What way do you like your steak?

Judging by the replies so far it looks like we're the only ones like our steak anything other than well done. :)

Ok, I'm putting this here so that people can see it and maybe comment on it: Rare steak 'is safe to eat' http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/3743657.stm Eating rare steak will not cause food poisoning if kitchen utensils used to cook it are kept clean, it is claimed. University of Nottingham scientists spiked steak samples with E.coli bacteria, then cooked them rare. The bacteria only survived where the steaks were touched by utensils that were not cleaned after being used to handle raw meat, researchers found. The study dispels the myth that eating rare steak is in itself unsafe, the Meat and Livestock Commission said. Recontamination The tests, carried out on behalf of the commission, were designed to establish once and for all whether serving rare steak posed a health risk. To determine whether food poisoning bacteria could survive the cooking process, steak samples taken from separate fillets were spiked with E.coli. The bacteria, which are known to die at high temperatures, were still present in the samples even after cooking. But it was found that the cells' survival was caused by recontamination of the steaks during cooking, via the tongs used to turn them. E.coli bacteria Bacteria such as E.coli can cause food poisoning Scientists then spiked more steaks and cooked them - but sterilised the tongs in ethanol between turns to ensure that the tongs could not recontaminate the meat. This time, no E.coli was detected. The study concluded that rare steak can be produced safely provided that food poisoning bacteria are not reintroduced by contaminated utensils. The Meat and Livestock Commission said there should no longer be any doubt over the safety of rare steak - a claim supported by advice issued by the Food Standards Agency. Its guidelines state that whole cuts of meat, such as steaks, cutlets and joints, are only ever contaminated by bacteria on the outside of the meat, which are destroyed during cooking even if the middle of the meat is pink, or rare. In the case of minced-meat products such as burgers and sausages, bacteria are spread throughout the product during manufacture. These products should be cooked until they are piping hot throughout, with no pink meat left and any juices running clear, it says. The agency also stresses the importance of keeping utensils clean while cooking any type of meat, to ensure that bacteria are not spread from raw to cooked foods.

I don't think the same problem exists here in Ireland. I know that there were scares with beef a while ago but that was to do with BSG or mad cow disease. However I think that this effected products that were manufactured from the brain of the cow. I couldn't be 100% positive but just the same I've avoided buying mass produced frozen burgers and make my own now.

Where do you get the meat for your own burgers, go to the farm and choose your own cow/bull? that's about the only way you can be sure that what you buy is totally edible, but I don't think that this is possible for most of us.

I buy from a local butcher who has his own slaughter house. He's won lots of awards for his meat produce. Rears his own hens, chickens, turkeys which is great. There's also an organic farmers market every Saturday here that I buy from. I have to admit though I buy rashers and sausages from Tesco or the local supermarket quite often.

I just had Steak Tartar for my feast! My 2007 was brought in in high style with an excellent Merlot as well! The was also Marinated raw shrimp. I glad that you are a fan. Eating this way really makes me feel great! :)

that's ground raw meat...roast beef or tenderloin

A friend of mine was telling me about a woman who came into the restaurant where she works and asked for steak tartare. When it arrived she went crazy because it wasn't cooked. :D

my stepdad I used to eat raw steak all the time...just put a dash of salt on it. It's great. The taste is much more succulent and aromatic that cooked steak...plus it is extremely more tender.

Lol oh no thamks

Would you believe I used to hate it too? I don't know when I started eating it and I remember once upon a time thinking that to eat rare steak must be the most vile idea ever. And now I like it. Mad! :)

I have to put this here as I just found it on the net: http://bahrainirants.blogspot.com/2006/11/topics-on-my-menu.html Since I can’t seem to get off the food subject.. After reading and thoroughly enjoying Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain, I learned something very interesting about people in restaurants that order their steaks well done. In my previous life, I used to cringe at my fellow diners when we’d go to a good steakhouse and they’d order their meat well done. I had visions of the chef flipping out over the customers' demands for overly cooked meat, sucked of all juices and flavor. I secretly hoped the chef would come bursting out of the kitchen, brandishing a cleaver , ready to give whomever a verbal lashing about the quality of the meat and how they were tainting the reputation of the dish by wanting it cooked well done. The truth is, chefs love people that order their steaks well done. A well done steak gives the chef the opportunity to get rid of his/her most horrible cut of meat, or the one that doesn’t look too good.. since you, the diner, don’t give a damn about the flavor of the meat and how well it’s been aged, the chef doesn’t have to worry about grilling it perfectly. Instead the chef can afford to give you whatever’s at the bottom of the meat bin, the stuff that’s going to expire soon.. Next time you order your steak well done, think about that.

Now read this: http://www.tradetricks.org/archives/001108.html As a chef, you can always tell the person at a table who are more adept at picking their teeth with the steak knife than enjoying said steak: they are the ones who order any cut of meat "well done" or order it medium then send it back repeatedly. So if a "connoisseur" would like his beef BBR (Burnt Beyond Recognition), there are two ways to deal with this problem in your busy kitchen. First, you can cut the diner a steak which is thinner - but barely perceptively so - than the others and place a heavy metal object such as a metal hot plate on top of it to speed the cooking process. Option number two is to be used in emergency situations only - such as if someone orders his $29 ribeye "well done". If this occurs, "butterfly" the meat by cutting about 1/4 to 1/3 of the way down into the center of the steak, then outwards towards the edges, creating two flaps or "butterfly wings". This will greatly reduce the cooking time, and anyone who orders a well-done ribeye won't notice this indiscretion anyway.

Last one I promise! LOL! I thought this was funny but the language was such that I couldn't copy and paste it: http://chefslament.blogspot.com/2006/01/attention-amateurs.html In one section it mentions a sign on the wall of a Texas steakhouse that reads "Not responsible for steak well done".

I used to confine myself to just chicken and fish. The steak is only a recent thing although I can't remember exactly when I started eating it. The only mean I avoid when out is pork. I don't want to take the risk that that stuff mightn't be cooked properly......as much as I want to be thin and all.

Ugh, me too! I always ask for it well done. I was never a big meat eater until about 2years ago and I have to say I've never had really bad meat in a restaurant. I think it does depend on the restaurant though.

What to do when you can't afford the best cuts of beef? Try this, go the supermarket and get your self a cut called the shoulder London Broil, this cut of beef is typically lower priced than most other cuts, except for bone-in "California steaks which are really a pot-roast cut into steaks. Avoid these unless you want make a beef salad or noodle dish. Place your cut of London Broil on a plate and rub it with sea-salt and let it sit, covered, for about 20 minutes. Be sure that it's at room temperature that all the salt has melted... you then wash off the salt with warm water and pat the meat dry with a paper towel... Mix together some extra virgin olive oil and bacon renderings, if you have them with some crushed garlic, crushed onion, a bit of black pepper and a bit of table salt (to taste). Crush some fresh parsley into this mixture and rub the meat with it. Pierce the meat with a fork and then let it sit for about 15-20 minutes... Heat your broiler or coals to as hot as you can go and place the prepared meat on a rack abotu 5 inches below the flame (4 inches above the flame on a grill)... Be sure to turn this meat every 45 seconds over very high heat for a total of about 6 minutes or less, this cut should always be served juicy and rare or you might as well be eating a shoe! :) Remove the meat from the flame and with your sharpest knife, cut very thin slices across the grain of the meat with the knife held at an angle like this (/). Serve immediately or slice and refrigerate and serve cold. This inexpensive cut of meat can become the centerpiece of an excellent breakfast, lunch or dinner! :)

I wonder is the ondon Broil the same as our Housekeeper's Cut. I'll have to check that out.

Well when you try it let me know what you think of it. I think I'm going to have to cook steak tomorrow after all this talk about it. I'm craving for it now.

Where's Hollyhead golf club? I can't seem to find it. The barbecue was on the roof of the golf club? Wow....... :)

I've heard of a blue steak but I've never had one. Maybe next time I'm in a good restaurant I'll try it. That's very interesting what you've said.

Oddly, I've experienced the opposite effect... My need for iron- it's strange deficiency for a male, makes me crave certain foods, including meat, as rare and as raw as I can get them. I know that several vegetables have my iron requirement, but they lack a certain group of proteins that I must have for my type of blood, the very rare AB-negative which causes some of this group to be prone to such a malady. When I eat foods that have the minerals and combinations of iron and protien, I really feel great and my immune system really works at peak efficiency, destroying any stray bacteria or virus that is foolish enough to attack it. As a plus, this also makes me immune to many of the diseases that most people try to avoid and wind up getting anyway. Oh by the way, a six ounce Martini sipped during a meal like this, provides additional germ protection... The darn things become so "merry" that they forget to make you sick! lol! :)

LOL@ the shoe polish. :D

Thank you azriel

no prob! ive already reported it and also gave the person a negative rating.