Why is getting a rare steak such an impossibility in Ireland?

Ash.J.Williams

TK Lemon wrote: »

Was in Wetherspoons recently with Mr Lemon and he ordered a rare steak and what he got resembled medium well. He asked for a new steak and they looked at the steak and said that it is rare.

This is not the only instance of this occurring. It’s happened before, when you ask for a rare steak it comes out overdone.

The standard way of cooking beef in Ireland seems to be incinerated in the core of the sun. :P

Whenever Mr Lemon orders steak, he always has to stress a few times that it should be cooked rare.

Any food places that do a GOOD rare steak? What has been your experiences?

weatherspoons a ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha

Ash.J.Williams

stateofflux wrote: »

I cry a little inside when i hear people ordering a fillet steak well done.

i always imagine people posting things like this with their eyes closed in a smug manner

Subcomandante Marcos

Ash.J.Williams wrote: »

weatherspoons a ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha

The ribeye in wetherspoons would put most Irish pubs and hotel restaurants to shame in terms of quality of meat to be honest. Order rare, expect medium and you get a very good steak for the price. Pity their chips are so ****e.

BENDYBINN

Ash.J.Williams wrote: »

weatherspoons a ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha

Weatherspoons...its half the price of everwhere else...sure it must be no good........typical paddy

Obvious Desperate Breakfasts

Brian? wrote: »

That’s simply not true. If the outside of steak is cooked it’s safe.

Also: steak tartare, carpaccio and sashimi?

Well, hopefully the mince used for tartare is very freshly minced. If it isn’t, it potentially might not be safe. I’m hoping that restaurants that offer it do fresh mincing.

I’d have reservations about chicken sashimi too.

Tamara tamara wrote: »

In the Michelan star restaurants I frequent you don't really get asked. If you do the correct reply is "chefs recommendation"

That’s what I always say. It means if I order ribeye, I get it medium like it should be without having to ask for it to be done medium. One never know where steak snobs are lurking.

El_Duderino 09 wrote: »

It’s not the point but I can’t stand meat describes as “bloody”. It’s red juice, not blood. Blood would be a massive problem.

I think a lot of people want the “blood” cooked out of the meat because eating bloody steak sounds gross and would be extremely dangerous. But it ain't blood.

Who cares if it’s not actual blood though? It’s just a phrase. You know what they mean. Saying ‘myoglobin’ probably won’t catch on.

Subcomandante Marcos

Obvious Desperate Breakfasts wrote: »

Well, hopefully the mince used for tartare is very freshly minced. If it isn’t, it potentially might not be safe. I’m hoping that restaurants that offer it do fresh mincing.

Tartar isn't made with a mincer, it's made with hand chopped pieces of meat that ideally would have been flash frozen and take from the centre of the joints (usually eye of round) they come from to minimize possible contamination.
The saltines of the capers and acidity of the lime juice in the dressing will also help limit potential for bacterial growth.

Sheep breeder

Mr.S wrote: »

Do they actually cook it Bleu / Blue though? I've yet to find a place that will 'officially' do it, and rare is the best you'll get. And when they do entertain your request, it's basically rare anyway. Assumed it was down to health regulations?

Burger joints aren't allowed give you a rare burger, for example.

Sushi sold in Ireland isn't fresh fresh, it's flash frozen at source and defrosted - reducing the risk of bacteria.

It’s gas the way people talk about blue steak and really blue steak is cull cow hung for a long period and would be the poor end of the market and not prime beef. How many people would know what type of steak they would be eating and how many places pass off poorer beef as fillet steak and get away with it.
If people want rare steak they should see what passes in France.

coleslaw

I had A Lovely steak in WS in blackrock 2 years ago and was quite surprised, the last month i have cooked about 380 to 400 steaks for a popular supermarket in Dublin for customers to taste also, i made a simple sauce to go with it i cooked them from rare to well done, and the medium rare to medium where getting the best feed back.When some people see the red they won't try the steak but if you put some sauce on it and they can't see it they are wondering why its so nice.ps I'm in my late 40s with spots ll over my face from griddle steak and don't want to eat steak for a long time,I have to do the same next week can't wait NOT.

Lewis_Benson

petros1980 wrote: »

This thread has attracted some tools...

??

FanadMan

Lewis_Benson wrote: »

The Irish middle aged man way:

Give us the large fillet love, VERY well done.
No salad please, just chips, LOADS of pepper sauce, be quick about it love will you?

Said while frothing and sweating,

If I order steak in a restaurant I always order chips and LOADS of pepper sauce.....it's just something I love. But I also have the salad. Plus I order my steak rare.

And I'm a middle aged Irish man.

El_Duderino 09

Obvious Desperate Breakfasts wrote: »

Who cares if it’s not actual blood though? It’s just a phrase. You know what they mean. Saying ‘myoglobin’ probably won’t catch on.

Sure but it isn't actually blood, it's juice. People talk about a juicy steak as a good thing. But if they don't want juice, trey say the steak has blood in it. Why on earth Would you suggest introducing the term myoglobin when we as leady has a perfectly understood term, juice?

And blood is possible and would be a big problem. Blood would be a serious health risk. Plus blood would actually be gross In steak. It would be a bit like describing the seared outside as shyte. Shyte might be more likely to catch on than "the seared outer coating of carmelised sugars". Eh, waiter, there's shyte on my steak.

Apart from anything, I'd say most people who use the term blood, actually think it's blood. They'd probably be a lot happier to know it isn't blood. It's juice, as in "a juicy steak".

Portsalon

stateofflux wrote: »

I cry a little inside when i hear people ordering a fillet steak well done.

Etched forever in my mind is the memory of Bertie Ahern boasting that at the dinner that followed an EU Leaders' Conference in Brussels he sent a piece of fillet steak back to the kitchens not once but twice :eek: because it hadn't been cooked to his taste, i.e. burnt to a cinder! By all means make a clown of yourself if you wish, but did he really have to brag about it as if he had done something worthy of praise?

El_Duderino 09

Portsalon wrote: »

Etched forever in my mind is the memory of Bertie Ahern boasting that at the dinner that followed an EU Leaders' Conference in Brussels he sent a piece of fillet steak back to the kitchens not once but twice :eek: because it hadn't been cooked to his taste, i.e. burnt to a cinder! By all means make a clown of yourself if you wish, but did he really have to brag about it as if he had done something worthy of praise?

That was the "sticking it to the elites" of his day.

Wompa1

Who gives a sh1t if someone order a steak well done? If they enjoy it well done, let them have it well done. This is like the pineapple on Pizza debate. Who really gives a sh1t.

On the topic of cooking. I was surprised this week to go get a burger in town and was asked how I wanted it cooked. From what I remember when I did my health and safety training, undercooking mince meat is very risky due to the mincing process and machinery used.

Edgware

El_Duderino 09 wrote: »

That was the "sticking it to the elites" of his day.

Or a de Bert would say "upsetting de apple tart"

BENDYBINN

We could do with bertie now....

LazerShark

Wompa1 wrote: »

Who gives a sh1t if someone order a steak well done? If they enjoy it well done, let them have it well done. This is like the pineapple on Pizza debate. Who really gives a sh1t.

On the topic of cooking. I was surprised this week to go get a burger in town and was asked how I wanted it cooked. From what I remember when I did my health and safety training, undercooking mince meat is very risky due to the mincing process and machinery used.

I guess you could order medium or well-done? Or some of the more pretentious burger joints which have sprung up in the last few years might claim to have a different preparation process. I do appreciate a juicy burger.

Birdie Num Num

Wompa1 wrote: »

Who gives a sh1t if someone order a steak well done? If they enjoy it well done, let them have it well done. This is like the pineapple on Pizza debate. Who really gives a sh1t.

On the topic of cooking. I was surprised this week to go get a burger in town and was asked how I wanted it cooked. From what I remember when I did my health and safety training, undercooking mince meat is very risky due to the mincing process and machinery used.

We ordered two burgers in a restaurant in Rathmines earlier in the year. Both rare and cool in the centre. Hers was worse than mine. I ate on, knowing it was not exactly how I would have preferred it to be. She had to send hers back. We were asked if we ordered it rare? Covering their arses here. You definitely do not ask ‘how would you like your burger cooked?’ Maybe if it’s from a fillet that has been seared and minced after the question has been asked perhaps.

Wasn’t inspired by the place at all. Always heard good stuff about it for years. First impressions on walking in there were not positive but I thought maybe I was just being ageist, which I’m not. Young clientele and reckoned the quality of food was probably not the highest priority by most.

On the subject of ‘bleu’ I understood that you cannot serve a steak to that order in Ireland on health grounds. Thought that was the case 15-20 years ago at least. Not sure about now.

El_Duderino 09

BENDYBINN wrote: »

We could do with bertie now....

Incorrect. Glad we had this discussion.

the beer revolu

Of course a restaurant should ask how you would like your burger cooked.
Bunsen offer medium, medium/well or well done. Medium is a little pink in the middle but I assume it has reached the required temperature for the required time. Anyway, they are deliciously juicy and pretty much the only burger I'll bother eating out.
The extra well done just in case burgers that most places serve are dry and tasteless to me, so I don't bother.

the beer revolu

petros1980 wrote: »

Why? You can't accept other people have different tastes?

Of course I can - provided they have tried the different options.

Obviously, you aren't obliged to answer my question but I'll ask it again. Have you ever had a rare steak?

storker

Franz Von Peppercorn II wrote: »

This is nonsense anyway. It’s basically men who like steak and it’s middle aged men who have the money to buy it in expensive restaurants.

Fans of good steak like em rare or medium rare in general.

My daughters, both picky and one very cautious about food in general, have migrated to medium-rare for their steak, and without any parental prompting. We were amazed.

My own preference is for blue, a taste I picked up in France when I was 17, long with a taste for medium-rare roast beef - try serving that in Ireland. That said, the colour of the pork and lamb on Masterchef sometimes can look dubious. And then the judges declare it to be "a bit over..." :eek:

the beer revolu

storker wrote: »

My daughters, both picky and one very cautious about food in general, have migrated to medium-rare for their steak, and without any parental prompting. We were amazed.

:

I've seen several well done steak people over the years go medium rare if they actually taste a lesser cooked steak.
I still maintain that most people who eat their steak well done, have never actually tasted steak cooked any other way.

El_Duderino 09

storker wrote: »

My daughters, both picky and one very cautious about food in general, have migrated to medium-rare for their steak, and without any parental prompting. We were amazed.

My own preference is for blue, a taste I picked up in France when I was 17, long with a taste for medium-rare roast beef - try serving that in Ireland. That said, the colour of the pork and lamb on Masterchef sometimes can look dubious. And then the judges declare it to be "a bit over..." :eek:

Lamb can be rare, no problem there.

Pork is a funny one. The general rule of thumb is to cook it until it's white through. But that's just a heuristic. I'm using made up numbers to illustrate the point: Harmful bacteria and parasites are killed when the pork reaches 70 degrees for 5 minutes. Pork turns white at 80 degrees. So if you cook pork until its white, it is definitely safe to eat, but it's cooked more than is necessary.

I'm presuming the masterchef guys are using lasers to check the meat has reached the safe temp all the way through.

storker

El_Duderino 09 wrote: »

I'm presuming the masterchef guys are using lasers to check the meat has reached the safe temp all the way through.

Could be...there's a lot in that programme that you don't see. But by the time you see them doing the tasting and judging, it's well-known that the food has gone cold.

jester77

kneemos wrote: »

Ever heard of tapeworm?

I remember reading about that poor lad who had a tapeworm in him, the tapeworm developed cancer and the tumor cells transferred into his own body which ended up killing him. Rough way to go.

Fanny Wank

These threads are always hilarious when people get offended at other people's choices

I like ribeye medium rare, not a big fan of fillet tbh. I've got many very good medium rare steaks in Ireland

Bobby Baccala

Cook your own steak if you can't get one cooked the way you like it in a restaurant, the price of steak in restaurants is outrageous anyway, 25 quid for something you could get from a butchers counter for 6-7 euro.

Portsalon

Wompa1 wrote: »

Who gives a sh1t if someone order a steak well done? If they enjoy it well done, let them have it well done. This is like the pineapple on Pizza debate. Who really gives a sh1t.

The people who post on this thread. Including you, obviously!

Because otherwise you wouldn't have bothered to remove your typing finger from whatever orifice you had it in to have typed your comment, would you?

Markcheese

Birdie Num Num wrote: »

We ordered two burgers in a restaurant in Rathmines earlier in the year. Both rare and cool in the centre. Hers was worse than mine. I ate on, knowing it was not exactly how I would have preferred it to be. She had to send hers back. We were asked if we ordered it rare? Covering their arses here. You definitely do not ask ‘how would you like your burger cooked?’ Maybe if it’s from a fillet that has been seared and minced after the question has been asked perhaps.

On the subject of ‘bleu’ I understood that you cannot serve a steak to that order in Ireland on health grounds. Thought that was the case 15-20 years ago at least. Not sure about now.

Well when I did my catering college in the 90s you most certainly could offer a blue steak,.. Not that it got ordered very often,
The burgers are a bit more tricky, I know of places that don't offer them any more, due to "regs" and places that still do, ( I like my steaks rare and my burgers medium), and it's real easy to check a burger, use a probe thermometer....