Improving Your Restaurant

How To Have Your Steak Cooked: The Different Choices When It Comes To Your Steak

9 May 2017

Julia Payne

When you go out to dinner and you want to order steak, it's useful to know the different ways your steak can be prepared. If you want your steak cooked perfectly, knowing how to order it is important. Your first step is to understand what a raw piece of steak looks like that hasn't been cooked, and go from there. The first type of cooked steak is rare, and the process is done in a number of stages until you get to the final cooked stage, well done. Whether you like a steak that has been barely touched by a grill, or you want one that has been cooked all the way through, you'll be ready to order your steak the next time you head out to a steakhouse.

The Rare Steak

When you order your steak rare, this means that you want a steak with a temperature inside of between 120 and 130 degrees. The steak will be bright red on the inside, and slightly brown around the sides. The very outside of the steak will have some slight charring. It's basically a piece of raw meat that feels soft and is brown on either surface. When you want a steak that is just barely cooked, you can order your steak rare.

A Medium Rare Steak

A steak that is medium rare has an internal measurement of 135 degrees. At the very center of the steak will be red, while there will also be a significant portion of pink. The top and bottom of the steak will be browned with heavy grill marks. Most steak lovers agree that a medium rare steak is the perfect way to have a steak cooked.

A medium steak is generally more brown than pink. When you order your steak medium, you are giving up on the soft, pink and red middle portions. Many people find that the outside of a steak that is cooked to medium is too tough for their liking.

The last two stages are medium well and well done. It's actually quite hard to cook a well done steak the right way. If it's cooked too fast, the steak will be hard and rubbery. A well done steak has to be cooked slowly to remain soft, even when there is no pink or red in it.

The next time you go to order a steak, consider each way it can be ordered to find the perfect way you prefer.

Share