LET THERE be no mistake … cooking steak can be a minefield.
The tasty treat can be rare or well-done, with several stages in between. Get it wrong, and your guests will not want to come to your dinner party again.
Get it right and you can ensure the dinner has the wow factor.
A new study found that half of British people don’t know their preferred way of cooking a steak.
They were shown a series of images of steaks cooked from rare to well done, and 58% of participants who order medium-rare or rare when in public then chose differently when choosing from the images of cooked steak.
The study was conducted by online Scottish butchers Campbells Meat.
They also found that 27% ordered their steak medium rare, with medium following a close second at 22.9%. But just 2.9% of the UK like their steak blue – cooking it at a very high temperature for a short period of time, searing the outside but leaving the inside practically raw.
Campbell Meat’s’ head chef Stevie Cheape has created an information guide to steak, aiming to demystify the cuts, how to cook it and how to make sauces and sides.
Stevie says: “People may not be aware of everything there is to know about steak – there’s a lot to know – which is why they’re not enjoying the steak they end up with. But there’s no need to get steak wrong, with our guide to steak we’re helping educate people on everything they need to know about steak.
“Whether you want to know the best steak cuts, how to cook it yourself from home, and our recommendations for accompaniments – it’s all covered here.
“I recommend having a look at an image of the different stages of cooking a steak, from blue to well done. Once you’ve done that you’ll know exactly how your steak should look.
“A great tip for understanding what stage your steak is cooked at when cooking from home, and you don’t have a thermometer, is the touch test.
“Simply hold your palm out in front of you, and with your other hand feel the palm flesh between your thumb and forefinger. This will have the same feel as raw steak.
“Then, with your palm outward again with the same hand, touch your index finger to your thumb. With your other hand, press the fleshy bit between your thumb and forefinger. It should feel slightly more rigid. This is the texture of a rare steak.
“With the same hand, press your thumb and middle finger together, then once again feel the fleshy bit between your thumb and forefinger. This should feel quite a bit firmer and is the texture of medium/rare steak.
“Press your thumb and ring finger together and feel between your thumb and forefinger to find the texture of a medium-cooked steak.
“Lastly, press your thumb and pinky together. The fleshy bit of your palm between your thumb and forefinger should feel quite tough, and this is the texture of a well-done steak.”
If you have a meat thermometer, the following temperatures should confirm how cooked your steak is: Rare: 52°C, Medium/Rare: 57°C, Medium: 63°C, Medium/Well Done: 66°C, Well Done: 71°C.
Check out the helpful guide to steak on the Campbells Meat website: https://www.campbellsmeat.com/blog/ultimate-guide-to-steak
