Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Seems like on every cooking show, the contestants are lambasted for meat that is "overcooked". Seems as though they all like their beef red and bloody, pork glistening (ugh) and chicken juicy. Personally, I can't stand any meat that has any trace of pink or is excessively moist. Why can't professional chefs agree that the doneness of meat is subject to personal taste? And please don't tell me well done meat has no taste - it does, just not the taste of blood.
Seems like on every cooking show, the contestants are lambasted for meat that is "overcooked". Seems as though they all like their beef red and bloody, pork glistening (ugh) and chicken juicy. Personally, I can't stand any meat that has any trace of pink or is excessively moist. Why can't professional chefs agree that the doneness of meat is subject to personal taste? And please don't tell me well done meat has no taste - it does, just not the taste of blood.
I'm sure professional chefs are well-aware of the personal taste thing. I once worked for a chef who went bananas when a patron asked for a "well-done" filet. But the judges on cooking shows are simply showing their personal preference(s) for rare or medium rare. I happen to like my beef medium rare, and my pork and chicken juicy. But that's my preference. I don't mind if you prefer something different.
As far as "overcooked" goes, if a meal is served and the diner feels the meat is too rare for his/her particular taste, the server can always take it back to the kitchen for more fire. But very well-done meat cannot be reversed.
I personally like my red meat done "Blue" and I find overcooking tends to ruin the texture and flavour of beef for example ( and dries it out) and a waste of good meat but if people want to eat it even turn to charcoal that really is none of my business.
Most chefs are presumably simply expressing a personal opinion too and simply indicating that to them overcooking meat is not doing justice to the food they are cooking. I can't imagine most restaurants refusing to cook a steak well done for example even if the Chef might find it an abomination...
Personal taste schmersonal taste. Well done meat sucks. It. Sucks. Why would anyone like to eat burnt dried out crap that's the equivalent to leather? Sorry, but people that like well done meat simply have no palate. Chef's know people that ask for meat well done couldn't tell the difference between the bottom of a boot and a well cooked meal, that's why they give people that order well done meats the oldest and worst cuts of meat left in their fridge. They'll definitely cook it for your but they basically clean house when people order something well done in order to make a profit off of something they're about to throw away. If you don't want it super bloody, at least ask for it medium.
Personal taste schmersonal taste. Well done meat sucks. It. Sucks. Why would anyone like to eat burnt dried out crap that's the equivalent to leather? Sorry, but people that like well done meat simply have no palate. Chef's know people that ask for meat well done couldn't tell the difference between the bottom of a boot and a well cooked meal, that's why they give people that order well done meats the oldest and worst cuts of meat left in their fridge. They'll definitely cook it for your but they basically clean house when people order something well done in order to make a profit off of something they're about to throw away. If you don't want it super bloody, at least ask for it medium.
I completely agree with you but if people want to eat shoe leather then let them ! An acquaintance of ours invited me and Hubby for a BBQ and was cooking burgers and lamb steaks ( both really good quality as well) and we had to cook our own meat as I knew he would just ruin it otherwise. Ours was ready in no time at all and his and I kid you not took over 30 minutes ! 30 minutes to cook a burger on a very efficient grill.
The lamb steaks had shrunk so much in size they looked like something which had been pounded into charcoal oblivion and when he cut into it it looked grey and so dry you could have used it as kindle for fire and the burgers were like deflated blackened discs.
I could have cried. A Lamb and Cow gave their lives so that person could murder them again !
But then again he was horrified at the way we ate our food, mine basically seared and Hubby's rare... He looked vaguely ill and nauseous looking at our lovely, plump and juicy meat. It was no surprise when he became a vegetarian.
Personal taste schmersonal taste. Well done meat sucks. It. Sucks. Why would anyone like to eat burnt dried out crap that's the equivalent to leather? Sorry, but people that like well done meat simply have no palate. Chef's know people that ask for meat well done couldn't tell the difference between the bottom of a boot and a well cooked meal, that's why they give people that order well done meats the oldest and worst cuts of meat left in their fridge. They'll definitely cook it for your but they basically clean house when people order something well done in order to make a profit off of something they're about to throw away. If you don't want it super bloody, at least ask for it medium.
That's highly unethical and disturbing. As for not being able to tell the difference between shoe leather and steak - b.s. Well done meat has a lovely char on the outside and beefy flavor inside; without the grossness of tasting blood. Medium isn't an option; even blindfolded I could tell if there is the slightest bit of pink in the meat. It tastes foul.
It has been my experience that people who order a steak well, have never had a rare steak due to a visual aversion. While people that like rare have had well done due to a bad cook
I prefer my steaks medium rare to "lightly" medium (as opposed to medium-creeping-to-medium well) and my hamburgers medium-well to well-done. I find well done steaks to be too chewy for my liking, but I can respect that other people feel differently, though I must admit that I haven't met many people who actually prefer the taste of a well-done steak. My mother-in-law is sort of an exception, though she orders her steaks well-done because she believes anything less will give you food poisoning. As far as professional chefs, I think the idea of "well-done steak=shoe leather" is probably beaten into their heads starting in culinary school.
Frankly, if I'm cooking steaks at my house, I'll cook the steak to whatever temperature someone requests. I have friends who like their steaks practically still moo-ing, and while that's definitely not my preference, I'm not going to force my likes onto them.
Seems like on every cooking show, the contestants are lambasted for meat that is "overcooked". Seems as though they all like their beef red and bloody, pork glistening (ugh) and chicken juicy. Personally, I can't stand any meat that has any trace of pink or is excessively moist. Why can't professional chefs agree that the doneness of meat is subject to personal taste? And please don't tell me well done meat has no taste - it does, just not the taste of blood.
You have two different concepts here. One is your personal taste, any decent restaurant will cook your meat the way you want it. The second is TV, brown food doesn't photograph well. A juicy chicken breast, glistening pork, and a bloody steak look better on TV than a dried up over cooked piece of something brown. The second has nothing to do with your personal taste it's a visual production.
Seems like on every cooking show, the contestants are lambasted for meat that is "overcooked". Seems as though they all like their beef red and bloody, pork glistening (ugh) and chicken juicy. Personally, I can't stand any meat that has any trace of pink or is excessively moist. Why can't professional chefs agree that the doneness of meat is subject to personal taste? And please don't tell me well done meat has no taste - it does, just not the taste of blood.
Of course it is a personal thing, but it also true, the longer you cook certain meats the tougher they will be and will have less flavor. For those, who like their meats well done (my husbands family did) you can enjoy meats like briskets, pork shoulder or butt, maybe chicken thighs and legs, and cuts of meat with a lot of fat, to keep it moist, like pot roasts. Cooking a top cut of steak: porterhouse, top sirloin, etc. offers a much tender bite and more flavor if not overcooked. This is true with chicken as well. Most of us want our chicken done and not even a little pink, but still moist. I will tell you, some well done meats do not have as much flavor. It simply depends on what type of meat you want. My husbands family would never enjoy Prime Rib and they admitted it, but they loved a good pot roast. They wouldn't want a 1 inch think pork chop, but loved pork chops cooked in lots of liquid for hours. BTW: you are lumping bloody meat and pink in the same group. They are not the same: many people do not want their meats so rare they are still mowing, but enjoy the moisture and flavor from a med or medium rare piece of steak or roast. Just prior to our wedding, 55 years ago, my parents took my future in-laws out to a very nice steak restaurant. My future father in law ordered a filet, well done. The waitress proceeded to try and explain to him, the only way you can cook a filet well done is to butterfly it. I am sure he had never had filet before and my future mother in laws idea of a steak, was ground sirloin.
Last edited by nmnita; 05-10-2013 at 08:05 AM..
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
An acquaintance of ours invited me and Hubby for a BBQ and was cooking burgers and lamb steaks ( both really good quality as well) and we had to cook our own meat as I knew he would just ruin it otherwise. Ours was ready in no time at all and his and I kid you not took over 30 minutes ! 30 minutes to cook a burger on a very efficient grill. 
