/ck/ - Food & Cooking

[Anonymous No.6146528]

I'm a little bit confused about well done steak. I've never had it but I've heard it's dry and leathery. But proponents consistently insist that is not the case, however I suspect they are just ignorant of properly cooked meat.

Also some chefs will put well done orders in deep fryers?

[Anonymous No.6146539]

It is dry rough and chewy, kids like it because it no longer tastes like meat.

[Anonymous No.6146542]

i overcooked a wellington the other day. it wasn't *as* bad as i was expecting but still a total waste. it's not just that it's dry, you miss out on a lot of flavour when you overcook stuff.

honestly i can see appreciation of well done steak being within the purview of informed preference but it is of course bemusing - you're losing close to 50% of the steak's moisture just inherently when you take it to that temperature. the flavour is more complex because you probably get a deeper 'browned meat' flavour but much less of the sweetness and outdoorsy aroma from the rare juices.

[Anonymous No.6146602]

>>6146542
please don't ever attempt writing as a professional

[Anonymous No.6146609]

>>6146602
right idk how but that gave me a headache

[Anonymous No.6146625]

>>6146609
tryhard faggots have that effect

[Anonymous No.6146645]

Wtf why deep fry steak?

[Anonymous No.6146662]

>>6146645

In a restaurant kitchen well-done steaks are a major hassle because they take so long to cook that it fucks up the timing of getting people's meals out on time. It also occupies a much-needed burner on the stove for a long time, preventing other foods from being cooked on that hob. The deep fryer is used as a shortcut to cook the steak faster, and to avoid tying up a burner for a long time. It's certainly not a proper way to cook it, but it's not like you can tell anyway when it's cooked that much.

[Anonymous No.6146667]

>>6146602

what do you mean

[Anonymous No.6146690]

>>6146662
probably comes out better that way anyways

[Anonymous No.6146700]

>>6146662
>In a restaurant kitchen well-done steaks are a major hassle

This. Also fuck it, if the customer cares about their food so little they order well done, they don't care if it's cooked in a fucking deep fryer.

[Anonymous No.6146714]

>>6146528
>But proponents consistently insist that is not the case

that can come down to the quality of the steak that people tend to buy/eat.

Generally speaking, as meat gets cooked the texture changes in sort of a "hump" fashion. Raw meat is relatively soft. As the meat is first cooked the texture gets firm. That happens relatively quickly. And then, if you keep cooking it for a very long time eventually the meat sort of falls apart (such as fork-tender meat in a stew). So in that regard, a "well done" piece of meat will always be firmer than lesser cooked meat.

However, if you have a cheap crappy steak that has big chunks of fat in it, or gristle, then you have a conflict. If you have a steak like that and don't cook it for very long then the meat may be tender, but the gristle and fat will be quite unpleasant. When cooked to "well done" the fat and gristle become much more palatable even though the meat itself is firmer. In my opinion people that claim that well-done steaks are "more tender" are used to eating crappy meat with gristle in it.

If you have a good steak sans gristle or big chunks of fat then this disappears.

[Anonymous No.6146722]

>>6146528
Putting a question mark at the end of a post does not turn it into a question.

[Anonymous No.6146728]

>>6146714
>such as fork-tender meat in a stew

The difference is that the meat in the stew has been cooked in liquid. Steak is thin and pan/griddle cooked. All the moisture simply evaporates.

The longer you leave a steak on the heat the dryer and tougher it becomes. At no point does it start to become more tender.

[Anonymous No.6146732]

>>6146728

> At no point does it start to become more tender.

if it has a lot of intramuscular fat and collagen, it sort of does.

[Anonymous No.6146742]

>>6146728

The moisture is not what makes "stewed" dishes tender. Rather it is the breaking down of the proteins in the meat via heat.

If you kept a steak on the heat for hours like you'd cook a stew, and the heat was low enough that it didn't burn the steak, it would break down just like stew meat does.

Of course I agree that it's fucking silly to do that. I was simply explaining how the toughness of protein exposed to heat follows a hump-shaped graph. It was a general discussion of how heat affects protein. If you want further reading on the subject check out Modernist Cuisine. Sorry I don't recall the exact vol/chapter and I'm at work right now so I can't check.

[Anonymous No.6146748]

well-done steak is alright if its tenderized and marinated to all fuck.

put it a salad or some fajitas, and nobody will complain.

[Anonymous No.6146754]

>>6146732
>>6146742
Yes, I admit it will break down, but I wouldn't' describe it as "tender". We don't mind stewed meat being that way because it's remained moist; I'm not sure that eating a dry piece of meat would be quite the same experience.

[Anonymous No.6146758]

>>6146748
I don't see why you'd bother to use steak for that, though. There's plenty of cheaper cuts that you can use that'd work just as well.

[Anonymous No.6146763]

>>6146539
>im a le adult :^)

[Anonymous No.6146768]

>>6146754

it's 'fork-tender' the way a braised beef cheek is. obviously a different kind of tender but there is a point beyond which tough cuts will start to become more palatable, as the muscle bundles begin to open up and are lubricated by solubilised gelatin and fat.

[Anonymous No.6146811]

>>6146754
>Yes, I admit it will break down

Well, that was the extent of the point so we're done here. Nobody was implying that it was desirable to eat that kind of meat--it was simply a discussion as to the chemical and physical changes that happen in meat as it is cooked.

[Anonymous No.6146821]

>>6146667
he wanst you to use proper grammer on the internet because you have offended his sanctuary that his prescence is among that is the internet.

td;lr loser gets pissed off because he probably has no justification of grammer anywhere else otherwise why would he care?

[Anonymous No.6146851]

>>6146821

idk i don't think my grammar was so bad he's probably just shitting on me for the combination of big words and lazy sentence structuring.

[Anonymous No.6146854]

>>6146528
>pic related
>too done
>/ck/ logic

[Anonymous No.6146884]

>>6146722
I only asked one question dipshit.

[Anonymous No.6146888]

>>6146854
It's raw meat. Do you think meat turns red when cooked?

[Anonymous No.6146898]

>>6146884

I think his point was that your grammar was bad and therefore you didn't ask any question at all.

[Anonymous No.6146909]

the more you cook a steak the more you get a salty, tangy flavour. well done steak goes all in on salty, tangy, cooked-meat flavour and gets a texture that's usually too chewy and dry and loses the more subtle, bloody flavours.

totally uncooked steak cuts do have a taste to them and are perfectly edible and quite nice, but it isn't a very intense flavour, and is honestly a waste compared to the more intense flavour the meat gets when medium rare.

Medium rare still has the bloody , raw, more delicate taste to the meat and the salty, tangy taste when the meat gets cooked.

Also the texture of totally raw beef steak is shitty. It's basically jelly. too soft to be satisfying.

too much chewiness isn't nice bu neither is insubstantial stuff that totally gives way.

[Anonymous No.6147191]

>>6146888
this new

[Anonymous No.6147202]

>>6146854
It's been removed from the animal. You need to wait until it gets to the table to do that or it's overdone.

[Anonymous No.6147208]

>>6146528
>Also some chefs will put well done orders in deep fryers?

lolwut, I've never seen this

[Anonymous No.6147301]

>>6146714
>Eating gristle
Ugh

[Anonymous No.6147327]

>>6147191

I don't think he's new, I think you just made a really fucking dumb joke and are now trying to distract from your stupidity by ridiculing someone else.

[Anonymous No.6147335]

Steak is much better when it's well done.

I prefer to eat it along with mashed potatoes and mustard. I know what you're all thinking

>mustard

But it really is delicious

[Anonymous No.6147372]

Supposedly, if you go in a restaurant and order a well done steak, you will make the chef very happy because he can then cook an old steak that he might have had to throw away knowing that you will never be able to taste the difference.

He would never have been able to serve that steak to someone ordering it medium rare or even medium because the tastes would have been very noticeable.

[Anonymous No.6147373]

>>6147335
>mustard

I agree, I quite frequently spread a thin layer of whole grain mustard over a freshly cooked steak.

[Anonymous No.6147467]

>>6147335

why would we all be thinking anything negative? beef and mustard is a god tier and very traditional combo.

[Anonymous No.6148964]

One thing to keep in mind if you really do want a well done steak, cooking it at high heat is really going to dry it out.

Cook it in butter at medium low turning frequently and test with a temperature probe for internal temperature to determine when done. Don't even think about searing it.

It may not be great, but it will be edible and not completely dried out.

[Anonymous No.6149235]

Back in the day they advised people to cook meats well done for sanitary reasons. That's why you mostly see only 50+ year olds doing this shit and the poor people they've passed it down onto.

There is no justification for well done steaks from a flavor or texture perspective only historical health concerns left over from a bygone era

[Anonymous No.6149439]

ITT: Blue rare plebs

>2015
>staying on the visual spectrum
>not eating UltraViolet rare steak surgically removed from cow at table side and served at cow body temp

condescendingcostanza.psd

[Anonymous No.6150313]

I prefer well done steaks, If i am not a normal restaurant I will usually get medium, if I am at a nice restaurant or cooking my own I get Well done and send it back if it isn't charred, and brown through. In most nice steak places they have extremely powerful broilers or other equipment and honestly of course the hope is a very good chef.

The thing is its not so much I like well done as I am very sensitive to water in my food, and drink. Its one of the reason I don't like almost all beer its too watery, and blood is mostly water too. I actually wrap my steaks before I cook them to draw the water out.

[Anonymous No.6150537]

>>6146754
>Overcooked meat
>Dry cooking method

It's called "barbecue."

Raw meat is very soft. As it cooks it gets drier and tougher. Barbecue cooks even longer and the meat fibers themselves get very dry and tough but the collagen in the meat breaks down into gelatin which lubricates the meat fibers, giving you meat that is tender (because the connective tissue no longer exists) and juicy (because it is soaked in gelatin). The sensations come full circle even though the meat is technically overcooked.

The reason you don't throw a good steak in a smoker for 10 hours is because good steaks are good because they don't have that connective tissue. Cheaper beef does have that connective tissue, making it shitty for grilling but excellent for barbecue. A well done steak is just half-assed barbecue.

This is basic stuff people.

[Anonymous No.6151080]

>>6150313

A well done steak that is charred is really pathetic.

[Anonymous No.6151111]

>>6146542
>rare juices

[Anonymous No.6151394]

>>6150537
+7 interwebs

[Anonymous No.6152197]

>>6151111

wut

[Anonymous No.6154200]

I always eat steak well done. I just don't like chewy stuff in my steak. At all. Whatsoever.

[Anonymous No.6154324]

>>6146662
Not searing and then finishing in an oven, u wot m8

[Anonymous No.6154328]

>>6154200
Maybe steak isn't for you, bub.

[Anonymous No.6154331]

>>6146528

It depends on if your definition of well done is a steak that is safe for general human consumption or a steak prepared for the immunocompromised.

A steak safe for general consumption that is well done with generally still have a slight pink tone in the center areas of the cut. This should be pink yet in no way bloody. Pressing down around the pink area should only bring out clear juices, no blood.

A steak well done for the immunocompromised is a steak that has been cooked until no pink remains in any part of the meat. This can take awhile. If chefs are throwing them in deep fryers, it may be so that it doesn't take 20 or 30 minutes to bring someone's food out.

It is... chewy, to say the least. It isn't burnt or anything, but is definitely harder to chew then a properly prepared steak. Without seasons and sauces it also has no flavor, cooking meat that far just steals the flavor.

[Anonymous No.6154364]

Here's a chart.

[Anonymous No.6154372]

>>6154364

To clarify, even the steak that is "well done" has a slight pink tone that may be even more vivid outside photography. Something between medium well and well done is a properly cooked, well done steak.

A steak for the immunocompromised actually requires cooking past the well done stage with no pink tone at all. (If you go to a restaurant and ask for a well done steak, they will more then likely cook it to this degree if it isn't a fancy restaurant. At a fancy restaurant, you have to ask them to cook it a little more.)

[Anonymous No.6156328]

>>6146662
One word: Butterfly

[Anonymous No.6156341]

>>6146539
Not true, well done can end up pretty good but I prefer medium rare.

[Anonymous No.6156778]

Well done, when done well, has some merits. It's overall less flavorful than rare steak, but it has a nice crispyness to it, especially the fat.

[Anonymous No.6157199]

>>6154331
>A steak safe for general consumption that is well done with generally still have a slight pink tone in the center areas of the cut.

Huh?