What's your favorite kind of steak?

[twiley]

Filet , well done

 

thank you

You might as well be eating chuck if you're cooking it well done.

[irish]

You might as well be eating chuck if you're cooking it well done.

 

Agree there. Medium rare - medium is the way to go.

[Sturphy]

Filets don't have any flavor. I need some fat on my steak, sir.

 

Ribeye for me.

+1000

 

This is my opinion exactly.

 

Fat is flavor gentlemen. Now, if it's a top quality Filet, with a really nice marbling, that's different.

[isleseeya]

You might as well be eating chuck if you're cooking it well done.

 

 

not sure who Chuck is but i would not go that way

 

seriously i know what you are saying ..but i like all my steaks and beef cooked well done ..always been that way ...and i do enjoy filet even well done since its the only way i eat it

[twiley]

not sure who Chuck is but i would not go that way

 

seriously i know what you are saying ..but i like all my steaks and beef cooked well done ..always been that way ...and i do enjoy filet even well done since its the only way i eat it

Understandable, you're just masking the actual true texture and flavor of the meat. I believe Detlef posted an article way back about proper cooking for steak and how to maximize the flavor for each cut.

[detlef]

Understandable, you're just masking the actual true texture and flavor of the meat. I believe Detlef posted an article way back about proper cooking for steak and how to maximize the flavor for each cut.

It was pretty much a scientific analysis of how meat cooks and an argument that there is basically only one correct temp for eating steak. That is, just a tiny bit short of what is typically considered medium rare. Anything short of that and the cells aren't inspired to release their meaty flavors. Any more and the proteins bind up and get tough.

 

Now, I think there are a few other elements in play here and certain cuts, like for instance ribeye have big chunks of fat that simply need to be rendered to a degree or make the entire steak less enjoyable so they need to be cooked a shade longer than med rare IMO.

 

However, for something like a strip or filet, I believe the author entirely.

 

I regret to say, seeya, that you choose to have your steak cooked improperly. This is not a matter of opinion. This is like saying that you prefer drive with tire pressure of 10 psi or that you prefer that a painter not prep or prime your house before he paints it. You are specifically requesting that your steak be cooked in a manner that assures the steak will be as un-tender as it can be and likely also will result in an unpleasantly charred outside (since one needs to make a concerted effort to slowly cook a well done steak to avoid burning the outside, a courtesy that most line cooks will not offer to someone who they feel must not care about their steak given their choice of doneness). That last bit is unfortunate and not something I condone, rather a simple fact of life.

 

I should also add, as I have before, that there's one temp request that you can pretty much be assured will never be taken seriously or achieved. That temp is med-well. A cook hears the word "well" and, like I alluded to above, immediately assumes the diner doesn't care about his food. The word well means, "cook the life out of it" and that's what they do. Rare, med rare, and med are all temps that pretty much any cook will try very hard to nail. After that, they push it to the back of the grill and forget about it.

 

Once again, as a proprietor, I feel that it is your steak, you paid for it, and I'll make it however you like. I do not condone the above attitude, rather saying that it is how it is. At very least, if it is busy, and you're juggling a ton of things, the last thing you're going to stress about it is not over cooking a med well steak.

 

I would imagine that most people who ask for their steaks cooked well would likely be satisfied with a steak cooked medium. As long as it is well rested, it will not be too bloody or red (which seems to often be the issue). I also think that it's a mental thing. That if you were to close your eyes and be fed a piece of filet cooked medium, rather than well, you would enjoy it more. Perhaps I'm mistaken here...

[Atlanta Cracker]

You are specifically requesting that your steak be cooked in a manner that assures the steak will be as un-tender as it can be and likely also will result in an unpleasantly charred outside

 

Not if you have a Big Green Egg. You can cook the chit outta that thing and it'll still be tender and juicy.

 

Granted it's much better medium rare but I did have a few of the most delicious well done steaks you could imagine when I was learning the ropes of the BGE controls.

[detlef]

Not if you have a Big Green Egg. You can cook the chit outta that thing and it'll still be tender and juicy.

 

Granted it's much better medium rare but I did have a few of the most delicious well done steaks you could imagine when I was learning the ropes of the BGE controls.

If the cut is fatty enough, you can slow roast something (ala smoking a brisket) and be fine. However, a filet doesn't have enough fat to maintain any moisture if you cook it long enough unless you are, say, braising it in duck fat or something.

 

Even then, it still has this oddly dry quality.

[Atlanta Cracker]

If the cut is fatty enough, you can slow roast something (ala smoking a brisket) and be fine. However, a filet doesn't have enough fat to maintain any moisture if you cook it long enough unless you are, say, braising it in duck fat or something.

 

Even then, it still has this oddly dry quality.

 

Good point. It was ribeyes that I overcooked so that 'splains the moisture still being there.

[Sturphy]

it still has this oddly dry quality.

Yes, and it's kinda gross.

[sundaynfl]

If the cut is fatty enough, you can slow roast something (ala smoking a brisket) and be fine. However, a filet doesn't have enough fat to maintain any moisture if you cook it long enough unless you are, say, braising it in duck fat or something.

 

Even then, it still has this oddly dry quality.

 

I have smoked whole tenderloin filets at 225 for a little under an hour and they have turned out nice and juicy... medium rare. I usually sear it after it's done smoking.

[detlef]

I have smoked whole tenderloin filets at 225 for a little under an hour and they have turned out nice and juicy... medium rare. I usually sear it after it's done smoking.

I'm sorry if I wasn't clear. What you described is not what I'm talking about because the meat never got passed medium rare. What I was talking about is cooking meat long past well done.

[General Itals]

No love for the sirloin? I know its not the king of cuts, but when prepared well, unlike at one of those buffet style steak houses, it can be very good and it isn't tough on the wallet at all.

 

I also like flank steak prepared as a London Broil.

 

Also, why have a ribeye when you can just have a prime rib? Just my opinion.

[Sturphy]

Also, why have a ribeye when you can just have a prime rib?

Win / Win

[irish]

No love for the sirloin? I know its not the king of cuts, but when prepared well, unlike at one of those buffet style steak houses, it can be very good and it isn't tough on the wallet at all.

 

 

You know that's the second huddler, I believe, who's mentioned that filet's don't have good or any flavor. Marinate those slabs of meat for like 24 hours and you'll get meat you can cut with a fork and all the flavor you'd want. Although I do have to mention that I also enjoy having fat on my steak at times as well. When I went to Texas de Brazil, one of, if not my favorite altogether was the Top Sirloin which had a strip of fat on each cut.

 

I love my filet but I'm with you in regard to the Sirloin as well.

[Jimmy Neutron]

Filets don't have any flavor. I need some fat on my steak, sir.

 

Clearly, you've never had a good filet.

 

Now, if it's a top quality Filet, with a really nice marbling, that's different.

 

A good filet has tiny veins of scrumptous fat running through it. I am of the opinion that you should never have to marinate a filet.

[detlef]

Also, why have a ribeye when you can just have a prime rib? Just my opinion.

You mean, why grab a couple of rib eyes from the butcher and grill them up when you can simply just buy an entire rib roast, slowly roast it for hours upon hours, and figure out what to do with the the remaining 5-10 lbs of beef that you and your wife couldn't finish?

 

Dude, I hear you. People can be so lazy.

Edited February 23, 2008 by detlef

[detlef]

Clearly, you've never had a good filet.

A good filet has tiny veins of scrumptous fat running through it. I am of the opinion that you should never have to marinate a filet.

Thing is, that same good cow that delivered that good filet also delivered a rib eye that was even more marbled and had even more flavor. Don't get me wrong, I think filet is some nice eating, but I agree with those who prefer more flavor from their steak.

[driveby]

It was pretty much a scientific analysis of how meat cooks and an argument that there is basically only one correct temp for eating steak. That is, just a tiny bit short of what is typically considered medium rare. Anything short of that and the cells aren't inspired to release their meaty flavors. Any more and the proteins bind up and get tough.

 

Now, I think there are a few other elements in play here and certain cuts, like for instance ribeye have big chunks of fat that simply need to be rendered to a degree or make the entire steak less enjoyable so they need to be cooked a shade longer than med rare IMO.

 

However, for something like a strip or filet, I believe the author entirely.

 

I regret to say, seeya, that you choose to have your steak cooked improperly. This is not a matter of opinion. This is like saying that you prefer drive with tire pressure of 10 psi or that you prefer that a painter not prep or prime your house before he paints it. You are specifically requesting that your steak be cooked in a manner that assures the steak will be as un-tender as it can be and likely also will result in an unpleasantly charred outside (since one needs to make a concerted effort to slowly cook a well done steak to avoid burning the outside, a courtesy that most line cooks will not offer to someone who they feel must not care about their steak given their choice of doneness). That last bit is unfortunate and not something I condone, rather a simple fact of life.

 

I should also add, as I have before, that there's one temp request that you can pretty much be assured will never be taken seriously or achieved. That temp is med-well. A cook hears the word "well" and, like I alluded to above, immediately assumes the diner doesn't care about his food. The word well means, "cook the life out of it" and that's what they do. Rare, med rare, and med are all temps that pretty much any cook will try very hard to nail. After that, they push it to the back of the grill and forget about it.

 

Once again, as a proprietor, I feel that it is your steak, you paid for it, and I'll make it however you like. I do not condone the above attitude, rather saying that it is how it is. At very least, if it is busy, and you're juggling a ton of things, the last thing you're going to stress about it is not over cooking a med well steak.

 

I would imagine that most people who ask for their steaks cooked well would likely be satisfied with a steak cooked medium. As long as it is well rested, it will not be too bloody or red (which seems to often be the issue). I also think that it's a mental thing. That if you were to close your eyes and be fed a piece of filet cooked medium, rather than well, you would enjoy it more. Perhaps I'm mistaken here...

 

I used to eat my steaks well done because I didn't like the "mushy" feel of a medium steak and the "rawness" of it. But now that I'm used to the new "mouth feel" of the medium steaks, they are much better!

 

Helps to eat a few in a low light environment without your bifocals.

[whomper]

Ums

[Jimmy Neutron]

Thing is, that same good cow that delivered that good filet also delivered a rib eye that was even more marbled and had even more flavor. Don't get me wrong, I think filet is some nice eating, but I agree with those who prefer more flavor from their steak.

 

I love a good ribeye too, but have never had one as tender as a quality filet.

[General Itals]

Dude, I hear you. People can be so lazy.

 

That's why I pay people like you to do the hard work for me.

[detlef]

I love a good ribeye too, but have never had one as tender as a quality filet.

It's sort of a trade-off. If you value tenderness over flavor, you go with filet, flavor over tenderness, you go with rib eye or strip. Mind you, a quality version of either is not going to be devoid of either but your choice is based on that preference.

 

For my taste, a good rib eye is plenty tender enough so I'd rather have the extra flavor.

[HowboutthemCowboys]

For my taste, a good rib eye is plenty tender enough so I'd rather have the extra flavor.

My thoughts exactly. I'd pay twice as much for a rib eye if I had to.