prefer it was a sauce as it adds extra flavour. If your not a fan of steak Matt maybe try it with some sauces my personal favourites are peppercorn sauce and BBQ and both go really well with steak. I like it medium-well preferable more towards the well however I don't want it so each mouthful takes twenty minutes to eat.
If I’m being honest, I’m not much of a condiments person myself. I know that most will think I’m crazy for this, but I mostly like things plain when it comes to savoury food. For instance, I eat chips with nothing other than salt on them, and I never have anything in a burger. I know it’s weird, but I’ve never especially liked condiments, on the whole.

I’ll admit that it isn’t all condiments I don’t like; I love a bit of apple sauce to go with pork, I don’t mind gravy, and when it comes to desserts, I often like them with custard or ice cream, to think of a few examples of condiments I like. However, I rarely have condiments when it comes to savoury food in particular, as weird as that probably sounds!
Steak is however overrated and a lot of its popularity is driven by masculinity statements and proclamations of how men have it cooked, rather than its taste, I find.
Interesting observation. Personally, I wouldn’t say steak is a solely masculine food at all; my sister, a woman, absolutely loves a good steak, and holds steak up as one of her favourite foods!

However, I have noticed that all of the men in my family often seem to gravitate towards steaks or other heavily meat-based options whenever we go out to eat. From experience, I’d say that my dad, my grandads and my uncles nearly always seem to order a steak, mixed grill, big burger or whatever similar meaty option is on the menu with all the trimmings (chips, onion rings, peas, tomatoes etc.) on the side. I’m not sure if it’s just my family, but I’ve noticed that the men I know often seem to gravitate towards these types of options; certainly a lot more so than the women in my family, anyway.

I, on the other hand, would never choose that kind of option, personally; when I eat out, I’m personally more a fan of different things, like pasta dishes, even though I have a fairly basic palette. Unlike the other men in my family, lasagne is usually my go to dish in a pub; I absolutely love it! Macaroni cheese and spaghetti bolognese are two of my other favourites, and outside of pasta, I do also love chicken strips/tenders with chips & baked beans if it’s on the menu! I know I don’t have a particularly expansive or sophisticated palette, but many places seem to do lasagne or some other, similar pasta dish that I like, so I don’t really suffer in this regard.
That's where you're going wrong. A well-done steak will be dry, tough and tasteless. It's got to be medium (at the most) if you want to get some decent flavour out of it. Similar to roast beef... if it's just grey all the way through then you might as well not even bother.
I’ll admit that if you’re talking joints of meat, beef isn’t something I’d personally gravitate towards in general. It’s odd, as I absolutely love minced beef and am rather partial to a beef burger, but I’ve never really had beef that much as an actual joint of meat and would never choose it. The fact that my mum absolutely hates beef in any form may have limited my exposure to it whenever we have things like roast dinners, however…
 
f I’m being honest, I’m not much of a condiments person myself. I know that most will think I’m crazy for this, but I mostly like things plain when it comes to savoury food. For instance, I eat chips with nothing other than salt on them, and I never have anything in a burger. I know it’s weird, but I’ve never especially liked condiments, on the whole.

I’ll admit that it isn’t all condiments I don’t like; I love a bit of apple sauce to go with pork, I don’t mind gravy, and when it comes to desserts, I often like them with custard or ice cream, to think of a few examples of condiments I like. However, I rarely have condiments when it comes to savoury food in particular, as weird as that probably sounds!
I'm not much of a condiments person either @Matt N . I only really eat condiments on steak, gravy (one of the best things every invented) and some desserts (such as custard). Oh and of course salt and vinegar on the chips.
 
There's so much to love about a rare/medium-rare steak.

The flavour, goodness the flavour, so good. I'm supposed to be sleeping but now all I can do is lie in bed and think about making a trip to the nearest farm shop.

When the chips soak up the red juices, oh boy I'm drooling at the thought. I'm going to sleep well tonight.


I do propose a new question though about what people do with the fat, I like to have a bit cut along with my pieces at the same time, but I am aware that some savages cut the whole fat off and scoff the entire slimey mess at the end, please enlighten me, why do people do this?!
 
I usually have mine medium-rare. If it's well-done, then I often find it to be tough and devoid of much flavour. There's a pub a few miles from me that's known for its steaks, and I can confirm it's worth the hype. With the different cuts, they also have recommendations on how they should be cooked. The cheesecake there is also good, and it's there where I inadvertently created the Merlin Annual Pass method of measurement with a slice of cheesecake. But I digress. :p

Really want a juicy medium-rare rib-eye steak right now, not gonna lie.
 
Depends on the cut.

I'm not the biggest fan of fillet and don't understand why the least flavoursome cut commands the biggest price, but they basically must be rare or you really shouldn't bother.

My favourite is ribeye, but it's fatty and that fat needs to be rendered down so medium rare it is.

Unless it's a very good specialst place I rarely have steak at restaurants any more, through practice I can cook it better at home than I can expect it to be cooked at most restaurants.
 
That's where you're going wrong. A well-done steak will be dry, tough and tasteless. It's got to be medium (at the most) if you want to get some decent flavour out of it. Similar to roast beef... if it's just grey all the way through then you might as well not even bother.

Personally I'd order medium but it depends if I trust the venue. If it's somewhere like Alton Towers I would go rare on the assumption they'll overcook it and it will still be fine. I'd rather it was under than over.

In reality though steak isn't something I have much of except as an occasional treat.

I can cook a well done decent fillet steak that is tender and flavoursome, but it is usually medium if someone else is cooking, and I rarely eat steak if eating out.
Absolute searing heat...frying pan thick and heavy, left on the heat for five minutes to get glowing red!
Sear both sides for thirty seconds, then a full fifteen minutes on a very low heat...usually a different pan at a much lower heat...not dry, very tender, full of flavour if it is matured for a full month first.
And Matt, Aldi's fillets at a fiver each are very good indeed, try cooking one for yourself.
 
I prefer to just go to the field and eat the cow as it is, lovely and fresh!

In all seriousness, it does depends on the venue (and country) but generally I go for medium. The best steak I have had (multiple times) is the Argentinian fillet/tenderloin at Captain's Finest, Europa-Park. Pure perfection.
 
My food pallet is so limited, I can't imagine how I'd get through life if Beef didn't exist. I eat it almost daily.

A massive juicy Rib Eye, medium rare, creamy peppercorn sauce, chips, cheesy garlic bread and a few cold pints. My perfect day off - until we have to go and get the kids from school of course for them to ruin it all.
 
I don't eat steak even though I do eat meat, but if I did it would have to be well done as I am very careful about food poisoning and will only eat food that is properly cooked.
 
I don't eat steak even though I do eat meat, but if I did it would have to be well done as I am very careful about food poisoning and will only eat food that is properly cooked.
I need to challenge that a rare steak is not "properly cooked". On a whole cut of meat, the bacteria is only on the outside and searing it will kill this bacteria making it safe to eat. [Source: FSA]
 
I don't eat steak even though I do eat meat, but if I did it would have to be well done as I am very careful about food poisoning and will only eat food that is properly cooked.

You won't get food poisoning from steak as long as the exterior is seared properly, as the inside has never touched anything that would put the bacteria onto it. Chicken can contain salmonella, but for everything else you get food poisoning from contact with something dirty. You are more likely to get sick from the salad than the steak.
 
This needs a second poll too, the age of the respondant!

I used to only like steak medium-well, if there was red juice on the plate, its underdone, but the hint of pink inside is fine.
Now I prefer it medium for sure, much more flavour, much less tough and the chips can soak up any juices and I enjoy it.
 
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