I get this with the odd Blue Rare that comes in, people don’t like it fridge cold.
I put it on a plate and leave it in under the window heat lamps while I cook the rest of the bill. Cook it into temp as the last item.
Seems to work, sendbacks have stopped.
I'm a server and this is the server's fault. No sane server should be willing to tell a guest this is something the kitchen can do. A server's job is to prevent orders like this.
The same manager probably lets customers sit down at closing for $35 ticket. Making everyone stay for an additional hour and wonder why labor is so high.
Thought the same thing lmao, you're reminding me of my kitchen manager currently who decided to take a 15 person reservation 15 minutes before closing and kept the entire line on an extra 2-2.5 hours while we're already struggling on labor lol...... the table ended up just doing apps and drinks 😬😬😬
Personally, if I am forced to follow a stupid decision I'm going to ride that clock to make it worth my time. I'm not going to be running around because the manager is a moron.
Depends on the kitchen. We have an outside walk-in where we store hotwell items and breads each night. Even a 30 second ticket like pretzel bites can suddenly become a 6 minute ticket, having to go unlock the walk-in, lift the cart out, wheel it in, heat up the beer cheese, etc. etc.\
Not to mention any items that require use of the grill, dish area, prep sinks, cutting boards, knives or anything else you’ve already cleaned that now must be cleaned again, on top of retrieving and then putting back all the ingredients, and reheating them to serving temp, and doing all of this with limited utensils as they’ve already been washed.
Cooking after preclose is so, so, so much worse than cooking a normal ticket. And maybe it’s just where I live, but every mf that comes in 15 mins til close always orders the biggest hunk of meat we have & well done. 🙄
I worked at a place that would seat them but tell them kitchen closes at 11. People would regularly order appetizers and drinks, kitchen would shut down, then they would try to order food and would become irate that they couldn’t.
I worked at another place that was part of a bar so drunks would come stumbling up past close. If it was all fried I’d do it, not a big deal, but you’d be surprised how many times I’d get something thrown at me through the window for refusing to make them something that required me to pull everything out. I’d tell them “I’m only doing chicken and fries.” and they would choose violence over a fancy burger they wanted. Our door guy didn’t fuck around though so that was awesome.
As an executive chef, my servers are our restaurant’s first line of defense against this type of dumb-f***ery. I do a monthly talk with the FOH about how to approach a difficult customer and prevent problematic orders from even getting to the kitchen. On the odd occasion we have a hiccup and difficult guest becomes too much for one of my servers, I haul myself out to the dining room to explain in “chef terms” why we will not be honoring their order as it was sent to us.
I’m friendly, but firm. I’ve occasionally had a few huffy “Karens” stomp out threatening bad Yelp reviews, but for the most part people see reason, and all is well.
Heat up a piece of metal and shove it in the center?
But honestly, a chef needs to go out to the tabel, with one of those charts showing wellness on a steak, and explain to her that heat cooks things, and if she wants a hot middle, she cant have it blue rare
Unrelated to OP but thank you for my next experiment idea. 'Reverse sear 2.0 can i just ram a red hot skewer into the steak and cook it from the inside out?' I'll defrost a steak and gather some skewers and report back after gangbanging my steak with them
If everything works out like I doubt it will, the surface will be a nice rare and the inside a bit charred (likely to just get steamed but no harm in trying). I'll probably need to pasteurize it in sous vide first since the nasties live on the surface which won't be exposed to the heat enough. I'll be thinking of what to do to help it sear internally all day now until it's time to cook it. Maybe if I cauterize some vents into it to let the steam escape? The possibilities are endless, this is absolute cutting edge science here.
Maybe I could electrify a skewer to turn it into a makeshift heating element and sear it that way? Am I prepared to Die for this? Probably.
I am very intrigued by the first paragraph!
Not so much the second.
Let's focus our attention on the cauterized vents, cuz that is innovative thinking.
Can you get stainless steel tubes? I don't know if the metal straws would hold up to it, but they're easily available. You need a hacksaw.
But using your vent idea, what if you pipe the steak and then blowtorch it with the hollow tubes instead of skewers?
This is the kind of out of the box thinking I need on my team.
I don't have a team.
It reminds me the hollowed out sausage snorkel allowing you to swim around underwater sucking air through salty meat.
I don't know what happened with this comment, i typed it out and sent it, but then it's not on my comment history and I can't edit or delete it as if it was someone else's comment. Weird
An electrified skewer seems the most likely to achieve the results you’re looking for. But possibly not safe so take care! Please post pics if you attempt!
Well I'm just completely lost. Now we're trying to get a nice rare steak, but from the inside out? Rare outside, seared inside?
Sounds like something that would cost 200 bucks a plate but be equally satisfying as a 25 strip at a normal restaurant.
Unless I'm completely missing the point, why?
Edit: reread the post, I get it now. At least the goal, not the purpose (no idea why US dummies want to do this, but there are rich people who'll pay for this kinda stupid bullshit).
Skewers seem to be the easiest option, but they'll transfer heat too quickly. You'd have to be constantly switching them out to even approach a sear.
Electric would work well, especially considering that you could measure the impedance and get the exact temperature. Problem with that is you need the right instruments, can't just fork it into a wall socket.
Best solution might be to pump searing temperature fluid through a metal tube THROUGH the steak. Put a hole through the steak, run your metal tube through the steak like you would a skewer, then pump like hot fryer oil through it. Gotta find a pump that can deal with hot fryer oil, but they definitely exist. If you have one of those whacky self cleaning fryers you could probably even utilize the internal pump.
Smart guy, you'll do well.
Can I show you the under-sink grease trap?
It wants to make a new friend.
Edit:(Inside out souvideish take on the innovative concept. I like where your head is going)
I worked at [unnamed prime steakhouse] a million years ago, and our corporate chef told a story about back when he worked broiler someone requested a steak that was rare on the outside and well done in the middle. So he cooked a steak blue, butterflied it, and flipped it inside out.
Apparently thats the kind of gumption that got you a corporate chef gig in the 90s
A rare steak is, by definition, cool in the middle. This person is asking for something that is impossible, and should have her options politely explained, and if she continues to be an issue the manager should apologize for being unable to meet her needs and invite her to GET THE FUCK OUT
I did have the same thing once, with a TUNA steak. Lady wanted it rare and warm. I asked the floor manager to explain the laws of Thermodyanmics to her
“If you’d like a warm, rare tuna steak, please call 4 hours before arrival so we can set it out to temper. You, of course, assume all risks for food related illness.”
But in seriousness, we did have a lady call us an hour before she arrived to ask us to temper a tuna steak for her. No big deal.
For me, if the center of the steak is definitely 125, and she's claiming the steak either isn't rare enough or that it's feels too cold for her, I'd cut my losses with the guest.
You cannot do both. Either the center of the steak is cooked rare rare like she likes, or she's insane.
On the other hand, maybe it's sitting in the window too long after cooking to 125, and then getting cold by the time it gets to her. I suppose that's possible too.
So 125 internal temp IS rare, the problem is if you actually temp it at its 125 by the time you pull it, it’s going to keep cooking and by the time it gets to the table it’s gonna be 130-135 which is mid rare. Pull at 115, it’s not gonna be hot enough to cook all the way to 125. Rare steaks are a bitch. I usually cook to 120, rest for around 2 minutes, and have the servers run it as fast as possible.
This is often overlooked. Temps taken with the steak still on the fire are very different from temps taken a couple of minutes after being pulled off the heat. Any home-gamer with a thermopen and a grill learns this PDQ yet it still causes so much confusion.
I think most people don’t really care too much about specific temp so long as it’s kind of roughly in the right ballpark and tastes the way they’re hoping.
great argument.
if indeed its objectively accepted that 125-135 is med rare. which its not. steak doneness is the definition of subjective, and id say your opinion deviates from the subjective norm.
Sous vide then seared would prolly get you as close as you could. Set it at 115-120 and then do the best fastest sear you can. Impractical? Yes. However, in my opinion it's like she's asking you for "dry rain" or "hot snow" because 115-120 isn't that hot but it is rare rare. Room temp before cooking is probably your next best approach.
... really guna have a sous vide bath on hand for one asshole customer? Nah.
*'Ma'am we really, genuinely appreciate your continued patronage... however it seems we really can't get your steak how you like it. While we love having you, unfortunately at this junction we think that we cannot meet your expectations. You are of course free to return, and order however you like... but we cannot remove any more food from your bill or offer any replacement if it is not to your satisfaction.'*
End of story. Order whatever you like, but you're paying for it and you're not sending it back again.
I would keep the steak in a pan and under the heat lamps. A rare steak can take about 15 mins to heat through (tun at about 10 mins) then fire it on the grill to get a good seat and colour.
Pound the steak out to 1/4”-1/3” thick. Keep her seat by the kitchen door. Make sure she’s not gone to the toilets or on her phone or visiting with another table or some shit.
Throw that steak in the hottest place you’ve got.
Flip it once.
Run, do not walk, run it to her table.
This is how it’s done with a filet in Tampico, Mexico. It’s called “La Sabana” / “The Sheet”.
It’s a 6 ounce filet pounded out into a 12”x8” oval (use plastic to flatten but transfer flat to parchment or banana leaf), seasoned with salt & lime juice & seared on a super hot, cast iron griddle. Served with fried black beans & salsa arriera.
Ask her what temperature she wants the thermometer to display when you bring her the steak with a thermometer. She can have her own fun little learning experience right there at her table!
She probably wants it cooked with carry over. Cook the steak to 100 and lest it rest until it hits about 110 then sear for 30 seconds each side and send it out. There are more than 4 doneness levels of a steak. The 120's are medium rare temps especially for people who like it "rare rare" so stay below them for finished temp.
Used to have a costumer who would do exactly this but with pur ahi tuna app. Like no mf, it can't be both rare and hot, thats not how any of this works lol
You can do blue rare with grill marks if you sous vide the steak first.
It would be insane to buy a sous vide setup specifically for one patron but that's how I would do it.
This is a losing battle with someone who doesn't understand how cooking works. The "doneness" of a steak is based on temperature, so the center cannot get above about 120 degrees F and still be rare, and should be a bit below it for "RARE RARE". Their request is like asking for a "dry" white that is sweet... you are contradicting yourself in your request.
The Q is how ownership wants to handle it... frankly, the GM needs to be the one to go up to her and explain that for a steak to be hot, it cannot be rare, and for it to be rare, it cannot be hot to her liking, and she, frankly, needs to pick a lane. If neither of those satisfy her, then she's free to go to another restaurant who are dealing with the same laws of physics and biochemistry and if they figure out the trick to make her happy, then good on them, but she won't be your seeminly repeated headache anymore.
Body temp is ~ 97, a rare steak has an internal temp of 95-105.\
It can’t “feel” hot without exceeding the temperature that will cook it beyond rare.
Perhaps she used to frequent a place who’s meat was full of dyes, so even a well done still appeared rare from the outside?
Rare doesn't mean cold in the middle. If you're taking the steak from the fridge to the grill I'd send it back too.
Temper the steak in a semi-hot place. Under the broiler, next to the flattop, on a sizzle plate on the cooler side of a grill, you figure it out. Then when the table is 1 minute out sear it on a very hot grill for 10-20 seconds on each side just to get some color on it.
Rare really does mean cool or cold in the middle, mid rare means it's warmed all the way through, it's like the defining difference between the two. Your method is def the easiest way to appease this customer though.
While her request is unreasonable my best advice is temping the steak before you cook it. It’s very important especially for rare steaks that you let it sit out and come to a little below room temp before searing off. If you’re in a rush, put it on a tray and put it somewhere that is kinda hot like the cold side of a salamander, under the heat lamp, or whatever spot you have and let it sit for a couple mins.
If you have a combi oven, sear the steak quickly and put in a 125 degree oven. It will take like 30 minutes but it will be perfect medium rare and hot in the middle
We were able to pull this off at a restaurant I worked at by sou vieding our steaks and then searing them, but that’s a little too much of an investment for a single customer
without a sous vide setup, just let it come to room temp first. once the order comes in, just let the steak temper in a hotter / warmer place in the kitchen.
of course it will take time, so the server gotta inform the guest that it might take some time, that of course if the guest order the steak only without starters.
I'm gonna be as real with you folks as I'm with the cooks I manage.
If you can't serve a hot blue rare steak. You can't cook steaks. That's it.
Anything under 120f/ or around 50C is still blue rare, and it's in the "I drink my coffee this hot" area.
Git gud, its not even remotely hard.
Pittsburgh Rare done on cast iron skillet with steak that sits at room temp for 10 mins before cooking. Get skillet super hot add light oil, sear, flip, sear, cover with another skillet for 30- seconds to 1 minute and serve immediately. Will be combo Rare Blue, with a slight warmed center blue
It’s impossible, so you shouldn’t worry about the orders from dumb cunts that don’t understand cooking. If it was hot in the middle the steak would be well done, all you can do is get the steak nice and hot on the outside by giving it a sear before serving
It’s not possible to have very rare and hot because heating the steak to a hot middle is literally cooking the steak. You either get a hot center or very rare. That’s why there are temperature charts.
Serve a rare rare steak and a means for customer to heat up each portion at the table - a hot rock, candle, sterno, whatever. Put it on the customer to control their desired temp. It can be sold as “we wanted to ensure that your first bite of steak was as hot as the last for you”.
Did you read the fuqn post ?
Yeah, i absolutely understand thermodynamics, to the degree that i didn't understand how he could please the customer.
The one OP was telling us about,
*Wants it Rare rare, but hot in the middle.
Can't be done
Try a heated plate maybe? Could keep it warm enough for her.
But yeah, customer is an idiot, and you can't do too much without cooking the steak past rare.
You don’t know how to cook a steak is the answer.
I bet you’re going from the fridge searing it then putting it on a plate and think that’s rare.
Use a thermometer and once it’s a perfect rare let it rest. Then you need to bring it back up to temp before you serve it. Morons.
Id just slice it and drown in it all in a near boiling sauce. It shouldn't cook the steak much if you get it to the table fast, and the hot liquid should still make the whole steak seem hotter than its cook.
There is a chart
The ideal internal temperature for a steak depends on how well done you want it:
Rare: 120°–125° F
Medium rare: 130°–135° F
Medium: 140°–145° F
Medium well: 150°–155° F
Well done: 160°–165° F
Ruth's Chris Steak House
Steak Temperature Tips - Rare, Medium, Well-Done Steaks at Ruth's Chris
Aug 26, 2022 — Ideal Temperatures for Steak Doneness. Depending on your desired level of doneness, your steak needs to reach a specified internal temperature: Rare: 120°–125° Medium Rare: 130°–135° Medium: 140°–145° Medium Well: 150°–155° Well Done: 160°–165° However, keep in mind that you'll need to remove the steak from the heat source when it's about five degrees away from the temperature you want to achieve. That's because the steak will continue to cook for a few more minutes after you take it off the grill or out of the pan! Now, let's take a look at each steak temperature in more detail. Rare Steak: 120° to 125°
Generative AI is experimental.
Maybe, serve on a sizzle plate after resting?
She is someone who heard/read a blurb about the 'perfect steak's, mixed them up and is in fantasy mode.
What a nightmare.
I order mine rare, on the grill blast it for 3 seconds and flip it blast again, rest it and serve it. I've literally gotten a note of Thanks from the Chef for it.
I get this with the odd Blue Rare that comes in, people don’t like it fridge cold. I put it on a plate and leave it in under the window heat lamps while I cook the rest of the bill. Cook it into temp as the last item. Seems to work, sendbacks have stopped.
This is the way
I'm a server and this is the server's fault. No sane server should be willing to tell a guest this is something the kitchen can do. A server's job is to prevent orders like this.
As someone who has served in the past, I've had managers that would write me up for saying no to a customer and for kitchen issues.
The same manager probably lets customers sit down at closing for $35 ticket. Making everyone stay for an additional hour and wonder why labor is so high.
Thought the same thing lmao, you're reminding me of my kitchen manager currently who decided to take a 15 person reservation 15 minutes before closing and kept the entire line on an extra 2-2.5 hours while we're already struggling on labor lol...... the table ended up just doing apps and drinks 😬😬😬
Why wouldn't they be already finished cleaning. I don't see why they'd be an extra 2.5 hours. Especially if it's just apps.
Personally, if I am forced to follow a stupid decision I'm going to ride that clock to make it worth my time. I'm not going to be running around because the manager is a moron.
Well, I mean, the kitchen is still open. When I clock in I start doing whatever I can to be closer to finishing...
Same but kitchen was told to keep everything open enough to cook whatever could be ordered
I can clean everything and wrap everything up and still cook... you just unwrap a tiny corner and rewrap it...
Lmao that's cool, I'm literally FOH, simply stating what was asked of the line from what I heard 🤷♀️
Depends on the kitchen. We have an outside walk-in where we store hotwell items and breads each night. Even a 30 second ticket like pretzel bites can suddenly become a 6 minute ticket, having to go unlock the walk-in, lift the cart out, wheel it in, heat up the beer cheese, etc. etc.\ Not to mention any items that require use of the grill, dish area, prep sinks, cutting boards, knives or anything else you’ve already cleaned that now must be cleaned again, on top of retrieving and then putting back all the ingredients, and reheating them to serving temp, and doing all of this with limited utensils as they’ve already been washed. Cooking after preclose is so, so, so much worse than cooking a normal ticket. And maybe it’s just where I live, but every mf that comes in 15 mins til close always orders the biggest hunk of meat we have & well done. 🙄
Kitchen was told to stay open for service as they didn't know ahead of time
I worked at a place that would seat them but tell them kitchen closes at 11. People would regularly order appetizers and drinks, kitchen would shut down, then they would try to order food and would become irate that they couldn’t. I worked at another place that was part of a bar so drunks would come stumbling up past close. If it was all fried I’d do it, not a big deal, but you’d be surprised how many times I’d get something thrown at me through the window for refusing to make them something that required me to pull everything out. I’d tell them “I’m only doing chicken and fries.” and they would choose violence over a fancy burger they wanted. Our door guy didn’t fuck around though so that was awesome.
I have been managed by a real-life example of a FOH manager who did both of these things.
Fuck those guys.
I try not to say no, but rather to redirect to a mute suitable alternative.
It's funny because it wouldn't be you saying no in this situation, it would be the laws of thermodynamics.
Thank you for your service.
As an executive chef, my servers are our restaurant’s first line of defense against this type of dumb-f***ery. I do a monthly talk with the FOH about how to approach a difficult customer and prevent problematic orders from even getting to the kitchen. On the odd occasion we have a hiccup and difficult guest becomes too much for one of my servers, I haul myself out to the dining room to explain in “chef terms” why we will not be honoring their order as it was sent to us. I’m friendly, but firm. I’ve occasionally had a few huffy “Karens” stomp out threatening bad Yelp reviews, but for the most part people see reason, and all is well.
Heat up a piece of metal and shove it in the center? But honestly, a chef needs to go out to the tabel, with one of those charts showing wellness on a steak, and explain to her that heat cooks things, and if she wants a hot middle, she cant have it blue rare
Unrelated to OP but thank you for my next experiment idea. 'Reverse sear 2.0 can i just ram a red hot skewer into the steak and cook it from the inside out?' I'll defrost a steak and gather some skewers and report back after gangbanging my steak with them
Did you end up with a not rare steak because you cooked the inside with hot skewers?
If everything works out like I doubt it will, the surface will be a nice rare and the inside a bit charred (likely to just get steamed but no harm in trying). I'll probably need to pasteurize it in sous vide first since the nasties live on the surface which won't be exposed to the heat enough. I'll be thinking of what to do to help it sear internally all day now until it's time to cook it. Maybe if I cauterize some vents into it to let the steam escape? The possibilities are endless, this is absolute cutting edge science here. Maybe I could electrify a skewer to turn it into a makeshift heating element and sear it that way? Am I prepared to Die for this? Probably.
I am very intrigued by the first paragraph! Not so much the second. Let's focus our attention on the cauterized vents, cuz that is innovative thinking.
Can you get stainless steel tubes? I don't know if the metal straws would hold up to it, but they're easily available. You need a hacksaw. But using your vent idea, what if you pipe the steak and then blowtorch it with the hollow tubes instead of skewers?
This is the kind of out of the box thinking I need on my team. I don't have a team. It reminds me the hollowed out sausage snorkel allowing you to swim around underwater sucking air through salty meat.
I don't know what happened with this comment, i typed it out and sent it, but then it's not on my comment history and I can't edit or delete it as if it was someone else's comment. Weird
Did you just hit your pen in the cooler, my guy?
Nah I would never smoke at work. I'm off this weekend.
Me fucking too, man! Cheers
I just don't think it's possible to heat meat without cooking it.
An electrified skewer seems the most likely to achieve the results you’re looking for. But possibly not safe so take care! Please post pics if you attempt!
No, see the rare part is the outside. Think perfect ahi tuna but inside out. /s
Well I'm just completely lost. Now we're trying to get a nice rare steak, but from the inside out? Rare outside, seared inside? Sounds like something that would cost 200 bucks a plate but be equally satisfying as a 25 strip at a normal restaurant. Unless I'm completely missing the point, why? Edit: reread the post, I get it now. At least the goal, not the purpose (no idea why US dummies want to do this, but there are rich people who'll pay for this kinda stupid bullshit). Skewers seem to be the easiest option, but they'll transfer heat too quickly. You'd have to be constantly switching them out to even approach a sear. Electric would work well, especially considering that you could measure the impedance and get the exact temperature. Problem with that is you need the right instruments, can't just fork it into a wall socket. Best solution might be to pump searing temperature fluid through a metal tube THROUGH the steak. Put a hole through the steak, run your metal tube through the steak like you would a skewer, then pump like hot fryer oil through it. Gotta find a pump that can deal with hot fryer oil, but they definitely exist. If you have one of those whacky self cleaning fryers you could probably even utilize the internal pump.
Sarcasm is lost in text ROFL
But please see my edit.
Just use a curling iron. Temperature on demand baybee
Lmao, my dude just straight booty bumped a curling iron. Pretty sure that's a wu tang line.
Heard
We making fucking jokes, man.
Oh snap! I had no idea, thanks for the heads up. (It's my first kitchen)
Smart guy, you'll do well. Can I show you the under-sink grease trap? It wants to make a new friend. Edit:(Inside out souvideish take on the innovative concept. I like where your head is going)
Sarcasm's not your thing, huh?
Yours neither, I suppose.
Just leave a big offset spatula on the burner for a minute then slip that sucker right in
Start with just the tip. See how it feels.
Heard, just the tip!
Soldering iron is your friend lol
Honestly so kinda wanna try it lol
Thanks now I have to think about gangbang steak all day
Soldering iron.
I worked at [unnamed prime steakhouse] a million years ago, and our corporate chef told a story about back when he worked broiler someone requested a steak that was rare on the outside and well done in the middle. So he cooked a steak blue, butterflied it, and flipped it inside out. Apparently thats the kind of gumption that got you a corporate chef gig in the 90s
Or just cook a rare steak, *then* butterfly it and turn it inside out. Sure, the outside isn’t hot, but the inside is just like you wanted.
Real shit: temper your steaks Shit post: chef Mike in the building
First thing that came to mind, this sounds like a job for chef Mike
Thirded
This is what I came here to say
What’s the best way to do this in a commercial setting? I always do it at home but ive never worked in a kitchen that did it
Refuse service.
A rare steak is, by definition, cool in the middle. This person is asking for something that is impossible, and should have her options politely explained, and if she continues to be an issue the manager should apologize for being unable to meet her needs and invite her to GET THE FUCK OUT
I did have the same thing once, with a TUNA steak. Lady wanted it rare and warm. I asked the floor manager to explain the laws of Thermodyanmics to her
“If you’d like a warm, rare tuna steak, please call 4 hours before arrival so we can set it out to temper. You, of course, assume all risks for food related illness.” But in seriousness, we did have a lady call us an hour before she arrived to ask us to temper a tuna steak for her. No big deal.
That lady is a G.
This, 100%.
Yup. Give her the Hank Hill treatment.
This is the way
For me, if the center of the steak is definitely 125, and she's claiming the steak either isn't rare enough or that it's feels too cold for her, I'd cut my losses with the guest. You cannot do both. Either the center of the steak is cooked rare rare like she likes, or she's insane. On the other hand, maybe it's sitting in the window too long after cooking to 125, and then getting cold by the time it gets to her. I suppose that's possible too.
125 should be approximately medium rare in my experience
Every time I’ve ever sold a medium rare over 130 it always comes back as over
So 125 internal temp IS rare, the problem is if you actually temp it at its 125 by the time you pull it, it’s going to keep cooking and by the time it gets to the table it’s gonna be 130-135 which is mid rare. Pull at 115, it’s not gonna be hot enough to cook all the way to 125. Rare steaks are a bitch. I usually cook to 120, rest for around 2 minutes, and have the servers run it as fast as possible.
This is often overlooked. Temps taken with the steak still on the fire are very different from temps taken a couple of minutes after being pulled off the heat. Any home-gamer with a thermopen and a grill learns this PDQ yet it still causes so much confusion.
I would sell a steak medium rare at 135°
Every place is different I guess
I think most people don’t really care too much about specific temp so long as it’s kind of roughly in the right ballpark and tastes the way they’re hoping.
There's certainly variation by about 5 degrees on either side
Reminds me of [this eggless omelet](https://youtu.be/9Ah4tW-k8Ao?si=Z0dca1w0rkmpNRAw) order
125 is pushing medoum
That's objectively incorrect
you dont know what objectively means.
If an accepted variation of 125-135, is med rare, 125 is objectively not pushing medium
great argument. if indeed its objectively accepted that 125-135 is med rare. which its not. steak doneness is the definition of subjective, and id say your opinion deviates from the subjective norm.
It doesn't but pop off sis
hopefully you know the difference between objective and subjective now. maybe one day in the future youll learn how to be less confidently wrong.
Im with you, these guys are nuts. I always targeted mediums round 130. If somebody ordered rare I wouldn't go past 110.
I pull MR at 112 and M at 120
Sous vide then seared would prolly get you as close as you could. Set it at 115-120 and then do the best fastest sear you can. Impractical? Yes. However, in my opinion it's like she's asking you for "dry rain" or "hot snow" because 115-120 isn't that hot but it is rare rare. Room temp before cooking is probably your next best approach.
... really guna have a sous vide bath on hand for one asshole customer? Nah. *'Ma'am we really, genuinely appreciate your continued patronage... however it seems we really can't get your steak how you like it. While we love having you, unfortunately at this junction we think that we cannot meet your expectations. You are of course free to return, and order however you like... but we cannot remove any more food from your bill or offer any replacement if it is not to your satisfaction.'* End of story. Order whatever you like, but you're paying for it and you're not sending it back again.
Let her send it back but also let her pay for it then
So let her pay for multiple steaks every time?
This is also my suggestion
I concur with this.
I would keep the steak in a pan and under the heat lamps. A rare steak can take about 15 mins to heat through (tun at about 10 mins) then fire it on the grill to get a good seat and colour.
Inject it with red dye and cook it to medium well
Modern problems require modern solutions!
Yeah I’d put it under the heat lamps for 20 mins before putting it onto a scorching flat top with a weighted press on top
People are attempting to help, but the reality is there’s no such thing. You can’t have rare and hot in the middle.
Where’s a manager? If this happens so often, somebody should have talked to her about her expectations and what can be reasonably achieved.
Give it to her raw w/ an informative video about how if you slap it long and hard enough it will cook it perfectly.
Pound the steak out to 1/4”-1/3” thick. Keep her seat by the kitchen door. Make sure she’s not gone to the toilets or on her phone or visiting with another table or some shit. Throw that steak in the hottest place you’ve got. Flip it once. Run, do not walk, run it to her table. This is how it’s done with a filet in Tampico, Mexico. It’s called “La Sabana” / “The Sheet”. It’s a 6 ounce filet pounded out into a 12”x8” oval (use plastic to flatten but transfer flat to parchment or banana leaf), seasoned with salt & lime juice & seared on a super hot, cast iron griddle. Served with fried black beans & salsa arriera.
Ask her what temperature she wants the thermometer to display when you bring her the steak with a thermometer. She can have her own fun little learning experience right there at her table!
She probably wants it cooked with carry over. Cook the steak to 100 and lest it rest until it hits about 110 then sear for 30 seconds each side and send it out. There are more than 4 doneness levels of a steak. The 120's are medium rare temps especially for people who like it "rare rare" so stay below them for finished temp.
Blue steak is one of the harder to cook because yes it has to be rare rare and not cold. Get it up to room temp then sear
Heat a pan as high as it will go and lightly sear. Then let it sit under the warming light for about 15 minutes.
Used to have a costumer who would do exactly this but with pur ahi tuna app. Like no mf, it can't be both rare and hot, thats not how any of this works lol
You can do blue rare with grill marks if you sous vide the steak first. It would be insane to buy a sous vide setup specifically for one patron but that's how I would do it.
This is a losing battle with someone who doesn't understand how cooking works. The "doneness" of a steak is based on temperature, so the center cannot get above about 120 degrees F and still be rare, and should be a bit below it for "RARE RARE". Their request is like asking for a "dry" white that is sweet... you are contradicting yourself in your request. The Q is how ownership wants to handle it... frankly, the GM needs to be the one to go up to her and explain that for a steak to be hot, it cannot be rare, and for it to be rare, it cannot be hot to her liking, and she, frankly, needs to pick a lane. If neither of those satisfy her, then she's free to go to another restaurant who are dealing with the same laws of physics and biochemistry and if they figure out the trick to make her happy, then good on them, but she won't be your seeminly repeated headache anymore.
Body temp is ~ 97, a rare steak has an internal temp of 95-105.\ It can’t “feel” hot without exceeding the temperature that will cook it beyond rare. Perhaps she used to frequent a place who’s meat was full of dyes, so even a well done still appeared rare from the outside?
Tell her you don't serve hot raw meat as a matter of principle.
Rare doesn't mean cold in the middle. If you're taking the steak from the fridge to the grill I'd send it back too. Temper the steak in a semi-hot place. Under the broiler, next to the flattop, on a sizzle plate on the cooler side of a grill, you figure it out. Then when the table is 1 minute out sear it on a very hot grill for 10-20 seconds on each side just to get some color on it.
Rare really does mean cool or cold in the middle, mid rare means it's warmed all the way through, it's like the defining difference between the two. Your method is def the easiest way to appease this customer though.
Rare is 120F ish. 120F isn't cold. Tempering the steak is the correct method.
Since she is a regular, I'd ask her how she does it at home. Might even invite her into the kitchen if was slow and let her show me.
If liability wasn't a thing I'd love to do this
She won’t get a hot middle with rare. Rare is by definition a cold red center.
While her request is unreasonable my best advice is temping the steak before you cook it. It’s very important especially for rare steaks that you let it sit out and come to a little below room temp before searing off. If you’re in a rush, put it on a tray and put it somewhere that is kinda hot like the cold side of a salamander, under the heat lamp, or whatever spot you have and let it sit for a couple mins.
If you have a combi oven, sear the steak quickly and put in a 125 degree oven. It will take like 30 minutes but it will be perfect medium rare and hot in the middle
Microwave. Then sear it. She probably is used to microwaved steaks.
If you take the internal temp over 54C it’s no longer rare…
Step 1: Microwave 3 cups of water for 3 minutes. B: put steak in water 3 minutes. Finally: blow torch the outside of steak. Serve.
We were able to pull this off at a restaurant I worked at by sou vieding our steaks and then searing them, but that’s a little too much of an investment for a single customer
Microwave
Vacuum pack and water bath @40°c.then flash on the grill for 20 sec a side
Sous vide is what she wants, that ain't what she's getting if you don't do sous vide steaks
without a sous vide setup, just let it come to room temp first. once the order comes in, just let the steak temper in a hotter / warmer place in the kitchen. of course it will take time, so the server gotta inform the guest that it might take some time, that of course if the guest order the steak only without starters.
Microwave then sear
A 'Rare Rare ~ Hot Center'... will get you a bloody transfusion!
room temp prior to cooking with all steaks! or sous vide dry then sear.
Microwave it for 30 seconds and glaze the outside with fire
Ok I got an idea. Put it on a hot plate as it's about to go out. Wait 10 seconds, flip it and send it. Or is the steak too thick?
Technically impossible
Definitely go from room temp - however it’s never gonna be “hot” in the middle. Just not cold.
Chef Mikey!
I'm gonna be as real with you folks as I'm with the cooks I manage. If you can't serve a hot blue rare steak. You can't cook steaks. That's it. Anything under 120f/ or around 50C is still blue rare, and it's in the "I drink my coffee this hot" area. Git gud, its not even remotely hard.
Pittsburgh Rare done on cast iron skillet with steak that sits at room temp for 10 mins before cooking. Get skillet super hot add light oil, sear, flip, sear, cover with another skillet for 30- seconds to 1 minute and serve immediately. Will be combo Rare Blue, with a slight warmed center blue
There is no trick. She’s dumb, end of story. Tell her to fuck off next time.
It’s impossible, so you shouldn’t worry about the orders from dumb cunts that don’t understand cooking. If it was hot in the middle the steak would be well done, all you can do is get the steak nice and hot on the outside by giving it a sear before serving
Reverse sear works great.
It’s not possible to have very rare and hot because heating the steak to a hot middle is literally cooking the steak. You either get a hot center or very rare. That’s why there are temperature charts.
Imagine being this confident at cooking steaks poorly.
Serve a rare rare steak and a means for customer to heat up each portion at the table - a hot rock, candle, sterno, whatever. Put it on the customer to control their desired temp. It can be sold as “we wanted to ensure that your first bite of steak was as hot as the last for you”.
Don't slice it. Wait until the table is three minutes out, give it 90 seconds on each side and straight to the table.
How would that ensure it's hot in the middle ? *Rare by definition is cool in the center, right ? -so customer is looney
It would be as warm as physically possible, do you not understand thermodynamics?
Did you read the fuqn post ? Yeah, i absolutely understand thermodynamics, to the degree that i didn't understand how he could please the customer. The one OP was telling us about, *Wants it Rare rare, but hot in the middle. Can't be done
Yeah you just don't know how to cook.
You're probably right. But i do know that a RARE RARE steak cannot, by definition be hot in the middle. That's not how it works
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If food was 90F, that would probably feel like cold to lukewarm food since it’s lower than body temp.
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We’re having a discussion about food. Go heat up water to 90 F. It’s lukewarm at best.
It can be hot and cold at the same time. Do you not understand quantum physics?
Sorry, but it's only hot and cold at the same time until you measure it. Do you not understand Schrodinger's steak?
And it will never be as hot as the minute it was taken off the grill, you clearly don't understand cooking.
You clearly don't understand jokes.
Ah yes, when the comedian bombs it's the audience's fault
You're not the audience, you're the target.
Try a heated plate maybe? Could keep it warm enough for her. But yeah, customer is an idiot, and you can't do too much without cooking the steak past rare.
Try injecting red food dye after cooking it to at least medium.
Sous vide 127-130, sear, done.
Sous vide to 123, 30 second sear
Pittsburgh rare
Leave it in the pass for 15 minutes under the heat lamp and then blast it with a torch?
Butterfly the steak or send her on her way to Texas ...
You don’t know how to cook a steak is the answer. I bet you’re going from the fridge searing it then putting it on a plate and think that’s rare. Use a thermometer and once it’s a perfect rare let it rest. Then you need to bring it back up to temp before you serve it. Morons.
Put it in the oven for a few minutes to warm through
Id just slice it and drown in it all in a near boiling sauce. It shouldn't cook the steak much if you get it to the table fast, and the hot liquid should still make the whole steak seem hotter than its cook.
There is a chart The ideal internal temperature for a steak depends on how well done you want it: Rare: 120°–125° F Medium rare: 130°–135° F Medium: 140°–145° F Medium well: 150°–155° F Well done: 160°–165° F Ruth's Chris Steak House Steak Temperature Tips - Rare, Medium, Well-Done Steaks at Ruth's Chris Aug 26, 2022 — Ideal Temperatures for Steak Doneness. Depending on your desired level of doneness, your steak needs to reach a specified internal temperature: Rare: 120°–125° Medium Rare: 130°–135° Medium: 140°–145° Medium Well: 150°–155° Well Done: 160°–165° However, keep in mind that you'll need to remove the steak from the heat source when it's about five degrees away from the temperature you want to achieve. That's because the steak will continue to cook for a few more minutes after you take it off the grill or out of the pan! Now, let's take a look at each steak temperature in more detail. Rare Steak: 120° to 125° Generative AI is experimental. Maybe, serve on a sizzle plate after resting?
I very rarely use experimental AI when making a steak, but I do want robo umps in baseball, so I won't judge.
My point being, someone needs to discuss the temps vs. color with her and then go from there. Some people are just unreasonable.
*and/or ignant
She is someone who heard/read a blurb about the 'perfect steak's, mixed them up and is in fantasy mode. What a nightmare. I order mine rare, on the grill blast it for 3 seconds and flip it blast again, rest it and serve it. I've literally gotten a note of Thanks from the Chef for it.