Anyone ever let the chef determine how "done" your steak should be?

[Jennasis]

I've often wondered if this is a possibility or even a wise choice. I won't eat a well done steak, but everything else is fair game. Has anyone ever answered the steak question from a server by saying "how does the chef recommend the steak be done?"...I always thought the correct temp for steak is med rare which is how I typically order one but maybe I'm wrong.

 

[Farro]

No, but I always want my steaks rare to medium rare and my burgers medium rare.

I've actually had trouble with burgers, some restaurants saying they have to cook to medium.

If you ask a chef to choose the doneness of your steak, you are going to get medium rare, closer to rare.

I'm drooling.

 

[LoopyDoopy]

Absolutely not. I assume if you didn't specify, they would do medium. However, the definition of doneness varies. What you would consider medium might be a medium well or medium rare depending on the chef. If I'm ordering something other than a rare steak, I ask the server to define what the doneness is to see if it matches what's in my mind.

 

[bdcp]

Nope. Chef's seem to think the rarer the better and the farthest I usually go is medium, but I usually request medium well.

 

[AngiTN]

No. Only I know the amount of doneness I want for my steak.

 

[HeidiGW]

I must all the time. (I always order it medium rare.)
But it almost never comes out right. Always over done.

 

[Nancyg56]

No. I like Medium Rare, but if I give that choice to the Chef and it comes out medium, I'm stuck with it.

 

[TeresaWen]

Not with steak. I know how I enjoy it. I have asked if it is something I am trying for the first time. Like ostrich or maybe a fish I never had before. Then I make a decision based on what they say.

 

[steg]

This is something I typically do, it always ends up somewhere between Medium Rare to Medium depending on the cut.

 

[Uncleromulus]

Not anymore.

Did it a couple times at "high-end" steak places and both times it came out functionally raw.

 

[kaybird]

Ok, I must be the only oddball. I do typically answer "However the chef recommends." when I'm asked how do I want my steak/salmon/pork. The chef or staff are who conceived the dish, and a part of that total package is the meat. In all the years I have done this, I have only once been disappointed, which is much better than when I was deciding on my own.

 

[supersnoop]

If it's an exotic meat that I'm not familiar with, I'll respond with, "what does the chef recommend?" I have no idea how elk should be prepared. I've learned that bison can dry out much more quickly than a beef steak, so you can't go too far past medium. But if it's a cut I always get, then I know how I want it done.

 

[LilyWDW]

Not really, but I always get my steak medium rare and prefer closer to rare.

 

[Allison]

Never.

 

[jlh512]

I always do at Le Cellier. I usually order the venison or bison and I always order it the way the chef best thinks.

 

[wilkeliza]

Most chefs are going to cook it no more then medium rare. A good waiter will tel you what the chef's recommendation is when asking how you would like it done but a lot don't any more.

Also there isn't really any "interpretation" into what is blue, rare, medium rare, medium, medium well, and well. There are industry standards for those so if someone tries to tell you something is medium rare when it is actually medium then send it back or go somewhere else next time.

 

[jaiminee krikit]

Nope, never. I want most steaks medium rare. Prime Rib I will usually get medium because I don't like it to be, um, messy. Burgers I like medium, too, because I don't like much (if any) pink in my burgers. I don't know why it grosses me out so much with a burger but not a steak.

 

[bdcp]

Nope, never. I want most steaks medium rare. Prime Rib I will usually get medium because I don't like it to be, um, messy. Burgers I like medium, too, because I don't like much (if any) pink in my burgers. I don't know why it grosses me out so much with a burger but not a steak.

Well, it's safer to eat burgers that are cooked through. With steaks, any bacteria from preparation/butchering is on the outside of it so the inside is okay to eat more rare. With burgers, the bacteria is ground through the entire thing so it all needs to be cooked hot enough to kill it. I've never met anyone who has gotten sick from eating a rare steak.

 

[loves to dive]

Nope, most chefs will hold it over the flame and slap it on its bottom and send it out. I don't want anything running out of mine and have only just gotten where I'll allow pink in it. I've actually had chefs refuse to cook mine for me (I have 3 brother's who are chefs) cause I want that sucker medium/well. Thankfully, I rarely eat steak, more of a chicken or fish person.