I just grilled the best MOTHER^&**& steak ever....

[kosis]

:chuckles:

Well.. To preface, I eat my steak medium rare. There is no blood in a medium rare steak. None.

If there is any blood, even a hint, the steak is VERY rare. The juices flowing from a steak that's medium rare are deeply colored just as they with a juicy medium well steak. These juices are next to absent in a well done steak; they've typically cooked off from the outer exterior and what's left just keeps the steak barely moist....

If I had to recommend a steak to eat well done, it'd have to be a New York Strip steak.. It's a flavorful cut, it's not really expensive, and it's firm enough (without being tough) to be cut rather thin (about 1.25" max) allowing you to cook it quickly and without overcooking the outside to get the inside to the necessary doneness. It's just a very versatile steak that works well with sauces and marinades to help tenderize a steak that's preparing to be cooked to death.. :chuckles:

But on another note.. I'd seriously recommend you just try a medium-rare ribeye... Get one from a good steak house, (hyde park rarely disappoints), and just cut it open and look at it.. It's not bleeding.. Give it a taste. Cut it against the grain in a small piece, and dip it in its own delicious juices.... Savor it... Love it.

Let me know if you change your mind...

p.s.
I grew up being disgusted by the idea of a "medium-rare" steak. I used to say the same thing you did: "shits bloody, mofos are foul.." When I was 19, I was drunk as fuck and a friend of mine was like "dude, you hungry, I got a free fucking steak cuz my order took so long.." Of course I initially refused because knowing the guy I knew he ate his shit medium-rare.. Suffice it to say, I was so wasted I ate the fuckin steak.. One of the best meals I've ever had.. Will never go back to eating well done steak. It's almost as vile to me now as medium-rare was then.. Like sawdust.

Hahahaha "shits bloody, mofos are foul.." might be the perfect way to sum up my opinion. I actually stay bewildered by it. A lot of great insight in your post Gour, as always. One day I may break down and it might be the first piece of peer pressure that wins me over. Just seeing the red though, it kills me.

I'll never forget the day I went to Lola and ordered the pheasant or duck a while back... it came back red on the inside and I asked the server why it wasn't thoroughly cooked or why she didn't ask me how I wanted it. She told me it couldn't be prepared any other way. My inner soul was significantly bothered.

Anyways, I shall update with a medium well steak experience if it ever happens but I don't drink so I doubt I'll ever get to those vulnerability levels that are probably needed.

 

[kosis]

if you are cooking it well done you need to go with something that is more tender because the longer you cook it the more the muscles tense up and making it less tender, meaning I would go with sirloin (but thats my preference anyway).

however more than the cut of meat is about how you prepare it. if you know you are going to be cooking it well done, marinate it. There are plenty of marinade recipes in this thread along with other similar threads that all probably taste fantastic. the reason people typically dont like well done steak is because generally speaking a well done steak ends up dry, and thats the worst thing that can happen. as long as you keep the steak moist (slowly cooking it, marinating it, etc) you should be fine. hell even as much as putting on a little bit of butter on top of the steak each time you flip it should be enough.

Thank you Bob, marination has always been a friend of mine.

 

[Shakalu M.D.]

Hahahaha "shits bloody, mofos are foul.." might be the perfect way to sum up my opinion. I actually stay bewildered by it. A lot of great insight in your post Gour, as always. One day I may break down and it might be the first piece of peer pressure that wins me over. Just seeing the red though, it kills me.

I'll never forget the day I went to Lola and ordered the pheasant or duck a while back... it came back red on the inside and I asked the server why it wasn't thoroughly cooked or why she didn't ask me how I wanted it. She told me it couldn't be prepared any other way. My inner soul was significantly bothered.

Anyways, I shall update with a medium well steak experience if it ever happens but I don't drink so I doubt I'll ever get to those vulnerability levels that are probably needed.

Medium well is barely even pink :chuckles:. If you need to get drunk to try it than you are way more grossed out by the red than I thought you were.

 

[Cactus Jack]

OK, Here's another style of cooking you should try.

Get a good thick serloin, about min of 1-1/2 " thick, slather heavily with Grey Poupon Dijon and coat heavily with Kosher salt. I know it's a mess, but worthwhile.

Thow it directly on the coals and cook each side about 4 to 6 minutes depending on how thick and how you like it done. It puts a hard crust on it that will peel right off when done.

I did it for my family a while back and my son-in-law said he wouldn't eat anything thrown on the coals. :chuckles: We all dug in and it was great. After about two minutes he decided to try it and proceeded to polish it all off.

It might take a time or two to get the right doneness, but It's great. My dad used to pour some boubon on it near the finish, but I prefer to drink the bourbon.

Happy eats.

 

[CornerThree]

It's probably some busted filet, anyways, I've been getting whole filet for like 4.44 a pound all summer. I think the reason being that they're very small(3.5lbs or so). I know it's not the greatest, but it's better than any steak I can get in that price range. I don't mind cutting it down and trimming it myself.

 

[CornerThree]

Also, Pork tenderloin is a really good time on the grill. And you can typically get it for less than Top Sirloin costs. I also eat Pork tenderloin medium-medium well. Don't believe the hype that Pork needs to be well well done.

 

[ssopata]

Also, Pork tenderloin is a really good time on the grill. And you can typically get it for less than Top Sirloin costs. I also eat Pork tenderloin medium-medium well. Don't believe the hype that Pork needs to be well well done.

Now that pork farmersis are federally regulated there's definitley no need to over cook like grandma used to. I make my pork loin or pork ribs so that they're just a little bit of pink in the center.

 

[gourimoko]

Now that pork farmersis are federally regulated there's definitley no need to over cook like grandma used to. I make my pork loin or pork ribs so that they're just a little bit of pink in the center.

:chuckles: I'm with kosis on the pork tip fellas...

"That shit ain't done... Yall mofos trying to kill me.."

But you're right it can be "safely" cooked to medium-well, but I'm good..

 

[Jon]

When I'm pan searing, I typically cook my steak all the way in the pan, but I prefer anything from true rare (still raw in the middle) to medium rare. Keeping the cast iron pan below smoke alarm levels, the timing is something like 4 min on one side and 2.5 min on the other for an inch and a half steak. The crust forms just fine with the extended time, and often I drop the heat back as it cooks. You can also tent the pan with some foil to prevent splatter but you don't want to steam the meat.

If I'm cooking something that actually needs more time, like a pork chop, a thick cut steak, a rack of lamb, veal chop, etc, then I'll move the pan to the oven. Again, I'd keep the temperature in the oven lower, as at that point I've already seared the meat and I'm just roasting - and there's no need to smoke up the kitchen. 450 or under is just fine (roasting is typically done at 325/350). I'll often use a remote readout thermometer to finish (just don't listen to the USDA) as a) they're nuts, b) they don't take in to account how the temperature keeps rising as the food rests, and c) they're nuts. Think of it this way. If you're in to *true* rare which means a cold center, what must the temperature be in the middle to feel cool to your finger? If you said under 98.6F, you'd be correct. Personally, I'll cook a steak to 105F for rare, and 110F for medium rare.

If you want to cook meat consistently right, you need to either use a consistent sized cut and cooking method; or get yourself a thermometer.

I don't like pan searing in stainless or aluminum because it seems to form a patina on the pan that's very hard to clean, whereas in cast iron I just dump in copious amounts of kosher salt and scrape it clean with a metal spatula. I also use a cast iron fry pan, and not a grill pan because the grill pans are impossible to clean.

The best steak we've had recently were some prime strips that were on sale for $10/lb. The marbling was about the closest thing I've seen to Japanese Kobe in an American steak (which is to say still a long ways off, but still awesome). I only seasoned them with salt & pepper, but you'd swear I'd covered them in bacon and cooked them in bacon fat. I actually cooked those out on my Weber Baby-Q gas grill. It doesn't put out a lot of BTUs, but it has cast iron grates and does a nice job when pre-heated long enough. If I'd done those in the cast iron, they would have ended up swimming in their own grease. I'd forgotten how good a strip steak could be.

Personally, I'd rather roast a rib eye and in a pinch when I was looking for a standing rib roast and the store was out of them, I've done exactly that by using a really thick cut rib eye. Same cut of meat. Porterhouse is typically my favorite, though, as the bone adds flavor and you get some of the strip and the tenderloin - but it has to be thick.

btw, 1 1/2" is my minimum thickness for a quality steak. Anything less than that and you might as well marinate, add rubs, whatever ...

Finally, I don't typically tent a steak while letting it rest, unless I took it off early and want it to cook more. If you do tent, definitely make sure the steam can get out so it doesn't dissolve the crust.

Disclaimer: If you suffer from food poisoning after following any of my tips, please stop buying meat from questionable sources or providers. The USDA has their rules about how long to cook meat because they stopped taking responsibility for our food supply years ago.

 

[Jon]

Now that pork farmersis are federally regulated there's definitley no need to over cook like grandma used to. I make my pork loin or pork ribs so that they're just a little bit of pink in the center.

Just like grandma ... don't count on the feds. Count on your meat provider.

Pork has always been safe to eat pink if you buy safe pork.

The problem with pork is that in their mad rush to create the "new white meat" they've made a leaner and leaner product that can't stand up to overcooking.

Pork ribs, IMO, are still one of the exceptions. I always cook them through, and when they've accidentally come out undercooked - they were tougher/stringier.

 

[PIP]

When I'm pan searing

:chuckles:

<3 you, Jon....

 

[Otsego Mar]

Bump for tube steak.

 

[JFT]

Dup

 

[JFT]

Man, Mo Gotti would be so proud of you all. I will try them all while waiting on Mo's first 3 this fall--thanks.

 

[FiveThous]

36oz cowboy steak, salt and pepper only. Cooked to a perfect 128° med rare.