Blue Steak
The rare Pittsburgh steak or “black and blue” has recently come back into fashion. It is a steak that has currently been cooked at a very high temperature so that it is charred on the outside and raw in the center.
How to cook the perfect steak - from blue to well done
How would you like your steak? ”Unless we’re foodies, having to cook steaks to order for family and friends can be a challenge. Even ordering in a restaurant can be intimidating. How often do we gamble. safety by asking a psychic because we are afraid to say the “wrong thing” or because we are not really sure?
The good news is that a little knowledge and confidence in our own preferences can overcome any reluctance and turn us into accomplished cooks and happier diners.
The temperature at the center of a piece of meat gives an accurate indication of how well is cooked, but there are other methods that dispense with the need for a meat thermometer. One is the timing, the other is the touch test. Here is how it works.
Hold your non-dominant hand, palm up, and relax. With the index finger of the other, gently push the fleshy area between your thumb and the base of your palm. There is very little resistance. This is what raw meat looks like.
Now make a circle with that thumb and index finger. The muscle at the base of the thumb tenses slightly. This is what rare meat looks like.
When you repeat this process with your middle, ring, and little fingers, the muscle under the thumb tightens each time. Miraculously, the feel of this muscle matches the feel of a steak in its later stages of cooking: medium / rare, medium and finally well done.
So if you touch the steak while cooking and compare it to the feel of your other hand, you will know exactly when to stop cooking. With a little practice, anyone can become a skilled steak cook.
There is also a “face test”. In an average height person, the different feelings of the cheek, chin and forehead correspond to a rare, medium and well-made steak. However, the face test is not as hygienic as the touch test because while we all wash our hands before cooking, few of us wash our faces.
The six degrees of “Doneness”
The touch test is unavoidably a dependable guideline, so the cooking times are surmised and dependent on a 1-inch thick sirloin steak at a cool room temperature that is placed in a hot pan.
Note that it is advisable to lightly coat both sides of the raw steak with oil beforehand to avoid sticking, and then to let the cooked steak rest for 3-4 minutes before serving as this will improve the texture.
blue/bleu
The touch test for blue steak is equivalent to for crude meat portrayed previously. Fry the steak in a hot pan for a minute on both sides and a few seconds on each outer edge with tongs.
All but the outside of the steak look raw. If you use a meat thermometer, the internal temperature of the steak will be below 29 ° C.
Rare
Gently press the tip of your index finger onto the tip of your thumb. The meat under your thumb gives way a little when you bump it. This is what a rare steak feels like.
To do this, sear the steak on both sides for 2½ minutes and use tongs to sear the narrow outer edges for 10 seconds each. The inner two thirds of the steak will remain blood red. (Internal temperature: 30-51C)
Half done
Lightly press the tip of your ■■■■■■■■■■■■■ on the tip of your thumb. Notice how the meat feels a little firmer under your thumb. This is what a medium-rare steak feels like.
Fry the steak on both sides for 3½ minutes. When cut, the steak ranges from brown on the outside to pink and moist with a narrow, blood-red center. (Internal temperature: 57-63C)
Medium
Bring the tip of your ring finger and thumb together and the flesh under your thumb will feel firm. This is what a medium steak feels like.
Earthy colored the steak for 4 minutes on each side. Only the inside 25% of the steak will stay pink and moist. (Internal temp: 63-68C)
For medium, well done cooking, cook 5 minutes per side. (Internal temp: 72˚-77C)
Good game
By placing your pinky finger and thumb together, the flesh under your thumb will become decidedly firm. It matches the feel of a well done steak.
Brown the meat for 6 minutes on each side. It will appear dark on the outside and cook evenly to a light gray-brown color throughout and have a dry texture. (Internal temp: 77C +)
Other methods
Besides the six main degrees of “doneness”, there are two more worth mentioning. Steak tartare alludes to a finely hacked or minced crude meat steak regularly presented with onions, tricks and flavors, for example, Worcestershire sauce and now and then with a crude egg yolk.
At What Temperature To Cook?
Okay, now some of you are probably thinking 145 ° F for beef !? Please note that if you cook your steak at the recommended temperature, IT WILL BE TOO DONE! It is important to note that these are WHOLE MUSCLE cuts, NOT ground meat.
| Term ( *French* ) | Description | Temperature range |
|---|---|---|
| Extra-rare or Blue ( *bleu* ) | very red and cold | 46–49 °C 115–120 °F |
| Rare ( *saignant* ) | cold red center; soft | 52–55 °C 125–130 °F |
| Medium rare ( *à point* ) | warm red center; firmer | 55–60 °C 130–140 °F 145 °F |
| Medium (*demi-anglais*) | pink and firm | 60–65 °C 140–150 °F 160 °F |
| Medium well (*cuit*) | small amount of pink in the center | 65–69 °C 150–155 °F |
| Well done ( *bien cuit* ) | gray-brown throughout; firm | 71-100 °C 160-212 °F 170 °F |
| Overcooked blacken throughout | crispy | >100 °C >212 °F >220 °F |
The key to cooking a blue steak securely
Nobody wants a good steak dinner that was ruined with a trip to the emergency room because of E. coli poisoning. Whether or not it is safe to have a blue steak, the short answer is “yes” - and here is why. Scientists at the University of Nottingham ran a steak test to see if eating an E. coli-enriched steak would result in the bacteria still hanging around if the meat is infrequently cooked (via BBC). What they discovered was that while there was still microscopic organisms in the steaks after the cuts fell off the flame broil, they discovered it was a direct result of the serving utensils - not the short time on the grill. When sterilized tongs were used to twist the blue steaks, no E. coli was detected in the meat.
If you’ve been to a steakhouse lately, you may even have noticed that your steak comes out a little less often than you’d like. The New York Post reported that some steakhouses have started cooking rare steaks, even when ordered medium-infrequent, simply because less meat is ultimately thrown in the trash. “If a customer says their steak is over cooked, it can only be thrown away,” said restaurateur Stephen Hanson. A wasted steak is sheer disrespect for the cow that gave her life for your New York streak.
To be on the safe side, it is recommended that you use a meat thermometer to check the internal temperature of the porterhouse you are grilling. If you want it to be blue, you might want to swap out the pliers before turning it over.
Is it safe to eat blue steak?
Anyone who likes to eat a good steak certainly has a preference for the way they like it cooked. While requesting a very much done steak can be profane as it burglarizes the steak of its characteristic juice, on the opposite finish of the steak range is the blue steak. Also known as just ordering an “extra rare” steak, a blue steak is just shy of serving the cut of beef raw. If you order a blue steak, you certainly won’t know the grill for too long, and the inside temperature probably isn’t much higher than 115 degrees Fahrenheit. While a barely-kissed steak on the grill may appeal to some carnivores, is it safe to eat it?
Mistakes everyone makes when cooking steak
When properly prepared, the steak is king of the meat. It’s big and brave and has the ability to dominate every meal in the best possible way. While there are a few tricks that make cheap steaks taste expensive, steak is usually quite expensive too, especially if you opt for options like thickly sliced ribeyes, New York strips, or fillet mignon cuts from the fillet. It can get even more expensive if you switch from buying regular beef at the grocery store to grass-fed beef, giant bone-in tomahawk steaks, or special dry-aged meat options at the butcher’s shop.
If a steak is cooked to moderate temperatures, it is well worth the high price. Unfortunately, it’s easy to make a mistake or two that can ruin your investment and turn a perfect steak into an overwhelming meal. But don’t despair: we know a few tricks to keep your steak from turning into a dry, tough and unattractive piece of meat. Read on to find out how you can cook steak as good as your favorite steakhouse restaurant.
Reheat your steak
So you purchased your steak on Monday and plan to eat it on Wednesday, and meanwhile it’s sensibly sitting in the cooler standing by persistently. With many other animal products that you probably have in your fridge or freezer, you will generally want to bring them to room temperature before cooking them. With things like chicken and fish, which need to be well cooked for safety or just cooked evenly, bringing them to room temperature improves your chances of getting it right. But when it comes to steak, which doesn’t need to be cooked completely or evenly, the fact that the meat starts on the cold side will work in your favor.
Regardless of how you like cooking the inside of your steak (we’ll get to that later), you probably like the outside to be dark brown and slightly charred. If you also like the interior to be anywhere south of the middle, you’ll probably follow the standard cooking practice of throwing it on an insanely hot grill or pan for a few minutes. If you time it correctly, it will burn the outside to crispy perfection without letting the heat do much inside. In the case of a rare steak, it can take as little as a minute per side, depending on the thickness. The internal temperature of a rare steak is around 125 degrees, so if you cook it from room temperature, say 72 degrees, the grill only needs to increase the internal temperature by 53 degrees to reach. this brand. But if you leave your steak in the fridge at around 35 degrees and throw it on the grill at that temperature, the grill now needs to increase the inside temperature by 90 degrees to get to the same spot. This achieves two things: the extra time it takes to heat the steak to the perfect temperature makes it easier for you to reach the perfect cooking window, and it also gives the outside a little extra time for the reaction. de Maillard takes effect, which uses the transformation of amino acids and sugars at high temperatures to produce that mouth-watering toasted flavor that you are totally thinking about right now.
If you suddenly have a (very understandable) desire to cook steaks for dinner but only have frozen steaks on hand, fear not. Cook’s Illustrated says it’s better to cook steaks straight from frozen than to thaw them before cooking, as this results in better moisture retention and less overcooking. However, since the process works best when you freeze the steak in a specific way, you may still prefer to plan ahead and cook them right at the butcher.
Not seasoning your steak enough
It goes without saying that you need to season your steaks before cooking them, but are you seasoning them enough? Maybe you give them a light sprinkle and call it right. You’ll find that while the light sprinkling seemed just the right amount on the surface of the meat, it totally ignored the iceberg nature of steaks in general - most of the meat is below the surface. When you season your steak, you should apply a generous portion of kosher salt (and pepper, if you wish) and rub the surface. It’s okay, you can’t really go wrong with salt and pepper.
If you are feeling adventurous, there is much more you can do. There are countless recipes for steak rubs and marinades to make your mouth water, but an easy one to get started is to simply add garlic powder and onion powder to salt and pepper. . Be warned that using rubs and exotic marinades (like these creative ones) could overpower the more subtle flavor of the meat. But if you only have access to a mediocre cut, a devious rub could make all the difference to your meal.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
1. What is blue steak?
The blue steak, also known as “bleu”, is a sign of French tradition. Achieving a blue steak is simply a case where cold meat is cooked at high temperatures for a very short period of time - just long enough to be able to sear the outside easily.
2. What is black and blue steak?
Black and blue is another cooking method. It is sometimes called “Pittsburgh” - according to legend, steel workers cooked steak this way on a hot piece of metal.
A black and blue steak is cooked on a very hot flame. The outside is charred black while the inside is cool (110F) - barely warmer than a bleusteak.
3. Is Blue Rare Steak Safe?
As long as the entire surface of the steak is sealed (cooked) it should be perfectly safe. One of the reasons raw meat can be a risk is E-Coli. However, this is only found on the surface of the meat (contaminated during slaughter). So if you “seal” the outside of the steak, the E-Coli will be killed.
4. What is Blue Rare Steak?
It’s not “blue” but “bleu”. It’s a cooking term used to describe a steak that has been cooked on the surface, but the center is still raw and cold. Generally, this is how you get the real taste of the meat (please, please don’t drown it in sauces and shower it in various spices!).
5. Is It Bad For You To Eat Blue Steak?
Meat purchased from a reputable source has very little risk of salmonella, E. coli, or other sinister diseases associated with undercooked meat. So if you eat this medium or rare steak, you won’t get sick.