Wapsi Square Forum

AmriloJim wrote:Yup! A Philly is not steak... it is good, but it's not steak.
Chicken-fried steak is almost not steak, but it's much closer than a Philly.
We also pray for those who prefer medium-well or worse to see the error of their ways.

I eat medium-well if I don't know and/or trust the person cooking the steak. If it's a high quality steakhouse, I might go medium. if its family offer a friend and I know that they know what they're doing, I'll probably go medium.

I've heard of a trick where, when you go to a steakhouse and order a steak, if you ask the chef to "prepare it however he would like," it almost guarantees the chef will be overcome with a culinary artistic fit, and will hunt through his freezer to get the best possible cut of meat he has available and will absolutely fawn over that steak from start to finish.

I've never tried it, because I'm always afraid I'll end up with something medium-rare or *shudder* rare-rare. And it's a bad idea to send a steak back to be cooked more, because then the chef might just get pissy and drop the steak on the floor a few times. I guess I'd just choke down a few bites before boxing it up and taking it home so I could finish cooking it myself.

But yeah, if you want a really good steak and you aren't too picky, tell the chef to prepare it however he would like. Pro tip.

GlytchMeister wrote:

AmriloJim wrote:Yup! A Philly is not steak... it is good, but it's not steak.
Chicken-fried steak is almost not steak, but it's much closer than a Philly.
We also pray for those who prefer medium-well or worse to see the error of their ways.

I eat medium-well if I don't know and/or trust the person cooking the steak. If it's a high quality steakhouse, I might go medium. if its family offer a friend and I know that they know what they're doing, I'll probably go medium.

I've heard of a trick where, when you go to a steakhouse and order a steak, if you ask the chef to "prepare it however he would like," it almost guarantees the chef will be overcome with a culinary artistic fit, and will hunt through his freezer to get the best possible cut of meat he has available and will absolutely fawn over that steak from start to finish.

I've never tried it, because I'm always afraid I'll end up with something medium-rare or *shudder* rare-rare. And it's a bad idea to send a steak back to be cooked more, because then the chef might just get pissy and drop the steak on the floor a few times. I guess I'd just choke down a few bites before boxing it up and taking it home so I could finish cooking it myself.

But yeah, if you want a really good steak and you aren't too picky, tell the chef to prepare it however he would like. Pro tip.

Medium is just barely an acceptable way to have your steak cooked...but that's because I don't trust that it won't be overcooked. Medium rare is the only way I order my steaks.

Julie wrote:

GlytchMeister wrote:

AmriloJim wrote:Yup! A Philly is not steak... it is good, but it's not steak.
Chicken-fried steak is almost not steak, but it's much closer than a Philly.
We also pray for those who prefer medium-well or worse to see the error of their ways.

I eat medium-well if I don't know and/or trust the person cooking the steak. If it's a high quality steakhouse, I might go medium. if its family offer a friend and I know that they know what they're doing, I'll probably go medium.

I've heard of a trick where, when you go to a steakhouse and order a steak, if you ask the chef to "prepare it however he would like," it almost guarantees the chef will be overcome with a culinary artistic fit, and will hunt through his freezer to get the best possible cut of meat he has available and will absolutely fawn over that steak from start to finish.

I've never tried it, because I'm always afraid I'll end up with something medium-rare or *shudder* rare-rare. And it's a bad idea to send a steak back to be cooked more, because then the chef might just get pissy and drop the steak on the floor a few times. I guess I'd just choke down a few bites before boxing it up and taking it home so I could finish cooking it myself.

But yeah, if you want a really good steak and you aren't too picky, tell the chef to prepare it however he would like. Pro tip.

Medium is just barely an acceptable way to have your steak cooked...but that's because I don't trust that it won't be overcooked. Medium rare is the only way I order my steaks.

Love ya dearly, but blech. Medium well. Unless my anaemia is rearing its ugly head, its the only way to eat beef.

Julie wrote:Medium is just barely an acceptable way to have your steak cooked...but that's because I don't trust that it won't be overcooked. Medium rare is the only way I order my steaks.

Aye, I give my son grief every time we go out... his is always well-done. And the only green veggie he'll eat is fried okra.
The good steakhouses here turn out consistent mediums... Steak Express delivery overcooks to medium-well every third order... and I tell Golden Corral medium-rare to keep from getting a dry steak.

AmriloJim wrote:

Julie wrote:Medium is just barely an acceptable way to have your steak cooked...but that's because I don't trust that it won't be overcooked. Medium rare is the only way I order my steaks.

Aye, I give my son grief every time we go out... his is always well-done. And the only green veggie he'll eat is fried okra.
The good steakhouses here turn out consistent mediums... Steak Express delivery overcooks to medium-well every third order... and I tell Golden Corral medium-rare to keep from getting a dry steak.

Golden Corral cannot cook...no matter what state I am passing through.

So, steak purists: brilliance, or blasphemy?

Dave wrote:So, steak purists: brilliance, or blasphemy?

...it looks delicious... There comes a certain point where outrage at unconventional cooking is overcome by Algarleraggrrallah...

You could always try wrapping the steak in clay and then leaving it in the embers of a fire. I'm not sure what that counts as, though. Roasted? Baked?

I think baked... The use of clay and embers for even heat seems like it would replicate an oven. Heck. Ovens used to be made of clay. And using embers is the way to bake stuff in the bush... Either with a Dutch oven or with a cardboard box covered in foil and foil tape.

GlytchMeister wrote:

Dave wrote:So, steak purists: brilliance, or blasphemy?

...it looks delicious... There comes a certain point where outrage at unconventional cooking is overcome by Algarleraggrrallah...

Well, when I started all this, I was thinking of sirloin, not Philly cheesesteak--which may be the grandest glory of chipped beef, but is really a whole 'nother thing.

Myself, I've been vegetarian for more than 35 years, but grew up in livestock and hunting culture. We ate lots of game (I know this is a rich country, 'cause the park across the street is full of fat squirrels ), and I don't know how many venison chops I could eat as a teenager, because we never broiled that many. And we always raised a steer or bought half a side of beef from my mom's brother.

But I did not myself ever feel comfortable with hunting and skinning and butchering, which is among the reasons I'm one of the few prohunting vegetarians.

Anyhow, when I worked in the diner, the manager always said you should always cook beef rare, because you could always cook it more, but could never roll it back. The fact that this would leave more weight in a top round when they roasted and portioned it (in a place that weighed a "half pound of ground round" menu item to 6-oz portions before frying) probably had nothing to do with it.

For the record, I liked my beef and venison medium well. And the "chicken-cooked-steak" method (dredge in flour, fry to brown, finish in the oven) is the best for rabbit and squirrel (and is a good first step for beef stew chunks), but it sucks for steak.

How'd we get off liquor here, anyway? I'm having some good, solid, unfancy Bulleit rye tonight. A bargain, if you haven't tried it.

Typeminer wrote:How'd we get off liquor here, anyway?

I suppose we could start talking about fermenting a steak enough that it becomes flammable?

Catawampus wrote:

Typeminer wrote:How'd we get off liquor here, anyway?

I suppose we could start talking about fermenting a steak enough that it becomes flammable?

Depending on which part of the bull you choose as your starting material, it would certainly give new meaning to the phrase "beer nuts".

(Hops into the Pun Jar, along with the hops)

Typeminer wrote:How'd we get off liquor here, anyway?

You started it, actually.

I love how it segues from liquor to fine dining and gastronomical technique.

Dave wrote:

Catawampus wrote:

Typeminer wrote:How'd we get off liquor here, anyway?

I suppose we could start talking about fermenting a steak enough that it becomes flammable?

Depending on which part of the bull you choose as your starting material, it would certainly give new meaning to the phrase "beer nuts".

(Hops into the Pun Jar, along with the hops)

Or, with rump roast, 'flaming hemorrhoids'...

*deposits a copy of Blazing Saddle in the Pun Vault*

Buttershots, Irish Cream, and a good smooth cane Rum. Goes down smooth. Like a brick wrapped in Teflon. Hits about as hard, too.

Sneekey TheLost wrote:Buttershots, Irish Cream, and a good smooth cane Rum. Goes down smooth. Like a brick wrapped in Teflon. Hits about as hard, too.

I learned Butterscotch Schnapps and Irish Cream, 50/50 in a shot glass, as a Buttery Nipple...

Jabberwonky wrote:

Sneekey TheLost wrote:Buttershots, Irish Cream, and a good smooth cane Rum. Goes down smooth. Like a brick wrapped in Teflon. Hits about as hard, too.

I learned Butterscotch Schnapps and Irish Cream, 50/50 in a shot glass, as a Buttery Nipple...

Steak.jpg

I cannot believe you posted a profane propane picture...
Most Texans get rowdy when it's not a charcoal smoker grill.

DinkyInky wrote:I cannot believe you posted a profane propane picture...
Most Texans get rowdy when it's not a charcoal smoker grill.

Yeah, it's the wrong day for a gas grill. Texans insist on charcoal, or a good hardwood, for six days of the week... and especially for tailgate parties on Saturdays.

Gas grills are permitted only on Sunday, and only after attending church. Something about going from the sacred to the propane, I understand.

I suppose that coming the meat over an alcohol flame would be another way to make the thread topics converge again. Seems like a poor use for a gallon of Everclear, though.

And, of course, so much depends on the experience of the cook.

I've heard that since these new extraction techniques glutted the gas market, some deranged barbecuers have got addicted to frack propane smoking.

Um, guys? How bad is it when a punster puns from within a pun vault?

We might be in trouble...