I have been eating medium rare steaks all my life, and I do not mind a steak that is blood red on the inside. But, my favorite steak restaurant here in the Philippines has steaks that seem to squirt blood when you cut them. I have never had steaks before where the blood just pours out. The steaks (filet mignon) are supposedly black angus steaks imported from America. The steaks appear to be cooked properly, but what would cause so much blood to come out ? My only guess is that it is possible that the steaks are somehow injected with water or blood so that they will weigh more , and sell for more money, when they are sold to the distributor and/or restaurant. Are they somehow not being cooked properly ?
Anyone have an answer ?
It was most likely improperly rested. Meat needs resting after cooking over high heat to relax the muscle fibres and let them re-absorb the juice. Even a medium steak improperly rested can leak an alarming amount of juice.
I’m anal about my steak and this is a pet peeve of mine. One must never take a perfectly cut, selected and prepared steak and immediately cut into it when it’s removed from the heat. The steak must be allowed to “rest” so that it’s juices will be reabsorbed into the meat prior to carving. Man am I hungry now.
Living with a Philippine family, my guess is that they don’t know how to do “medium-rare”, especially the resting part. Most Philippine cooking I’ve been subjected to has always been well done or higher.
Thanks for all the replies. I get the “meat juice” part, but it looks like blood to me. It is a very bright red and seems to have the consistency of blood. So, the meat just needs to sit awhile before being eaten ? That is the “resting” ? When served to me, I should just wait awhile before eating it ? How do restaurants normally keep it from getting cold while it rests ?
At home, I use foil tents. I’ve also seen metal covers used over warmed plates (usually vented to let some steam escape).
So, how are you liking Philippine cuisine. Personally, after being dragged to a Philippine restaurant or family dinner, Ms. D_Odds owes me a night of beer and pizza. IMO, it is the worst SE Asian cuisine out of the three I’ve tried - and it’s the one I have to eat the most. Good thing I do most of the cooking when I’m home.
I feel that there is a very good reason you do not find any Filipino restaurants outside the Philippines, and that is because most other people will not like the food.
Most Filipino food is very oily, salty, bland, and overcooked. I have been here in the Philippines for 3 years, and I still do not like the food.
The people here are great folks, very hospitable, entertaining, and polite, but I very rarely eat the local food.
The confusing part for me is that Thais or Chinese can take the same ingredients, and produce delicious food. I have never had a bad meal in Thailand.
I’m in NYC and, unfortunately, Ms. D_Odds and family can find Filipino restaurants - much to my chagrin. You’ll find me at every grand opening…I’ll be the one sneaking in the Wendy’s bag.
Oh please. “Well done” does not mean “bone dry”, and a well done steak does benefit from a rest to allow the juices to recollect just the same as a still-mooing slab of cow that was merely waved near a candle on its way through the kitchen does.
It’s possible that your steak was brined for a while before cooking. That would have imported lots of extra moisture into the meat, resulting in that “squirting.”
While well-done doesn’t have to mean bone-dry, often times it does, as many places don’t properly cook a steak to well-done. It should be cooked at a lower temp than for rare, medium-rare, or medium, and a lot longer, but instead most palces use the same temp and go a little longer, resulting in much more juice loss.