How do you prefer your steak? Spare no detail

[Synobun]

Rewriting 'wrong' as 'sub-optimal' doesn't change what you're saying, and that seems like an awfully strange way to try and zinger someone.

 

[metalhead]

Actually, changing words tends to have the effect of changing what one was saying.

Does that zing a little better?

 

[Synobun]

Actually, changing words tends to have the effect of changing what one was saying.

Does that zing a little better?

No, because you quoted a reply about steak preferences being wrong. If it'd been an independent point then sure, different meaning, but in the context of the discussion you were operating with the same definition even if you were writing a different word.

 

[metalhead]

Well that seems rather silly. If I intended to say "wrong," wouldn't I have just said "wrong?" Why would the context import the meaning of one word into another? I even made a point to say that one preparation is not "better" than another, but that seems to have been completely lost, or ignored.

 

[Synobun]

Well that seems rather silly. If I intended to say "wrong," wouldn't I have just said "wrong?" Why would the context import the meaning of one word into another? I even made a point to say that one preparation is not "better" than another, but that seems to have been completely lost, or ignored.

No, because you quoted a reply about steak preferences being wrong. If it'd been an independent point then sure, different meaning, but in the context of the discussion you were operating with the same definition even if you were writing a different word.

If your point wasn't related to the discussion you were directly involving yourself in then you should have offered your point independently.

 

[Sommerswerd]

Are you guys talking about steak or wrongness?

 

[caketastydelish]

Animals are butchered for human enjoyment. And I take my enjoyment very seriously. I would not sacrifice my steak just so some stupid farting cow can live. And a man's got to eat. This is a life and death situation. These are the steaks.

 

[W|M]

Rare picanha on a BBQ grill is the best IMO

 

[metalhead]

If your point wasn't related to the discussion you were directly involving yourself in then you should have offered your point independently.

To be related to the discussion it has to be saying the exact same thing? Offering a different, more nuanced version doesn't count as "related?"

 

[Arwon]

There are proper ways to prepare foods, to provide maximum flavor, optimal texture, and in the case of meat, maximum liquid retention/reabsorption and elimination of the risk of food-borne illness.

Usually the reason proffered for wanting a steak cooked to medium or beyond is an aversion to "undercooked" meat, not because it is itself a superior preparation method for any reason actually connected to the final product as food. I have no problem if you prefer a sub-optimal method of preparation, all I ask is the self-awareness to recognize it as sub-optimal

There are, but within the range of optimal preparation there are a range of preference-based decisions and results. Steak zealots tend to overly narrowly set their parameters for "proper" preparation.

 

[metalhead]

I have a hard time considering any dry meat to have undergone an optimal cooking process. When it comes to steak, some cuts will stay moist and juicy unless you cook them to the other side of well done, but less fatty ones can dry out at medium-well, or even before.

 

[Commodore]

If it's not cooked on a grill, it's cooked wrong. This is an objective indisputable fact.

 

[Leifmk]

Looking at some infographics I found in /r/steak, it seems that I like my steak right in between rare and medium rare. As long as it's well seared on the outside and nice and juicy and pink/reddish in the inside, I'll be happy though.

My tastes exactly. Furthermore my usual preferred cut is a good ribeye.

Sub-prime cuts of beef have other optimal uses than steak. In our household, these usually involving several hours of cooking.

 

[metalhead]

The key is to find a butcher you trust that has prime-quality meats without the label.

 

[civvver]

If it's not cooked on a grill, it's cooked wrong. This is an objective indisputable fact.

A steak seared on a cast iron skillet and finished in the over is truly amazing. Grills flavor steaks when the meat drippings hit the hot coals/shield/whatever and burn off transferring the flavor upwards to the meat. It's like basting your meat in it's own juices. Similarly searing on a skillet cooks the meat directly in it's juices. The flavor isn't that different, if at all, if you're using a gas grill. If using charcoal or wood fired that smokiness will change the flavor of the steak. The texture will be different though, it's easier to get a uniform seared crust on a steak on a flat surface than on grill grates obviously. And it's a little easier to baste in butter on the stove.

 

[Manfred Belheim]

I like to place my steak between electroplates with a 50,000 V potential difference, and let the current surge through the meat for 0.0068 Martian days.

Anything else isn't a real steak imho.

 

[Oerdin]

Rare picanha on a BBQ grill is the best IMO

I have had that before and let us be honest. That is a very cheap cut of meat for a reason. It is extremely tough, there is rarely any meaningful marbling, yet there is a huge amount of excess fat (often 1/3rd to 1/2 the total weight) just sitting on top.

Sure, even garbage cuts of meat can be turned into something tasty (with enough trimming of fat, marinading, tenderizing with a hammer, or slow cooking to render that shoe leather decent) but it is fair to call that a subprime cut. Thus why it is normally simply ground into ground beef. If we are talking tasty yet low prices cuts then tri tip is the way to go, if we are talking a higher end cut then few cuts can match a well marbled ribeye, if we are talking all around versatility then brisket is gard to beat with its numerous ways to be prepared well.

 

[civvver]

In the US restaurants usually only serve 4 cuts of steak- sirloin or top sirloin which is like entry level quality steak, new york strip/strip steak, ribeye (boneless ribeye sometimes called delmonico) and filet or filet mignon. Porterhouse is also popular but it's just a big cut that includes a strip and a filet since they're adjacent. It's usually a gigantic piece of meat like 20 ounces or more since it's so much surface area and no one is cutting a lovely piece of meat like that thin.

If they have skirt/flank steak it's for fajitas, if they have brisket it's a bbq joint. Sometimes they have a flat iron steak which is just a cut from a chuck roast and very similar in quality and taste to a sirloin.

 

[Gen.Mannerheim]

The only places I order steak is at either a dedicated steakhouse or an Italian restaurant. Seafood restaurants and diners are usually cook the worst steaks. And while some BBQ places make a good one, you at a Barbecue joint, get some Barbecue!

There's been a correlation of the rise of "steak toppings" and the lowering of the quality of the meat at most restaurants. Since 2008, when the restaurant industry took a hit along with the rest of the U.S. economy, many steakhouses and restaurants started to compensate by buying lower grades of meat and then offering toppings to try and enhance the flavor (honestly cover up the cheaper meat) at the table. Even though the economy has gotten better, this practice has remained.

I usually order my steak medium while eating out, because if they over/under cook it it will still be within a edible state. When cooking at home or at a party, it tend to go on the redder side.

 

[Sommerswerd]

I have a hard time considering any dry meat to have undergone an optimal cooking process. When it comes to steak, some cuts will stay moist and juicy unless you cook them to the other side of well done, but less fatty ones can dry out at medium-well, or even before.

I find NY Strip to be pretty forgiving in terms of overcooking... stays pretty moist and tender even up to medium well.