Steak.

[Abstract]

I'm kind of tired of people drowning their food in gravy, BBQ sauce, and any other derivative of tomato sauce.

It's bad enough for foods like chicken, but I particularly hate beef covered in sauce. This includes burgers and steak. I want my beef to taste like beef, and I want my beef to not taste like cardboard.


This thread is going to be a poll. I was going to make it a "Sauce, or no sauce?" poll, but I've decided to make it a "How do you like your steak cooked?" poll because it's probably more interesting.

So how do you like it?

Raw: Completely uncooked.

Blue rare/blood rare: Just seared on the outside. Inside is completely rare/red and still cool, as if it never touched the heat.

Rare: The outside is brown, while most of the middle is red

Medium rare: - The steak has a red centre, and is slightly pink as you reach the outsideenter.

Medium: The centre of the steak is red, but surrounded by a good amount of pink.

Medium well done: The middle section is mostly some shade of pink, but becomes more brown as you move further towards the outside.

Well done: The meat is just brown.

 

[xUKHCx]

Good descriptions, I have found that you have to adjust your decision based on the country you are in.

In the UK I have mine medium rare with an empahsis on the rare end.

However when I was in Belgium and gave the same description the steak was still attached to the cow

From your description above I have mine Rare

 

[iShater]

You skipped the "medium well done" in the poll

I like mine medium well, i don't need to see the blood of the victim thank you.

 

[rdowns]

Pink on the inside, FTW.

 

[heehee]

It depends on where I'm having my steak. For most restaurants, I have my steak medium rare. If it's an expensive restaurant, I have it rare.

Now I'm hungry.

 

[bigandy]

Depending on my mood, blue or rare.

 

[BoyBach]

To cook a steak any longer than 'rare' is a crime against a good cut of meat.


EDIT: Mr Abstract, you need to edit your poll. It has two 'Rare' options!

 

[Veldek]

Going after your description, I like mine "rare". What's interesting is, that this is called "english" in Germany. Do you know this term, especially in England?

 

[Melrose]

The one time I had it, it was medium-well/well done. It was okay.

Is Kobe beef really all that? And what is Steak Tartare? Raw?

 

[xUKHCx]

EDIT: Mr Abstract, you need to edit your poll. It has two 'Rare' options!

Done. It should've been raw.

Going after your description, I like mine "rare". What's interesting is, that this is called "english" in Germany. Do you know this term, especially in England?

Never heard that term, learn something new everyday.

 

[Tilpots]

Med Rare. Cooked on the Grill. Rub on a bit of olive oil, worchestshire, minced garlic, Season-All and Ground black pepper. Serve with Mashed Potatoes and Corn on the Cob. Heaven.

 

[sushi]

To cook a steak any longer than 'rare' is a crime against a good cut of meat.

Completely agree.

Good steak is not meant to be cooked.

 

[Raid]

I like mine Medium-rare, but seared on both sides first to lock in the flavour.

Damn I wish I had a BBQ at my place... fire code/condo rules prevent it.

 

[twoodcc]

well done. i like my food cooked

 

[brn2ski00]

I love steak, mid rare all the way

 

[Iscariot]

When I ate steak, I would eat it rare.

And I completely agree with you about sauces. I would eat my meat seasoned a little bit, with salt, pepper, olive oil and garlic, but that's about it. The only gravy I would eat would be the gravy my mom made with roast beef from the drippings.

 

[ucfgrad93]

I prefer mine done medium to medium well.

 

[obeygiant]

How can you even eat raw meat? I have a hard time chewing it.

T
Is Kobe beef really all that?

Yes, it is. Expensive and very good. They feed the cow beer and massage them often.

 

[rdowns]

They feed the cow beer and massage them often.

Just like the wife I'm searching for.

 

[sushi]

Is Kobe beef really all that?

In a word, yes.

How can you even eat raw meat? I have a hard time chewing it.

Good beef, will melt in your mouth when eaten raw.

First, you must feed the cow (steer in this case) the correct wholesome feed. None of that fast gainer ****.

Second, you must kill the steer correctly.

Third, it must be well aged.

Fourth, it must be cut up into desirable pieces of meat.

If you are queasy, please do not read the rest of this post.

Regarding the second step, the steer must be taken by surprise so that the adrenal glands do not do their thing.

The way we did it, is to lure the steer to you so that it is relaxed and unsuspecting. We used a two person team; the shooter and the slitter. The shooter would rub the head so that the steer is pacified. Meanwhile you take your 22 rifle with a 22 short round (bullet), and get the barrel at a certain place between the eyes. It's hard to explain the place, but easy to show. This place allows the bullet to penetrate the tough skull of the steer and go directly into the brain cavity.

You use a short round so that it does not exit the skull, but rather rattles around and destroys the brain tissue whereby the steer is pretty much killed instantly.

At this point, the heart is still beating, believe it or not. So you have to get the blood out as quickly as possible so the adrenal glands cannot distribute adrenalin throughout the body. If you have done the first part correctly, the steer has little time to react and release adrenaline. However, it will react to being shot.

This is where the second person enters. The first person is holding the head to keep it from dropping and the second person slits the throat from ear to ear as they say. The blood comes out very quickly if done correctly. Then the steer will fall over to one side and continue the bleed out. It is important to hold the head so that the slit is clean. You use a very sharp hooked knife that makes the process easy.

At this point we would hang the steer from the hind quarters to finish the bleed out using a small tractor with a front scoop. It makes it easy to elevate the steer via hydraulics.

While the bleed out is finishing you can start the skinning process. Before doing this you need to decide if you are going to sell/use the pelt or not. This will determine how you skin and how careful you will be.

When you are done with the skinning process, you then prepare for the aging process by quartering, or at least halving, the steer.

The aging process to me is the gross part. You wait until the meat is a certain color, stench and consistency. We're talking letting it go to the point where you will get some maggots and some really slimy goo on the outside of the meat. Puddles of the runoff will form under the hanging meat. This means that the meat is breaking down and becoming tender. Very tender if done correctly.

Then when the proper consistency is reached, you wipe off the goo and maggots from the meat and then wash it clean. Then take it to your local butcher who will cut and wrap as you desire.

This is how we did it. Many of my friends used similar if not the same methodology. The two big points are the stun/kill shot and the throat slit. If either of these are screwed up, the meat is usually no good. It becomes very chewy and is not the least bit tender. Of course you can always use it for hamburger. But it's not fit for good steak and such.

Well, I hope that you enjoyed the description. Now I am hungry for a nice bloody rare steak.

Note, this is not how the large stockyards do it. And that is why much of the store bought meat that you can buy is not top quality compared to homegrown, raised and butchered.

Just like the wife I'm searching for.

Unfortunately, the end result might not be the desired outcome!

 

[MacNut]

umm right.

med rare please.

 

[mkrishnan]

I like mine according to your definition of Medium, or perhaps slightly less cooked than that, although I rarely have steak.

I do have to say, the last time I went to a steakhouse (not my idea), three of the four $40-50 steaks were overcooked. Two went back, and I just dealt with mine (A filet mignon that was supposed to be medium minus or something like that... ended up being between medium well and well) and the other two returned theirs (we really went at their behest). It really ruined their nights, because they were so upset about the steaks (and the waitress tried to contest one of them on what they ordered). I dislike the idea of savoring a really expensive meal and then only getting what you ask for half the time... but then I usually don't have that many $80-90 meals and I'm not that big of a steak fan (I just chose the smallest steak, which happened to be an 8 oz Filet).

 

[iBlue]

I love steak and can scarcely afford to eat it here. The cost of meat in the UK is excruciating compared to what you get in the US.

Anyway, medium-rare for me, when possible.

 

[floyde]

If you are queasy, please do not read the rest of this post.

Ok, that's it. I'm going vegan .

Lol, I love all kinds of meat but I try not to imagine how all these animals that I'm eating died. It spoils the fun of eating them

 

[Much Ado]

Medium-rare was great until I discovered Medium, which is less manly but more tasty.