# Steak can tear families apart **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 6, 2018, 4:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/steak-can-tear-families-apart/822550 "2018-10-06T04:47:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2018, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/steak-can-tear-families-apart/822550/61 "2018-10-06T21:01:24Z")
> [@IvoryTowerDenizen](#): > > I always ask for the rare side of medium rare. That seems to hit the right spot for me. That’s verbatim how I ask for it these days, mostly to ensure the chef, if they’re going to err a little, to encourage them to err on the side of too rare rather then cooked through. I never send food back (I’m just hard-wired to eat whatever is put in front of me, and not be wasteful), so it breaks my heart a little if I get a piece of meat that is missing that lovely rare texture, which is what I want when I have a steak. I’m the same with those big pub burgers: err on rare for me. I prefer fast-food style burgers, but when I’m in the mood for a 1/2 lb pub burger, I want that center to be red still, and I’m always disappointed if I get something more cooked through. Just personal preference. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2018, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/steak-can-tear-families-apart/822550/62 "2018-10-06T21:39:44Z")
I prefer a NY strip. It’s more flavorful than other cuts. It often the thickest steak at the Grocery and cooks well on the grill. Ribeyes from the grocery are just to thin and cook too fast. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2018, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/steak-can-tear-families-apart/822550/63 "2018-10-06T21:43:00Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > That’s verbatim how I ask for it these days, mostly to ensure the chef, if they’re going to err a little, to encourage them to err on the side of too rare rather then cooked through. I never send food back (I’m just hard-wired to eat whatever is put in front of me, and not be wasteful), so it breaks my heart a little if I get a piece of meat that is missing that lovely rare texture, which is what I want when I have a steak. I’m the same with those big pub burgers: err on rare for me. I prefer fast-food style burgers, but when I’m in the mood for a 1/2 lb pub burger, I want that center to be red still, and I’m always disappointed if I get something more cooked through. Just personal preference. I order my thick burgers medium rare, but as long as they are still joicy, I am a happy gourmand. I will send food back if it is SOOO wrong, like the time I got my MR steak MW-Well. ---
**Author:** ![Textual\_Innuendo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/898d66/32.png) [@Textual\_Innuendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Textual_Innuendo)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2018, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/steak-can-tear-families-apart/822550/64 "2018-10-06T22:11:14Z")
> [@Ukulele\_Ike](#): > > What do all you ribeye choosers have against _bones?_. I’ll have the bone-in rib steak, medium rare, and I hope this restaurant isn’t so fancy that you get embarrassed when I pick up the bone and gnaw on it. Best part. Well, you can get the best of both worlds with my choice: the tomahawk steak. All the flavor and marbling of a ribeye, with a Fred-Flinstone style gigantic bone attached for your gnawing delectation. 😃 Plus it’s nice to order at a restaurant because it’s a PITA to cook it medium rare yourself at home. ---
**Author:** ![Textual\_Innuendo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/898d66/32.png) [@Textual\_Innuendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Textual_Innuendo)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2018, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/steak-can-tear-families-apart/822550/65 "2018-10-06T22:14:55Z")
> [@jz78817](#): > > Just walk the cow past the grill, please. My god, man! I see some dangerously overcooked steaks in your future with directions like that. I’ve always heard the safest way was to ask them to vaguely allude to the CONCEPT of a grill to the cow before butchering it and bringing you your cut. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2018, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/steak-can-tear-families-apart/822550/66 "2018-10-06T22:28:34Z")
I never saw my grandpap eat a steak, but after Thanksgiving dinner, everyone knew that the remaining carcass was all his. He’d pick those bones cleaner than any dog. ---
**Author:** ![Rhiannon8404](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rhiannon8404/32/17929_2.png) [@Rhiannon8404](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhiannon8404)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2018, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/steak-can-tear-families-apart/822550/67 "2018-10-06T22:34:05Z")
> [@Ukulele\_Ike](#): > > What do all you ribeye choosers have against _bones?_. I’ll have the bone-in rib steak, medium rare, and I hope this restaurant isn’t so fancy that you get embarrassed when I pick up the bone and gnaw on it. Best part. Not me! Bone-in ribeye is my absolute favorite cut of steak. I don’t care where I am, that bone is getting gnawed. In fact, I have been known to cut the bone away from the rest of the steak and go for that first. ---
**Author:** ![BobBitchin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7ea924/32.png) [@BobBitchin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobBitchin)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2018, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/steak-can-tear-families-apart/822550/68 "2018-10-06T22:59:49Z")
> [@Textual\_Innuendo](#): > > My god, man! I see some dangerously overcooked steaks in your future with directions like that. > > I’ve always heard the safest way was to ask them to vaguely allude to the CONCEPT of a grill to the cow before butchering it and bringing you your cut. 😃 My friend ordered thusly : “Knock the horns off, wipe it’s ass and throw it on a plate”:eek:😃 Gotta love Texas ---
**Author:** ![MindsEye\_Watering](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mindseye_watering/32/3619_2.png) [@MindsEye\_Watering](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MindsEye_Watering)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2018, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/steak-can-tear-families-apart/822550/69 "2018-10-06T23:21:16Z")
New York Strip cooked via sous vide then seared over a charcoal fire for me. I usually get my steaks from Walmart, and the New York Strips that I get from there are usually very flavorful and tender. Especially when cooked sous vide. Tonight I had a strip that was thick and looked well-marbled, and **it had to be the toughest steak I’ve ever had.** Very disappointing. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2018, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/steak-can-tear-families-apart/822550/70 "2018-10-07T00:48:30Z")
We generally don’t eat steak unless it’s at a high-end steakhouse like Delmonico or CUT or SW Steak\*. That way we know we are getting Prime meat cooked by people who know what they are doing. - - The hidden secret to eating steak at Wynn Las Vegas is to go next door to SW Steak and eat at Lakeside Grill. Same steaks, same chefs, 1/3 the people and pretentiousness. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2018, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/steak-can-tear-families-apart/822550/71 "2018-10-07T01:11:04Z")
> [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](#): > > My dad used to say, “just pass mine once over a 50-watt lightbulb”. I worked with a young, petite, pale-skinned graphic designer who loved herself a big, thick steak. She would say, “Just stun it, sear it, and slap it on a platter.” ---
**Author:** ![Enola\_Gay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/3ab097/32.png) [@Enola\_Gay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enola_Gay)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2018, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/steak-can-tear-families-apart/822550/72 "2018-10-07T01:48:30Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > Filet is just a tenderloin that’s cut into steaks. Ironically this same misguided brother, when at a nice restaurant with our grandparents in our teens, had never heard of Filet Mignon. So when my grandfather told him a Filet would be the best thing he ever tasted, he refused to order it because he thought it was fish :D. I teased him about that for years (payback for the years of "tickle torture’ I endured for being younger). So the Freud in me believes that in a perfect world, he’d prefer the Filet. But due to his emotional baggage, he orders the New York Strip as a defense mechanism to his inner teenager. ---
**Author:** ![DavidwithanR](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/3bc359/32.png) [@DavidwithanR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidwithanR)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2018, 5:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/steak-can-tear-families-apart/822550/73 "2018-10-07T05:50:15Z")
I’d be very happy with **any** good-quality steak that’s been cooked by someone who really knows what they’re doing. I would hardly even care. (I mean, excluding any cut that’s known for not making a good steak at all.) An expertly-done nice steak is just a great thing. ---
**Author:** ![LH75](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lh75/32/4438_2.png) [@LH75](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LH75)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2018, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/steak-can-tear-families-apart/822550/74 "2018-10-07T13:51:15Z")
I live in Omaha, where we take our steaks pretty seriously. In my family of four, we all have our own preferences. I love a thick rib eye grilled on the rare side of medium rare. My wife and one of my daughters prefer New York done medium, and the other daughter like a filet on the well side of medium. We have great steak houses here, and even some chain restaurants, but most of our steaks are cooked over charcoal with apple wood chunks on my Weber kettle grill. Personally, I think you should eat steak the way you like it. If you want an eye of round steak well done and eat it with ketchup, it just isn’t any of my business. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2018, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/steak-can-tear-families-apart/822550/75 "2018-10-07T14:38:56Z")
> [@Gray Ghost](#): > > I am surprised that anyone would be that butthurt about what someone else ordered. Obviously you haven’t seen previous Dope threads in which rare steak eaters fume about others’ cooking preferences. [Theme song for this discussion](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wQynViAF6Ds). ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2018, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/steak-can-tear-families-apart/822550/76 "2018-10-07T17:32:53Z")
At home, I prefer my porterhouse, grilled more rare than medium. Out to eat, a strip or ribeye, medium. On a budget at home, I’ll get a well marbled thicker cut sirloin, again more towards rare. ## Really on a budget, I’ll grill chicken! My brother likes more well than medium. The real problem is he puts steak sauce, A-1, or ketchup on it!!! ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2018, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/steak-can-tear-families-apart/822550/77 "2018-10-07T18:14:41Z")
> [@Pleonast](#): > > I love a good steak. Anything prime from Costco is excellent. Dipped in koshering and then grilled over an open fire is so tasty. > > But what I really enjoy is a hamburger sandwich made from the same meat, freshly ground. With some ketchup and fresh sweet pickle relish. > > Or, slice the steak for into small pieces and pan fry. Eaten with fresh kimchi and a bowl of rice. > > Meaty goodness is delicious in any form. 😕 😕😕 What the hell is _FRESH_ kimchi? ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2018, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/steak-can-tear-families-apart/822550/78 "2018-10-07T19:16:52Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > And I think prime filet is a waste of money. Choice filet is just as tender, IME. Have not noticed a difference to justify the price. Other cuts, though, it is more noticeable. Good call. The difference in grades is the marbling of fat within the cut and choice or prime, there just isn’t much in a tenderloin. If you’ve got a couple T-bones to compare, look at the strip side and you can easily see the difference. The fillet side, not so much. > [@Pleonast](#): > > But what I really enjoy is a hamburger sandwich made from the same meat, freshly ground. With some ketchup and fresh sweet pickle relish. With all that, I’m sure any reasonable grade of beef would do. I laugh at the upscale urbanite burger stands bragging about their kobe or wagyu hamburgers. What’s the point? After they get doused with three or four toppings it could be roadkill possum in the middle for all you can taste it. ---
**Author:** ![BlueInfinity](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/9e8a1a/32.png) [@BlueInfinity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlueInfinity)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2018, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/steak-can-tear-families-apart/822550/79 "2018-10-08T00:54:03Z")
I go well-done, but I had to share this quote from “The Tenth Kingdom:” > [@](#): > > “Rare” implies dangerously cooked. When I say “rare” I mean “just let it look at the oven in terror, then bring it out to me!” ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2018, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/steak-can-tear-families-apart/822550/80 "2018-10-08T01:02:03Z")
The best steak I’ve ever had was a filet. Unfortunately, that doesn’t mean that every filet is the best. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/steak-can-tear-families-apart/822550.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/steak-can-tear-families-apart/822550.md?page=5)