# How do you properly microwave steak? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 20, 2015, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-properly-microwave-steak/710407 "2015-01-20T20:17:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![harmonicamoon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/65b543/32.png) [@harmonicamoon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/harmonicamoon)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2015, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-properly-microwave-steak/710407/21 "2015-01-21T19:05:54Z")
To cook a steak in a microwave, place the steak on a microwaveable plate. With the steak under your chin, proceed to cry, because you don’t have a BBQ, or a cast iron skillet. The shedding of tears on the steak won’t help with the flavor, but it may provide some therapy. ---
**Author:** ![Lanzy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/74df32/32.png) [@Lanzy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lanzy)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2015, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-properly-microwave-steak/710407/22 "2015-01-21T19:11:05Z")
I suppose you could use a temp probe to get it internally correct then throw it in a hot pan. ---
**Author:** ![D\_Odds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/d_odds/32/2882_2.png) [@D\_Odds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Odds)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2015, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-properly-microwave-steak/710407/23 "2015-01-21T19:23:29Z")
> [@purplehorseshoe](#): > > wwwwwhhhhoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooosh At least, let’s hope so. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2015, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-properly-microwave-steak/710407/24 "2015-01-21T20:05:59Z")
> [@bump](#): > > Well, you could cook a steak in a microwave, in a very narrow interpretation of the word “cook”. Not narrow at all… it’s called “boiling.” Which is a fine way to make chicken soup or feed a traditional Brit. Meat that is not seared, and heated by applied heat (as opposed to microboiling) may or may not be edible and/or tasty, but it will in almost no way resemble properly seared, grilled, broiled or other applied-heat cooking of it. I am a bit mystified at the notion of nuking a steak and then searing it, other than as a way to create another “How To Use Your New MICROWAVE!” recipe, most of which are absolutely vile and pointless. ---
**Author:** ![Frazzled](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/frazzled/32/3368_2.png) [@Frazzled](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frazzled)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2015, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-properly-microwave-steak/710407/25 "2015-01-21T20:32:17Z")
1. Vacuum seal your steak. 2. Use your microwave to heat up a pan of water to 126 degrees Fahrenheit 3. place your steak in the pan 4. monitor temperature - constantly heat up water in separate measuring cup in microwave to maintain water around steak at a constant 126 degrees Fahrenheit for 1 to 2 hours. 5. remove steak from bag 6. Heat a cast iron pan to the highest temperature you can get and cook steak for about 1 to 2 minutes per side depending on thickness. 6a) Alternately, blast steak with a blow torch to sear the outside. 7. Enjoy! ---
**Author:** ![tenacious\_j](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/439d5e/32.png) [@tenacious\_j](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tenacious_j)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2015, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-properly-microwave-steak/710407/26 "2015-01-21T22:25:19Z")
> [@Dorjan](#): > > Why would you even consider such a thing? Yes, WWWWWHHHHHYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY??? I can see asking if it were anything but steak and would save considerable time, but a good steak, cooked right, takes, what, 10 minutes? and dirties one pan? Even if there were a way to do it, I wouldn’t bother. ---
**Author:** ![TBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c89c15/32.png) [@TBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TBG)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2015, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-properly-microwave-steak/710407/27 "2015-01-22T00:40:12Z")
I’d sooner eat a microwaved gremlin. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Goob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c77e96/32.png) [@Mr.Goob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Goob)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2015, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-properly-microwave-steak/710407/28 "2015-01-22T00:41:32Z")
A cow died for that steak. Honor the dead, keep far far away from a microwave. ---
**Author:** ![noqualms](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/6de8d8/32.png) [@noqualms](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/noqualms)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2015, 5:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-properly-microwave-steak/710407/29 "2015-01-22T05:42:12Z")
I’ve heard from people who cook there meat with the microwave that its alot easier but I find that the microwave dries out food more often then not but meh “to each his own”. ---
**Author:** ![zweisamkeit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zweisamkeit/32/4360_2.png) [@zweisamkeit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zweisamkeit)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2015, 6:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-properly-microwave-steak/710407/30 "2015-01-22T06:14:40Z")
> [@TBG](#): > > I’d sooner eat a microwaved gremlin. Creature or car? ---
**Author:** ![SmartAleq](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smartaleq/32/163_2.png) [@SmartAleq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmartAleq)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2015, 7:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-properly-microwave-steak/710407/31 "2015-01-22T07:24:20Z")
After you microwave them there’s very little difference in texture and taste. ---
**Author:** ![Mixolydian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/da6949/32.png) [@Mixolydian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mixolydian)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2015, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-properly-microwave-steak/710407/32 "2015-01-22T22:01:20Z")
I refrained from posting anything regarding this, since I knew the responses would be similar to what’s already been fired off in the OP’s direction, but I have microwaved undercooked portions of very thick steak at 30 sec intervals until done to medium-rare, but only AFTER grilling or cast iron searing. No one, even my very picky father-in-law, knew any different. Otherwise, agreed…sacrilegious. ---
**Author:** ![kittenblue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ba8739/32.png) [@kittenblue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kittenblue)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2015, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-properly-microwave-steak/710407/33 "2015-01-23T02:50:34Z")
Oh, this will probably be the only real answer you will get. But back in the days when I was a new bride, (1980) I would regularly take my husband a lovely steak and baked potato and veggie dinner when he was on overnight officer of the watch duty, whatever it was called, back in the peacetime Army. And I would microwave the whole meal, bundle it into the car and deliver it to him piping hot, and he loved it. I had a special Corningware browning dish for the microwave that you preheated in the microwave, then tossed the steak on it and it seared it quite nicely if you were young and poor and not obsessive about your steak like some people. It’s been way too many years since I last did that, and though I probably have the dish around somewhere I can’t remember what box it is packed in…I remember it was white, had short little legs so that it didn’t sit directly on the floor of the microwave (And this was in the days before turntables in microwaves) and it gave things a good sear, then you just cooked for another minute or three…have to dig out the cookbook to be sure…and then there was the added benefit of it keeping things hot while you drove the picnic basket to the command. I had the whole dinner timed down to the minute so that when he called to say his dinner break was in 15 minutes (pre-cell phones), I could nuke everything in sequence and take him a good meal…and may I say, the other officers were quite impressed. Why I never thought to just pack all the stuff up and send him off to work with it with the directions so he could nuke it himself…well, I was a new bride… But an edible steak CAN be made in the microwave. ---
**Author:** ![TBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c89c15/32.png) [@TBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TBG)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2015, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-properly-microwave-steak/710407/34 "2015-01-23T02:59:04Z")
> [@zweisamkeit](#): > > Creature or car? I meant the creature, but now that you mention it… ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Goob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c77e96/32.png) [@Mr.Goob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Goob)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2015, 10:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-properly-microwave-steak/710407/35 "2015-01-23T10:58:29Z")
Total hijack but Kittenblue, one year when I was in the Navy about 30 of us were on duty manning the fire department on Thanksgiving. About a dozen wives descended on the gate with coordinated precision and a full dinner of 3 turkeys and enough side dishes to stuff the entire crew into a coma. One of my most memorable dinners ever. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2015, 12:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-properly-microwave-steak/710407/36 "2015-01-24T12:37:43Z")
I’ll cook chicken breast in the microwave. I’ll cook fish in the microwave. I’ll cook hamburger patties in the microwave. But not steak. (You brown any of the others afterwards, and you cannot tell the difference, except it may actually retain more moisture. Especially on chicken breast.) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-properly-microwave-steak/710407.md?page=1)