Why do people like eating meat cooked rare? Aren't you afraid to get sick and isn't it chewy?!


Question:

Why do people like eating meat cooked rare? Aren't you afraid to get sick and isn't it chewy?


I like only extra well done


Answers: My parents always cooked steak well done, and I never liked it. I just couldn't see why everyone thought steak was such a treat. It was dry and kind of tough.

Then I had my first rare steak when I got older and I LOVED it. It was juicy and very tender and had a lot more flavor. A good steak cooked rare never needs a marinade, rub, or any spices to enhance the flavor, because the flavor doesn't get cooked out of it like it does when it's cooked well done.

I don't know why my parents preferred their steak well done, but I sure like it rare better!

But, a steak that is truly rare is still raw in the middle. It's supposed to be still cool inside, which means it couldn't possibly be cooked to high enough temperature to kill all the bacteria, etc., if any were present. If the steak is warm or hot inside, it's not rare. I've eaten a lot of rare steaks and have never gotten sick from them, though. It's not raw and is cooked to the temperature that kills bacteria. No it isn't chewy, it is full of flavor and tender. Most people prefer their meat to be cooked a bit pink in the middle, unlike the hockey puck a few prefer. Why ruin a good steak if you are going to cook the meat flavor out of it? You may as well buy cheap hamburger and cook the b-jesus out of it. I personally would not eat really rare meat because of what i remembered in biology class and how sometimes there are things and little worms the animals might have still inside the meat like cysts or whatever but only if its not cooked right. My father in law only eats very rare Filet Mignon... so it's very tender, and MOOOOing.. I think it's disgusting, but he loves it...I love mine about med... Thats a daft question but I know what you mean - you say you "only" like it well done - but it's clear you haven't tried it rare to make the comparison.
Go to a butchers (not the supermarket) and buy the freshest and most expensive fillet steak you can buy. Cut it in half, cook one half well done, and the other half rare, let them sit for 4-5 minutes and compare. They both taste fab but in different ways.
I prefer my steak "blue" - which is very rare.
You may think rare steak is chewy if you have only ever eaten cheaper cuts of steak. Rump and sirloin need cooking a little longer, for best rare steaks use ribeye, t bone, and fillet. Some people like variety. Certain cuts of meat I like almost raw, others medium rare, and still other cooked through. The real key is to have FRESH meat. (It need not be expensive, as someone here suggested. Some of the cheaper cuts are surprisingly terrific.) Beef steaks, hamburgers, and breakfast beef are best rarish. But meat loaf is best cooked through. Pot roasts and rump roast and what have you are best cooked to medium rare. It all depends.

Perhaps you should experiment a little. Your best bet is to go to a restaurant and order something medium rare and try it and so on. At friend's houses when the ask how you would like something, try rare. In both places, if you don't like what you've got, they will cook it more for you. A steak that is cooked perfectly to rare/medium rare will be the most tender, juicy and tasty steak you can eat. They will never require a "steak sauce" as the taste of the beef should stand out and be delish!
A steak cooked more than medium rare is just wrong and does not do the meat itself justice. If you want well done just eat a hamburger. At 145 degrees Fahrenheit, the minimum temperature required by my local health department, most the bacteria has been cooked out. Steaks cooked rare are much more tender than steaks cooked medium to well-done (155-165F) mainly because in well-cooked steaks, the fat (which is where most the flavor comes from) has been cooked out and what you are left a big hunk of protein.

Usually the leaner cuts of meat such as sirloin or top round need to be cooked medium-rare because they simply do not have enough fat and will not be tender if they are cooked longer. You can go a little more well done if you are cooking a fattier steak like a ribeye or a chuck steak if that's what you prefer.

In general people do not get sick from rare beef, but my local health department forbids serving rare beef to the very young and very old as their immune systems might be less resistant to the remaining bacteria. However, for a healthy adult or teenager, this shouldn't be a problem as long as the meat has been kept under refrigeration and it it cooked using a metal-stemmed meat thermometer to determine that the internal temperature is at least 145 degrees or higher.



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