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tater · 01-22-11, 11:09 PM

Say you want rare. The very center would be ~120°F (~49°C). If the steak was 40°F at the center (fridge temp), you have to raise that bit 80°. The trouble is that since the heat is coming from the outside, the outside gets crisped while the center slowly heats.

What you see when you cut such a steak is the crust on the outside (which is very well done, obviously, then grey, well done meat surrounding our rare center. The trouble is that it has taken so long to get the center to 120 that the "rare" bit of your 1.5" thick steak is almost not there. In fact, the bulk of the steak is well or medium well, and only a sliver in the middle is well.

A "perfect" rare steak would have a great crust (again, the crust is very well done), but the crust would be VERY thin, and the entire interior would be a uniform 120°. 1.25" of red, rare steak, and 1/8 of an inch of crust all around.

If you start with the steak at room temp (~70°F), the very center only needs to rise 50°. This radically improves your chances of having the bulk of the middle fall in the rare range (~120-125°), with a thin crust.

With any cooking method, you'd be very well served to get a probe thermometer with a temp alarm (under $20). Set the temp alarm to 5°F below your target temp. So 115 for rare (120 final temp after resting), 121° for medium rare (126 target temp), 131° (135 final) for medium. I'd not worry about well, there is no "perfect way to ruin meat. Above medium anything is ruined enough to be "well done." (anyone who orders well-done in a restaurant should reconsider eating out, or order something else. In restaurants, they typically save the worst pieces of meat for "well" since no one ordering well can tell the difference anyway (the best cut cooked well tastes no better than the worst).

Use the probe. Cook enough on your grill or pan, (ideally try for the same thickness of steak every time, it makes it WAY easier to learn), and you'll be able to do it by time and feel (press meat with finger and watch for the way it rebounds—but this take a load of practice with similar pieces of meat to get right). When I cook for guests, I always use a probe on one steak as a guide so I get them right. If I have rare, MR, and M that people want, I set it for rare (all steaks look the same thickness wise), then pull the rares when it goes off leaving the probed steak as the most done. I then reset it for medium rare, and pull those when it hits 121. Then medium last. I don't cook steaks for friends that like ruined (don't have any, actually

). If I knew people that liked steak like that, I'd cook something else (stew, or maybe a roast (then give them the heel of it that would be well)).

That make sense?

01-22-11, 11:09 PM	#6
tater Navy Seal Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: New Mexico, USA Posts: 9,023 Downloads: 8 Uploads: 2	Say you want rare. The very center would be ~120°F (~49°C). If the steak was 40°F at the center (fridge temp), you have to raise that bit 80°. The trouble is that since the heat is coming from the outside, the outside gets crisped while the center slowly heats. What you see when you cut such a steak is the crust on the outside (which is very well done, obviously, then grey, well done meat surrounding our rare center. The trouble is that it has taken so long to get the center to 120 that the "rare" bit of your 1.5" thick steak is almost not there. In fact, the bulk of the steak is well or medium well, and only a sliver in the middle is well. A "perfect" rare steak would have a great crust (again, the crust is very well done), but the crust would be VERY thin, and the entire interior would be a uniform 120°. 1.25" of red, rare steak, and 1/8 of an inch of crust all around. If you start with the steak at room temp (~70°F), the very center only needs to rise 50°. This radically improves your chances of having the bulk of the middle fall in the rare range (~120-125°), with a thin crust. With any cooking method, you'd be very well served to get a probe thermometer with a temp alarm (under $20). Set the temp alarm to 5°F below your target temp. So 115 for rare (120 final temp after resting), 121° for medium rare (126 target temp), 131° (135 final) for medium. I'd not worry about well, there is no "perfect way to ruin meat. Above medium anything is ruined enough to be "well done." (anyone who orders well-done in a restaurant should reconsider eating out, or order something else. In restaurants, they typically save the worst pieces of meat for "well" since no one ordering well can tell the difference anyway (the best cut cooked well tastes no better than the worst). Use the probe. Cook enough on your grill or pan, (ideally try for the same thickness of steak every time, it makes it WAY easier to learn), and you'll be able to do it by time and feel (press meat with finger and watch for the way it rebounds—but this take a load of practice with similar pieces of meat to get right). When I cook for guests, I always use a probe on one steak as a guide so I get them right. If I have rare, MR, and M that people want, I set it for rare (all steaks look the same thickness wise), then pull the rares when it goes off leaving the probed steak as the most done. I then reset it for medium rare, and pull those when it hits 121. Then medium last. I don't cook steaks for friends that like ruined (don't have any, actually ). If I knew people that liked steak like that, I'd cook something else (stew, or maybe a roast (then give them the heel of it that would be well)). That make sense?