This thread in Cafe Society regarding the best way to cook steaks reminded me of something I noticed while dining at the Outback.
Every time I go there, I get the Outback Special (9oz. sirloin). The last few times I’ve ordered it, at least one other person in our party has too. Also, they have ordered theirs medium-well, while I get mine medium-rare.
When the steaks are brought out, I notice every time that my cut of meat is a nice, thick, juicy looking cut, while the others look flat, dry, and, obviously, a little overcooked.
My question is this: Does Outback actually select differently shaped cuts of meat depending on how you order it? The difference in size and shape of the cuts might be due to the longer cooking time of one, but I doubt it. The difference I have seen is quite noticeable. My is that they do have different cuts of meat that they use depending on how you order it so that all cuts will be done at about the same time. Just a guess, so any info is appreciated.
Anthony Bourdain in Kitchen Confidential talks about “leaving for well done”. This is the practice of putting aside the worst cuts of meat for people who order it well done, on the principle that it is ruined anyway by being well done and the diner couldn’t tell the difference.
This has nothing to do with Outback in particular, but in Kitchen Confidential, Anthony Bourdain makes some mention of restaurants prioritizing the best cuts to be prepared in the ways where the meat’s quality will be most obvious. That’s kind of a delicate way to put it. More like, a steak cooked well done hides more flaws, so if the meat is slightly flawed you give it to the person who orders it well-done, not the one who orders it rare.
Longer cooking probably also results in flatter steaks, since more liquid is lost.
I think often it’s just a case of kitchen management. By selecting a thick steak and a thin steak they can be cooked for the same time to produce a medium-rare and a medium-welldone respectively.
Analagous to the classic Burns and Allen dialogue about why Gracie always puts a 5lb roast and a 10 lb roast in the oven at the same time. When the smaller roast is burned, the larger roast is done. Well, it WAS funny, but you had to be there.
::slinks away, contemplating lame-ass attempt at hijacking humor::
Thanks for all the info. I guess the reason I am particularly curious about the Outback is because I kind of picture them as the “McDonalds” of steakhouses. I wouldn’t be that surprised if they received big boxes of frozen cuts labeled “Rare,” “Medium Rare,” “Medium Well,” etc., and all the cook needs to learn is how to throw them in an oven or on a grill and push a big red button that says “Cook Steaks Now.”
Because I don’t let culture snobs determine what I should like. Give me McDonalds or give me Che’ Le’ Doux De Culture Snob Extroidanaire. I don’t give a crap. Make sense? Now where did I put that Big Mac?
This is so funny, I had the exact same thing happen on Friday night at Outback when ordering the Outback Special.
Three different people, including myself ordered:
1.) Medium-Rare (me) - came out looking great, normal sirloin as you’ve described it.
2.) Well done - came out flat as a cheap flank steak, 1/3rd the thickness of mine and that is being generous. It was also VERY grained and grizzled.
3.) Rare - this throws the wrench in your theory and it was the first time for Mrs. MeanJoe. She usually gets a rare Special and it is fan-tabulous. This time, I swear to God, they took a section of a slice of Prime Rib and grilled it. It was very fatty, lots of grizzle, and well, it looked more like Prime Rib than a sirloin.
No, that’d be Sizzler. Nice clam chowder at the salad bar, and my wife loves their lemonherb chicken, but most of the steaks are definitely “it’s from some part of the cow, just don’t ask what part.”
Haven’t tried Outback yet, but from what I’ve heard, there’s no way they can sink as low as Sizzler.
Of course, this practice is probably also why people think that well-done meat is ruined in the first place. Contrary to what steak elitists seem to think, cooking makes meat more tender, not less.
Not always. Both filet mignon and flank steak are more tender done medium rare than done medium well. And all sorts of meats can be overcooked into toughness.
When cooking a tender lean cut of meat such as a steak quickly under high heat, extra cooking will tend to toughen the meat.
When cooking a very tough piece of meat such as a brisket under low heat for long periods of time the connective tissue will break down and the meat becomes more tender.
Bottom line, different cuts of meat, different cooking methods.
Of all the restaurants I’ve been to the last several years, all of them, and I do mean all of them, will not cook anything less than medium (and in a few cases medium rare). It has to do with the transmission of food diseases.
Last Thursday, and I cooked a mess of Ribeyes last night.
This has to do more with ground meat than steak or a roast. With a steak or roast any bacteria will be on the surface of the meat, which will get way above 160 degrees during cooking. The interior of the meat does not have to get that hot since there is not bacteria growing there.
Ground meat is the exception to this rule, since being ground the bacteria is spread all though out the meat.
At one of my favorite steak houses the menu describes doneness like this Rare Cool red center Medium Rare Warm red center Medium Warm pink center
You get the idea. I order my steaks medium rare there.
Do you live in Massachusetts or some other "nanny state’?? Because here in the God-fearing South you can order a steak any damn way you want it. Hamburgers too (except South Carolina). Of course, any type of list that has the good things about the South always says “except South Carolina” anyway, so you’re probably used to that.
Our neighbour’s niece worked at Outback last summer. She’s staying over there, so I walked over and asked her.
She says they do have different steaks for rare, medium rare, medium, and well-done, but that the quality of the meat has nothing to do with how you order it. ALL Outback steaks come from the cheapest, toughest parts of the beast, and are artificially tenderized (ie predigested) with food-grade chemicals. These are safe to eat as long as you don’t have any medical issues (meat tenderizer can affect blood clotting and sodium retention, and can cause pretty nasty allergic reactions in some people).
Whether your steak looks nice or not is just luck.
She says that the steaks are separated on the basis of temperature.The well-done steaks (or the steaks which are to be well-done) are kept at refrigerator temperature, the mediums are kept just below freezing, and the rares are kept at about 10 degrees below freezing (Celsius). That way, they can put a “rare” and a “well-done” on the grill at the same time and they’ll both be ready at the same time. I didn’t ask her about medium-rare or blue rare.
