Can I have a well done juicy steak please!

I hear this comment far to often – and my response is always – NO!

Photo by Sven Brandsma on Unsplash

I’ve owned several steakhouses. You’d be amazed at how many steaks come back due to incorrect temperature, or customers personal interpretation of temperature. And one thing I have learned, practically every customer is an expert on meat temperature. While you always listen to your doctor or optician, most NEVER listen to your steakhouse owner despite the fact he may have prepared thousands of steaks during his lifetime. His knowledge, it seems, is always secondary to yours when it comes to steak temperature. In the customers defence, there is no proper scientific test for temperature, so it can be a bit hit and miss.

I strongly believe a series of photos showing temperature on the menu is money well spent albeit a bit “tacky”. One man’s medium rare is another man’s well done. It also varies from country to country and even city to city. Example — A medium rare in Texas is a rare in London.

Please notice I say, “well cooked”, as opposed to “well done”. And my reasoning for that is simple – well done refers to effort. “ Well done” on your exam marks. Well cooked refers to temperature. And even that is not a perfect descriptor. I’m on a personal crusade to end the use of a word signifying EFFORT to describe…