The degree of doneness of the steak. Differences and features

2024 Author: Isabella Gilson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:14

Roasting steaks is a rather simple process: cooking a piece of meat on an open fire. It seems that there is nothing particularly outstanding in this. However, it has become a whole culture, starting with the skill of butchering the carcass and ending with the creation of a special atmosphere, which is certainly present in the cooking process. What is the peculiarity of cooking and why so much attention to this dish?

According to the dictionary of modern English, a steak is a thick piece of meat of an animal or fish, cut in the transverse direction. Its thickness is at least 3 cm. In general, the concept of a steak has many interpretations and depends on the country where it is cooked, what it is cooked from and how, because the culture of cooking this dish does not stand still, constantly developing and changing. Of course, the queen of steaks is considered to be beef. It produces the most juicy, low-fat and mouth-watering dishes. Although there are currently more than a hundred species of its varieties from other speciesmeat, fish, which are to some extent connected with the culinary traditions of the national cuisine of a particular region.

But the cooking process itself remained unchanged. The steak is prepared as follows. We grease with vegetable oil (you can use an oil-based marinade) the surface on which we will cook, and the piece of meat itself. A distinctive feature - it must be perfectly dry. There should be two frying surfaces. On one, it is necessary to maintain a temperature of about 280 degrees, and on the second - 140-150 degrees. The steak prepared in advance is first placed on a surface with a higher temperature. As a result, the so-called "heat stroke" occurs. Thanks to this, a piece of meat is covered with a crispy crust, which retains the juice inside, making the steak juicy and soft. Heatstroke should last no more than 20 seconds. After that, the meat is transferred to the second surface (with a lower temperature) and brought to the desired degree of roasting of the steak. This is a separate part of the process, no less important than the preparatory stage.

The cooking time and the degree of roasting of the steak depend on the personal preferences of each: someone prefers juicy, slightly raw, and someone - dry and fried. There are no strict rules regarding the combination of types of meat and how much it should be fried. This is a matter of taste and possibilities of the restaurant where the meat is cooked. Traditionally, the degree of doneness of a steak is divided into seven types:

• Raw - very raw. Meat does not passno heat treatment. Used to make carpaccio.
• Blue rare cooks very quickly - within three to five minutes. The meat has a thin pinkish crust on top and is red inside.
• Rare. Externally, this degree of doneness of a steak can give the impression that the meat is completely cooked: a firm crust and a red middle.
• Medium rare. The meat is completely red with a crust.
• Medium. This is the most common and optimal degree of roasting a steak. The meat inside is red, tender juice oozes out of it when pressed.
• Medium well done. The meat has a light pinkish color, no juice, a little dry.
• Well done - the last degree of doneness of a steak. The meat is slightly burnt on top, but has a gray tint inside.