# What is your preferred level of doneness for steak? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 29, 2017, 6:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-preferred-level-of-doneness-for-steak/800122 "2017-10-29T06:34:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2017, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-preferred-level-of-doneness-for-steak/800122/21 "2017-10-29T16:16:12Z")
Now, I like a tad pink in the center. It used to be “run it through a warm room.” ---
**Author:** ![Quimby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/22d042/32.png) [@Quimby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quimby)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2017, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-preferred-level-of-doneness-for-steak/800122/22 "2017-10-29T16:18:59Z")
I’ve ordered my steak Medium most of my adult life but have been considering switching to medium rare. I think what I really would like is medium but a tad on the rarer side but that is an impossible request for the kitchen. ETA: > [@RickJay](#): > > I’ve said this before in similar threads, but I used to always order my steak medium rare. For reasons I do not quite understand, in my lifetime, “medium rare” has become what used to be “rare” in a lot of places; if you order medium rare, you get a steak that is almost entirely red inside and quite cool in the center. That’s not medium rare. > > So now I order medium, and 90% of the time get a medium rare steak. That’s funny because my experience is the reverse. I find Medium doesn’t mean as rare as it used to. I suppose that means we’re both wrong 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2017, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-preferred-level-of-doneness-for-steak/800122/23 "2017-10-29T23:25:36Z")
Medium rare, but I love tartar. I just had some in a Syrian-Lebanese restaurant about 10 days ago. And it was beef, not lamb. Um um good. ---
**Author:** ![kopek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kopek/32/337_2.png) [@kopek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kopek)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2017, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-preferred-level-of-doneness-for-steak/800122/24 "2017-10-29T23:49:56Z")
Medium unless its done low and slow in a smoker and then I lean towards well done. Cooked all the way through, smoke taste, and still tender is always going to be my favorite but few places (other than at home) allow me the chance for a “4-6 hour steak”. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2017, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-preferred-level-of-doneness-for-steak/800122/25 "2017-10-30T02:44:30Z")
> [@mbh](#): > > I have always preferred my steaks cooked a bit more than the foodies preferred. I used to order steaks cooked medium. As I get older, I am starting to order them medium-well to get them the way I like. I am also less fond of sushi than I used to be. I used to order medium-rare, but these days chefs seem to think that means raw in the middle. I order medium and get it pink, which is what I like. ---
**Author:** ![kanicbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f8ce5/32.png) [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2017, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-preferred-level-of-doneness-for-steak/800122/26 "2017-10-30T02:50:28Z")
While I voted medium rare, it does vary. I have bough stakes and ate them without cooking. Well done is the standard for stews (though some amazing cases for rarer steaks here). Everything in-between. All has it’s place, even beyond raw, I have had frozen and still love it. ---
**Author:** ![Cub\_Mistress](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ea666f/32.png) [@Cub\_Mistress](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cub_Mistress)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2017, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-preferred-level-of-doneness-for-steak/800122/27 "2017-10-30T03:04:12Z")
I voted medium rare because that is what I order but I will accept anything that does NOT moo when I stick it with a fork.😃 cool center does not begin to concern me. Oddly enough I was raised by parents who believed in well done steak. it took a boyfriend to convert me to rare steak. I married him. ---
**Author:** ![Bridget\_Burke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7cd45c/32.png) [@Bridget\_Burke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bridget_Burke)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2017, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-preferred-level-of-doneness-for-steak/800122/28 "2017-10-30T03:25:10Z")
> [@RTFirefly](#): > > Filet mignon rare, everything else medium rare. Morton’s Steakhouse offers a trio of mini-filet mignons (with three different sauce) at the bar. Little tidbits best cooked rare. Generally medium rare, but I’m adaptable. Reading Ron Chernow’s _Grant_ now. As a boy he worked in his father’s tannery, processing animals. Throughout his life he could not stand meat that had not been _thoroughly_ cooked. ---
**Author:** ![Projammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/projammer/32/559_2.png) [@Projammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Projammer)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2017, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-preferred-level-of-doneness-for-steak/800122/29 "2017-10-30T03:35:38Z")
I’ll order mine medium rare, so if it comes out anywhere from rare to medium I’m usually satisfied with it. Previous poll, [How do you want your steak cooked?](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=659783) By the OP of the “worst properly cooked thing you’ve ever eaten” thread Pretty much duplicates your results. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Asimovian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asimovian/32/172_2.png) [@Asimovian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asimovian)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2017, 12:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-preferred-level-of-doneness-for-steak/800122/30 "2017-10-30T12:44:21Z")
Thread relocated from IMHO to Cafe Society. ---
**Author:** ![Crotalus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crotalus/32/41_2.png) [@Crotalus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crotalus)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2017, 12:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-preferred-level-of-doneness-for-steak/800122/31 "2017-10-30T12:54:04Z")
I order medium rare. When the steak comes, I don’t inspect it for doneness, I just eat it. ---
**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 30, 2017, 1:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-preferred-level-of-doneness-for-steak/800122/32 "2017-10-30T13:08:49Z")
> [@Quimby](#): > > That’s funny because my experience is the reverse. I find Medium doesn’t mean as rare as it used to. I suppose that means we’re both wrong 🙂 I don’t know what it used to mean, but I often have to order a level of doneness under what I desire, especially when it comes to hamburgers. With steaks, it depends on the place. The good steakhouse nail medium rare. The more pub-type places I ask for it rare (or sometimes “on the rare side of medium rare”) to get it how I like it. It definitely should still have a red (not pink) center, but warm, rather than cool. I don’t think I’ve ever ordered medium rare and got something rare. For me, when they err, it’s always on the side of overdone. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2017, 1:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-preferred-level-of-doneness-for-steak/800122/33 "2017-10-30T13:10:07Z")
My wife cooks a mean black & blue (aka Pittsburgh rare) so that’s the preferred way at home. At restaurants, I generally just say rare rather than risk them screwing it up. ---
**Author:** ![WildBlueYonder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/ce7236/32.png) [@WildBlueYonder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WildBlueYonder)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2017, 1:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-preferred-level-of-doneness-for-steak/800122/34 "2017-10-30T13:15:16Z")
Are they making cooked frozen steaks yet? They’ve made most everything else frozen and ready to eat… ---
**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 30, 2017, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-preferred-level-of-doneness-for-steak/800122/35 "2017-10-30T13:38:00Z")
I’m one of the few who recognizes the fact that cooking meat makes it more tender. It’s also a fact that if you keep on cooking meat way beyond well done, it eventually does become tough again… but the solution to that is to stop at well done, and not go that far. I also think that the cute cut is one of the most overrated foods ever. Yes, it’s naturally tender enough that it can tolerate being undercooked, but it’s also got a lot less flavor than most cuts of steak. Plus, it’s usually cut ludicrously thick, so that no matter what level of doneness you prefer, it’s impossible to get the whole thing to that level: The outside will be overcooked before the inside is even warm (I’m baffled to hear that there are apparently some people who like it that way). ---
**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 30, 2017, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-preferred-level-of-doneness-for-steak/800122/36 "2017-10-30T14:05:08Z")
> [@Crotalus](#): > > I order medium rare. When the steak comes, I don’t inspect it for doneness, I just eat it. This. I just automatically say “medium-rare” when asked, and gotten everything from a cool, red center to no pink at all; people’s idea of M-R seems to vary all over the map.\* I’ll eat anything between (but not including) raw and crunchy and, if I eat at the same restaurant again, adjust my preference accordingly. - or they are simply incompetent. ---
**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 30, 2017, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-preferred-level-of-doneness-for-steak/800122/37 "2017-10-30T14:15:41Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > I’m one of the few who recognizes the fact that cooking meat makes it more tender. Don’t even start with this nonsense again. ---
**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 30, 2017, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-preferred-level-of-doneness-for-steak/800122/38 "2017-10-30T14:16:58Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Plus, it’s usually cut ludicrously thick, so that no matter what level of doneness you prefer, it’s impossible to get the whole thing to that level: The outside will be overcooked before the inside is even warm (I’m baffled to hear that there are apparently some people who like it that way). And this is nonsense, too. There are at least three techniques: sous vide, constant flipping, or starting with a very slow oven and finishing with a sear. (Unless you are absolutely literal that you even want the outside at the same doneness; in that case, the very slow oven and sous vide technique will work, but why would you do without a sear?) This is basic steak cooking knowledge. ---
**Author:** ![DSYoungEsq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c6cbf5/32.png) [@DSYoungEsq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSYoungEsq)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2017, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-preferred-level-of-doneness-for-steak/800122/39 "2017-10-30T14:30:05Z")
Medium rare is what I order. As noted by some, different restaurants will think this means different things. Two nights ago, I ordered a bone-in strip steak m-r, and the waiter said “pink in the center?” I had to correct him that whatever “medium-rare” means, it isn’t just “pink in the center”. (Interestingly, my date ordered a sliced filet with cipollini onions and plum sauce m-r; hers got done exactly how I think of m-r; mine came out much closer to medium - to - medium-well, despite requesting the same doneness. Mine ended up being _gratis_.) I LOVE carpaccio and tartare. And I can eat very rare steak, though I do prefer that there be warmness all through. But it can depend on the preparation. ---
**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 30, 2017, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-preferred-level-of-doneness-for-steak/800122/40 "2017-10-30T14:43:15Z")
OK, let me rephrase that: A very thick cut means that you can’t get your preferred level of doneness throughout without waiting an inordinately long time. Yes, you can do it with sous-vide, but just how many hours do you want to place your order ahead of when you’re going to be eating? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-preferred-level-of-doneness-for-steak/800122.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-preferred-level-of-doneness-for-steak/800122.md?page=3)