/ck/ - Food & Cooking

The flavor of a steak comes from 2 main factors. The browned crust, and the interior fat. The ideal flavor is obtained by browning the exterior and rendering the internal fat while taking care to not burn off the fat that you render out. Fattier cuts can survive being cooked for longer, but optimal flavor is reached around medium rare (~135 degrees F). Any less than medium rare and you likely won’t render out that fat. Any more and your precious (and expensive) intramuscular fat will be cooked off. Going past well done also makes the interior of the steak tougher. Either you should stop as soon as you are confident that the fat has been rendered out, or you should continue until the connective tissue in the meat breaks down (as we see in stews or bbq).