I used to really like med-rare, but now that I'm older, I can appreciate the taste of the black charcoal-ized bits that you get on something that's medium to well-done. It also helps that one time I was at an Outback, I ordered med-rare and they brought it out almost Mooing at me. A steak and a good glass of Bordeaux or Cabernet and I'm pretty satisfied.

I can appreciate the taste of the black charcoal-ized bits that you get on something that's medium to well-done.

I hope to God you're trolling. In case you're not, keep in mind that you can get a properly grilled/seared steak with that on the outside and a nice, rare center.

Well-done? Try ordering that shit at Sparks or Peter Lugar's and see what happens. Shit, some places in Texas that would get you shot.

It's all in where you're eating. If it's actually a good steakhouse you have nothing to fear getting a rare steak. If it's Applebee's or Wingers or some other chain, though, medium is the way to go. You don't know exactly how it will come, but at least it will be cooked and won't be burnt. I had that same thing happen to me, Zero. There's a steakhouse here in Rexburg, Idaho, where I got a very good rare steak a couple times, and couldn't understand why all my friends were surprised that I did, and said they never eat there. Then I went again, and I could swear they got the steak out of the fridge and put it directly on the plate. It wasn't even warm. Rare still means cooked, after all, no matter how red and bloody in the center. I sent it back, and instead of giving me a new steak they just cooked the same one a bit longer, so that while the flavor was still good, all the juice was gone and it was tough. Needless to say, I haven't been back since. But if it's done right, putting any sort of sauce on a rare steak should be considered a crime.

I stopped eating red meat at restaurants years ago (aside from proper steak houses), and the fact I'm married to a Veg, I only get to eat it about once a month (hard to rationalize buying a $15 dollar T-Bone when she can buy enough food for two days for the same price).

Even still, I eat my Beef and Bison blue. Or, well not quite blue. I like the center warm-ish, not cold. It really is the most perfect way to eat it. It literally melts in your mouth (a good cut anyway, a bad cut your still working on the sinew for hours). Lamb I eat rare as I find the fat has a slightly awkward taste if not cooked. I'll often use a rub on Lamb, as the flavour is a bit stronger, it can handle it better than Beef or Bison.

(hard to rationalize buying a $15 dollar T-Bone when she can buy enough food for two days for the same price)

What's hard about it? The t-bone (I'd go with a well-marbled rib eye or porterhouse) tastes far better than the two days worth of "food." It's like asking why I buy a bottle of d'Yquem rather than a half-dozen cases of Cascinetta Vietti. Despite both being sweet wines, the two are incommensurable. To be fair, you'd really have to get top quality, dry aged beef for the Yquem analogy to hold up... but still.

PC: if you order it rare and it comes uncooked, all is not lost. You simply send it back, explaining (1) what rare is, and (2) that you won't tolerate their re-cooking that steak either.

I agree on the 'A1 as a capital crime' bit, though.

as someone who only eats steak out, and doesn't have the budget to eat at a proper steak-houes, medium is the only safe bet... much like taking off and nuking the site from orbit: it's the only way to be sure.

chicago style is the best nice crust on the outside but still rare on the inside

oh and wine is for ninnys

To be fair, though, A1 is great for rescuing an overcooked steak if you don't want to waste it. It's not easy for me to say "hey, you cooked this wrong, give me another one", but I've gotten bolder about that as I've grown older.

like ... nuking the site from orbit

An apt analogy in more ways than one.

Ordering your steak well-done is also a good way to get the ugliest piece of meat they haven't thrown out yet.

a good way to get the ugliest piece of meat

Don't knock that basic approach, Mom--it's how peytros picks his women.

Though I'm pretty sure the last picture he posted was one that had already been "thrown out."

usually ill order it rare, at home, sometimes ill just eat it as is.

What's hard about it? The t-bone (I'd go with a well-marbled rib eye or porterhouse) tastes far better than the two days worth of "food."

As much as I would usually agree with you concerning a properly cooked cut of red meat, you've obviously never lived with a vegetarian committed to not letting the lack of meat issue get in the way of taste (she's not actually morally opposed to the idea of eating animals; she actually can't as it makes her ill).

Case in point (and only because this is the only direct comparison I can think of), she makes a lentil loaf that absolutely destroys any meatloaf I've ever tasted (and I've tasted some delicious meatloaf). And I don't mean it's just better, I mean when she makes it I eat about five more portions than I should, and am usually in agonizing pain from overeating for a number of days. That said it's hard to come up with a comparison in regards to a perfect cut of Bison (which to be honest, I'm finding increasingly preferable to the same cut of beef), mostly because the two diets are so fundamentally different, in regards to both eating habits and taste.

Likewise though, that once a month when I do splurge, I splurge. My dinner usually costs double-triple what hers does that evening. Preferably accompanied by a bottle or cask conditioned IPA.

The better the establishment, the more willing I am to let them undercook my steak. If I'm at Denny's, the steak will be medium-well, if the "cook" can find the steak next to the hamburger. If I'm at Morton's, I'm fairly certain that I can order a rare steak and enjoy it.

And the only wine to accompany a steak is the best Merlot the place has to offer. (Possibly a Pinot Noir if it's not sweet at all.)

Leber, that's two strikes.

First, if you're at Denny's, don't insult your tastebuds and the Beef Gods by ordering the "steak." Either get a real steak, or order something they won't fuck up. When I don't have time to take in a 3+ hour dinner at Gramercy Tavern/Capsouto Freres/Danube/Balthazar (ok, nobody would linger for 3 hours at Balthazar, but their food is fantastic)/etc.--and sadly, that's most months, let alone most weeks--I try to eat pretty sparsely. It's healthier for me, and makes the good stuff all the tastier when I get to it.

Second, Merlot? Seriously?! Pomerol. Cabernet Sauvignon. Hell, even a Malbec or a Haut-Médoc. But never a Merlot. Even a good Merlot lacks the complexity to compliment a good piece of red meat--it's a cocktail party wine.

My wife used to work in the restaurant biz. She says nearly every kitchen she worked in had a bin marked "save for well-done" in the fridge. The less stellar cuts would go in the bin, as Momerath has remarked already.

I like Cabernet Sauvignon or Pinot Noir with steak, though it depends on how I'm preparing it.

There are some very good merlots out there. Not many, but some.

The last one I had that I'd pair with a good steak was Penley Estate 1995 Reserve (Australia). Yeah, an Aussie, but this one was really fantastic. Well balanced, good tannin and structure. Looooooooong finish. It had the cajones to stand up with a good steak.

Hmmm... pretty sure it was a '95... might have been '98.

But yeah... there's *some* out there that can do it.

I don't have a problem with saving the "less stellar" cuts for well-done. As long as they're not bad cuts, and if it's well-done it doesn't much matter anyway, it seems to me a way to get the most out of the meat in the store. Save the best cuts for those who really want them and so order them rare.

And wow, half of you guys are apparently way above my budget! Texas Roadhouse is the best I can manage in the restaurant wasteland known as southeast Idaho. Honestly, my favorite restaurant here is Taco Bell. I try to cook for myself when I can, but there's rarely time.

Some of us are still in the office, East coast time, PC :P

Haha, I don't see that that matters, Lecter, unless on the east coast there are 27 hours in a day?