Why is it so hard to get properly cooked steak in Ireland?

stanley nolan

I went to a local gastro-pub near me. I asked for a rare fillet and specifically stated it must be rare. Lo, when I got it, it was cooked through. True to my word, I sent it back. Meanwhile my sides were left there going cold when my wife continued eating hers. Within two or three minutes they brought out another, (which implies batch cooking… not good for steaks to order) this one was medium. I said nothing and grinned and bared it. Because the wife was morto and pissed off with me for sending the first one back. When the bill came it was €98-something. I handed over €100 and had to remind them to bring my change. I don’t tip poor service. “Oh… you want your change it’s only just over a Euro”.

Similar happened in a family restaurant nearby. The steak was cremated. Sent back and the “rare” steak that they gave me second time was more “medium” like the other place. Again, close to €100.

I went to Wetherspoons and hats off to them. A delicious cut of meat cooked to perfection. A good sear and still red/pink all the way through. Washed down with a reasonably priced glass of red wine. Just over €50 for the two of us.

Lewis_Benson

Agree, very hard to get a steaked cooked gow you like it in a lot of places.

I go medium rare for striploin or fillet, and medium for a t bone or ribeye.

Most of the time they are all cooked medium to well.

I once asked for a medium rare fillet and it came out very rare, I sent it back and asked them just to throw it on the grill for another 60 seconds, it came out cremated 5 mins later.

Lewis_Benson

Medium rare burgers are lovely.

I like my roast beef with some pink in the middle, full of flavour and juicy.

I grew up in a house where everything was boiled, fried, or roasted until it was as dry as concrete.

I didn't know what a medium rare steak was like until I hit my 20s.

pgj2015

Maybe you should go get your steak in the woods and eat it with the wolves if you like it rare, with blood running from it. 🤮

no need to be tight with the tips, it wasn't the waiters fault, pathetic looking for 1:50 back or whatever it was.

no wonder your wife was mortified.

Hungry Burger

I get weird looks when I tell people I get the steak in Wetherspoons.

Seriously underrated gem for 17 euro, it has no business being as good as it is and at least you know a steak has to be cooked there and then rather than a reheated whatever.

BrianD3

We have a culture of cremating our steak "to be sure to be sure" that we don't get sick from it. This mentality probably comes from our relatively recent history as a very poor country. Food was for eating and keeping oneself alive, not for enjoying. Getting sick from undercooked food would be a big issue and see the food wasted..

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121196961#Comment_121196961

It’s not blood don’t be ridiculous. The red substance often called “blood” is just water & muscle fibres.

Honestly like you’re willing to eat a dead animal but only if it’s charcoal? Whats the difference honestly between hunting and eating a cow or deer say raw in the woods as you described vs butchered and cooked? You’re still eating a bloody cow like. 😂

And all of yous think it’s hard to get a steak cooked right? Try asking for a medium pork chop and let me know how you get on…. Swear you’re looked at like you’ve two heads

Alun

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121196990#Comment_121196990

Its called myoglobin, a close relative of haemoglobin, the stuff that makes blood red, hence the confusion

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121197111#Comment_121197111

There needn’t be any confusion if you use common sense for a moment though really.

Meat when slaughtered is hung for a period to drain the blood from the carcass.

Blood doesn’t taste very nice so if it’s left it will obviously affect the taste!

Jaffa3000

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121196973#Comment_121196973

I love a rare steak but I don’t think the steak from Spoons is really any good, though their honey bbq sauce stuff is very good.

SteM

I always used to have my steak well done, it was just habit. Myself and my wife were in Portugal, must have been 15ish years ago and we were in a really small restaurant and I asked for steak well done. 5 minutes later the waiter came over with his brother who was the chef. The chef starts to tell me that I should not have steak 'well done' and he would bring it to me 'medium with a little pink in middle, I guarantee you'll love it'. I'd had a few glasses of wine at this stage so I didn't argue but he wasn't wrong, it so much tastier that way.

z80CPU

For Legal Issues yes really.

The establishments want to cover their ass!

Customer orders rare steak and us duly served it.

Customer then decides to sue establishment on basis steak made him sick. Oh yes, I ate rare steak. No, establishment waiter never ever warned me. ( I have been cautioned when I ordered medium steak , still got medium steak )

But now post pandemic, establishments are being a lot more careful going by the book.

As an analogy, it's like in call centre tech support telling customer how they can run their DOS game in windows like I did.

That same customer could call tech support later and claim, oh, that advice how to setup the DOS game really messed up other settings on my pc. Who's fault is it assigned to?

The tech support agent who told them

I surmise there are any chefs and sous chefs thinking in this regard

Also chefs are paid about the same as call centre engineers?

BlueSkyDreams

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121196922#Comment_121196922

I have had they opposite experience in france where they wont cook well done steaks.

Ezeoul

I won't order steak in a restaurant.

I prefer to cook it at home myself, that way I know its perfectly done to my own taste!

Nom nom nom. 🥩

realdanbreen

A waiter wads telling me one time that the oddest, and stingiest, customers he came accross were the ones who looked for the steak cooked rare!

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121197160#Comment_121197160

Everything you have said is completely rubbish

first of all the FSAI would not shut you down because a customer accused you of giving them food poisoning

what actually happens is they visit, inspect the kitchen, HACCP logs all of that jazz, take samples and do a full investigation to make sure we’re operating safely.

that’ll go back to the lab and within a few days they’ll know for definite if we made the customer sick or not. They’ll take the same meat they ate and check that also.

so rest assured the chef isn’t overcooking your steak out of fear it’s likely either pressure got to them and they made a mistake, they’re a bit ****, or it sat too long and overcooked by resting (which happens with steaks an awful lot).

trust me mate we don’t need to worry about the environmental health officer coming in when we’re doing nothing wrong.

As an aside, the EHO can swab fridge door handles and report back if the kitchen staff have been washing their hands effectively 😎

Padre_Pio

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121196961#Comment_121196961

Waiters tips are often split with the kitchen staff.

You tip for good food and good service. I wouldn't tip a bad meal at all, and it annoys me when people say their food was good when it's not what they wanted.

A rare steak is about 2/3 pink when you cut it.

A medium is about 1/3 and well done is brown all the way through.

Honestly if a chef can't get this right they don't know what they're at.

magicbastarder

i once asked for a steak medium rare in an argentinian restaurant in germany. the inside of the steak was not rare, it was cold. i sent it back, and they simply slapped it on the grill for another minute or so.

and oddly, the other time i've had that issue was also in germany - where i was served undercooked chicken. they made no apology; i was not paying so didn't make a fuss, it was just a shrug of the shoulders.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121196980#Comment_121196980

I don’t think it’s anything to do with historical poverty. We use that excuse for everything, and it doesn’t explain it.

We just don’t like rare / raw meat. I find it similar in Britain too.

People are just squeamish about it. We are squeamish about all sorts of meats and fish tbh.

Both countries default option was always boil until mush or practically incinerate meat.

Both countries had extremely low fish consumption for islands too and what fish was consumed was usually whitefish like cod. Ireland has only in recent years moved into something more like average European fish consumption, while the U.K. hasn’t budged.

Food cultures vary and you’re not going to suddenly find most Irish people switching to rare steak. I’ve seen someone send back an entire plate because the steak was a bit pink and “the juice touched the other food on the plate.”

It’s even more ironic as we were produce some really top notch beef.

ERLUAD

Same here, anytime i order a steak and tell them i want it burnt it comes out Pink. How hard is it to just cook the thing?

o1s1n

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121197287#Comment_121197287

I'll go one further and say a large majority of Irish people are just full of shite when it comes to food.

'Oh I don't eat that' 'oh no, that's too X, Y Z..' 'oh I cant eat that, it'll make me sick, it's too pink'.

I've one friend and she's never eaten fish. Literally lives on an island and has never eaten fish.

Another person I know, 'doesn't drink water' because they don't like the taste of it.

I'd a grand uncle years back who wouldn't eat spaghetti bolognese because he 'doesn't eat that foreign muck'.

The amount of people I've spoken to who think eating sushi is somehow exotic or dicing with death.

For a country made up of people who are descendants of famine survivors you think we'd be a little less picky.

Vegetables, we also seem to have an allergy to them. Just look at a curry you get in a lot of places here. Rice, Chicken, a curry sauce and maybe a bit of coriander sprinkled on top. Where the feck is the veg? It's depressing.

Go out to the countryside and try to get a veg soup. I had one recently while on a drive out in Wicklow, which was basically green coloured cream in a bowl. All I could do was laugh.

I wouldn't dare order steak in an Irish restaurant because I know for a fact I wouldn't get it done properly. It's impossible to get a rare steak here. It'll always be the level up from what you ordered. God help anyone who orders 'well done'.

Christ, that turned into a bit of a rant, it just annoys me greatly 😁

dxhound2005

It's impressive research, but not a big enough sample to accuse a large majority of us.

nachouser

Going to a proper steak house generally serves me well re rare steaks.

cj maxx

I’ve the opposite view. Anytime I’ve ordered steak well done it comes back with pink in it . I like steak well done or grazing in the fields

martco

used to work in trade

learned that unless you are ordering a steak in a place that specialises in meat cuts its a totally potluck exercise and you'll at best get an "ok" result

because there's a chain of factors in getting it right....from sourcing of the cuts themselves thru storage, handling, prep, equipment, the expertise and care applied by the chef to plate

getting it right is not by any means rocket science but is a specialist discipline

o1s1n

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121197643#Comment_121197643

Haha, it's been peer reviewed, I swear! 😂

Is it not your experience no? Have you found a lot of your fellow Irish citizens to be willing to try out lots of different foods?

Risteard81

The only correct way to eat a steak is blu, unless it's steak tartare (in which case obviously raw).

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121197911#Comment_121197911

Would you stop.

Steak is not a specialist skill for god sake.

j2

I was at a restaurant and a portly individual at the table opposite sent back three steaks in a row for this very reason, and he was getting very hot under the collar by the third effort. The chef came out to the table and everything, but he was having none of it. Later in the meal the waiter tapped him on the shoulder and asked "do you need some rice with those tits, fatso?". There was a shouting match in the restaurant and resulted in him leaving early and his meal getting comped, along with an expensive bottle of wine he had be drinking during the whole fiasco.

John_Rambo

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121198103#Comment_121198103

I think you missed their point, they said it's not rocked science but steak houses specifically order certain cuts from certain suppliers. I'd agree. I don't order steak any more unless I'm in a restaurant that specifically specialises in steak as I seem to be able to cook steak as well as your regular restaurant. I also can cook it rarer than a lot of places do.

Hoop66

Any half-decent restaurant should be able to cook a steak as requested. If they can't, I wouldn't eat there.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121198167#Comment_121198167

Then you’re going to **** restaurants 🤷‍♂️

Table 41, Gorey

Sha Roe Bistro, Clonegal

La Cote Seafood, Wexford

Seafield Hotel & Spa, Ballymoney

any of those places would cook you a steak to die for. They’re not specialised steak houses either, they just have chefs that didn’t get their training from Jamie Oliver’s 30 min meals…

Santan

A lot of chefs tell you they can tell how cooked the steak is by a touch. Chefs, like musicians are just ego maniacs and most will not admit to not being able to tell by touch. One guy I work with uses a thermometer 99% of the time, which was new to me and he is right 99% of the time no matter what way the steak is asked for, rare, med rare, medium, he can get it correct almost every time, but, and this is a very big but, so many times a medium rare or medium steak is sent back in by the expert at the table who tell us that his medium is too undercooked and it needs 2 more minutes either side, but In reality what he really wants is a medium well or well done steak, but wants to appear all fancy or whatever and thinks by asking for medium they look more cultured or something. The amount of people that ask for medium but I don't want any pink, go figure

Padre_Pio

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121197258#Comment_121197258

Yah, different countries have different standards. I got exactly the same in Munich.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121198256#Comment_121198256

This is by far the most stupid thing I’ve ever read, well done

yes a chef (or home cook if you practice) can tell how far a steak, or any meat, is cooked by pressing on it. How it springs back depends on how well it’s cooked.

This has been practiced for decades and is as accurate as any meat probe. My head chef has never gotten in wrong in 14 months I work with him, so yeah, we’re making it up mate 🥲

as for the rest I actually agree 100% customers often don’t know themselves what they want and will order mid rare or medium when actually they were more thinking medium to medium well

we once had a guest order a medium steak, no pink. 😎

tinytobe

I think it's probably down to poor kitchen staff and poor chefs, rather than anything else.

If one orders rare, one should get rare, plain and simple.

Yeah Right

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121197197#Comment_121197197

They’ll take the same meat they ate and check that also.

How are they going to check the same meat the OP ate if it's three hours later, never mind three days or three weeks?

martco

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121198204#Comment_121198204

and that may well be the case in those particular establishments, bravo for them, and I might even take a look someday per your recommendation

but I can name you another ten off the top of my head where the opposite is true and you will get an expensive door stopper

all I'm saying is you are far more likely to get what you want from someone who understands the nuances of serving meat cuts and that usually comes in a specialist place/someone at the helm that understands

as I said already it's not rocket science HOWEVER there are certain factors that have to be in play the finer aspects of might not even be covered in atypical catering school. It's simply not as straightforward as prepping a pot of mash, it is 1000% a learned skill, experience and a process and 1000% not not a task.

one of the best cuts I've ever eaten was prepared and served to me not by a chef but by a trained butcher. he knew where to get his product, how to prepare it, how to fire and serve it. his attempt at frites was meh just ok but the boy knew how to cook meat ;)

Yeah Right

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121198074#Comment_121198074

The whole point of a ribeye steak is the marbling of fat running through it. Same goes for wagyu/kobe beef. This fat renders, tenderises the meat and provides flavour to the steak. You can only achieve this by getting the fat up to about 55-60 degrees, which is basically "medium" in a steak.

Anyone ordering a ribeye steak cooked rarer than medium is a fool and hasn't a clue what they're talking about.

Widdensushi

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121196943#Comment_121196943

Not sure if you are joking, burger meat is mince and has been exposed to the air, possibility of bacteria etc,I would always cook a burger well,steak blue,my kids all love it , I haven't eaten out much in the last few years, prefer a nice cowboy steak at home to be honest, more often than not eating out is a disappointment,I am not likely to send anything back but speak with my feet.

Hotblack Desiato

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121197160#Comment_121197160

Complete rubbish

You can't get sick from eating a rare steak (as opposed to mince or burgers).

Hotblack Desiato

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121197221#Comment_121197221

A rare steak is about 2/3rds RED when you cut it. What you describe as rare is medium!

Risteard81

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121198349#Comment_121198349

I rarely order ribeye, although I make sure to eat everyone at the table's fat.

fits

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121197911#Comment_121197911

Agree. I never order steak out because it inevitably disappoints compared to the steak I get from my proper old school butcher. He simply can’t be beaten.

dxhound2005

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121197981#Comment_121197981

Yes, the vast majority.

Santan

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121198299#Comment_121198299

Here we have the prefect example of the type of person I'm talking about, "I know what I'm talking about, so you must be an idiot if you don't understand" attitude. So you have a chef that can get it right by touch 100% of the time, not once did I say this was some miraculous achievement such as turning water into wine. I said that so many chefs believe that they can do this when in reality they cannot, and end up either over or under cooking a steak but will not just admit they cannot do it by touch. I have worked with one chef who was very good at doing it, but never 100% accurate, but having worked with probably over 50 chefs over the years, I am convinced that most of them, is really just guess work, I know that they are not trained sufficiently and are really cooks and not chefs, but have the arrogance of a fully trained chef. Similar to the arrogance displayed in your response.

John_Rambo

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121198204#Comment_121198204

Nope. I go to good restaurants but if they're not speciality steak restaurants I don't order steak in them as I can cook it just as well as a regular restaurant at home. That's me. That's all. No biggie, as you said it's not speciality stuff cooking a regular steak.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121198324#Comment_121198324

Days? Weeks? 😅

I think you misunderstand how fast the FSAI operate. If you report suspected food poisoning on a restaurant this evening they will be there tomorrow.

what they’ll be checking is the rest of the meat that hasn’t been cooked or served yet, one piece of steak can’t have food poisoning bacteria and the other steak doesn’t. There’s tons of other things they’ll check such as traceability, temperature records etc etc

believe me you won’t get away with it in Ireland. The food safety authorities and laws we have here are very strict

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121198396#Comment_121198396

In that case I apologise I mistook what you meant, but in fairness your post wasn’t exactly clear that you didn’t mean all chefs 😅

ah look there’s plenty of ego hazards cutting about serving dishes you wouldn’t find in a prison and acting like they’re Gordon Ramsey. That said for some of them lads even a probe couldn’t help them, seeing as even that requires a skill set to get it in the right spot 😂

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121197393#Comment_121197393

sorry but I wish I could thank the part about curries 5 times… I’m so tired of ordering a curry from a takeaway on my way home from work and just being met with what I suspect is chicken, fairly bland curry sauce (definitely from a packet) & chips.

Wheres me veg!? No onion? No peppers? Celery? Carrots? SOMETHING! 😰