how can i cook a well done steak thats good?

chadinsc

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i need to cook some well done steaks for guest and i want to cook a good one, any tips. i typically reverse sear by cooking at 200 until 110 then pull and sear at 500 until 135. would i still pull at 110 and sear for along time at 500? had to look it up and well done is about 160, it just feels wrong to even think about going over 135. any one cooked a well done steak that doesn’t suck?
 
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my inlaws cook streaks well done in the oven. and i want to invite them up for steaks but im not really even sure how to do that. i typically reverse sear by cooking at 200 until 110 then pull and sear at 500 until 135. would i still pull at 110 and sear for along time at 500? had to look it up and well done is about 160, it just feels wrong to even think about going over 135. any one cooked a well done steak that doesn’t suck?
Well done? Your in-laws are animals and don't deserve you cooking them a steak.

It's the same process you just need to ruin the meat by taking it to a higher temperature before searing it. So you'd take it to like 130 and sear it to like 155-160 which is well-done.
 
lol i seems disrespectful to the cow. not even sure going above choice grade makes sense
It really does man. Throw them a hunk of leather to gnaw on and they're basically getting the same nutritional value.

One of the biggest accomplishments of my life was getting my wife to not only start eating but actually enjoying a good medium-well steak. One of the biggest take-aways I can offer is her fear wasn't eating a Medium well steak (even though it was largely a texture thing for her) but the fear of someone trying to cook a medium well steak but not cooking it long enough and ending up with a rare or less cooked steak. That's a fair thing and if you think of it that way, maybe your folks would appreciate a TRUE medium-rare steak of they could be assured it was safe and healthy.

I would still turn their steaks into charcoal briquets as requested but maybe also cut them off a small portion of yours to try after you explain to them the high-tech process that achieves perfectly cooked and perfectly safe medium-rare steaks. This could be a great example of them eating steak well-done all these years because it was derived from a place of safety and security but it will take a special sort of explanation and hand-holding to bring them around.

That said, it took years of my wife learning that I'm a relatively smart fella with an OCD level of focus on my meat for her to even start trusting me. Years later until she was fully onboard with wanting her meat cooked this way but most of that came from education of the topic more than anything. Now she loves the flavor and texture of a mid-rare steak. Don't expect the same level of adoption from you in-laws from a single interaction. Maybe just start with the education piece w/o even offering them any of yours just to plan that seed. Maybe after a few transactions like this they will be more primed for actually trying it.

Good luck with that either way. You're a saint for catering to lunatics like that. You're a better man than I.
 
I started doing most of my steaks sous vide, Unbelievable results. I still do reverse sear on prime rib

I just discovered sous vide a few weeks ago and wondered how I ever missed it. My first cook was a sirloin. About 90 minutes of sous vide, followed by quick sear on a cast iron skilled. The consistency was better than I could ever get on a grill.
 
i would like to experiment with sous vibe also. i seen a video were a guy did that and then seared the steak with a propane weed burner torch. it looked incredible. and cooking with a torch would really impress the wife, or she would think i have gone crazy
 
Dang @Ostrichsak , can you tell us how you really feel! What passionate posts 😂

I used to cook medium well, but over the years moved to medium. My wife and son eat medium-medium rare. Now that I am grilling, I would much rather under cook than overcook.

I just bought a Sous Vide device, mainly to warm up leftovers so I don't over cook!!! I have not pulled it out of the box yet, mainly because my wife is complaining about all of my gadgets aka accessories!

Think on the bright side you can buy inexpensive meat and they wont know the difference!!!
 
If your in laws prefer well done steak, why invite them over?

Don't waste your money or the cows life for that. Make a chuck roast that is supposed to be cooked to 200+
 
If your in laws prefer well done steak, why invite them over?

Don't waste your money or the cows life for that. Make a chuck roast that is supposed to be cooked to 200+
This, or burgers...
 
lol so basically it’s impossible and i should just change the menu to a brisket or pulled pork or ribs? i was thinking about trying 150 and just dim the lights and explain cherry pellets give the meat a red tint?
 
lol so basically it’s impossible and i should just change the menu to a brisket or pulled pork or ribs? i was thinking about trying 150 and just dim the lights and explain cherry pellets give the meat a red tint?
Funny, I actually had that discussion with my wife.

My resolution is to cook the meat the way I like it and wife can microwave hers to get that "shoe leather" texture.
 
lol so basically it’s impossible and i should just change the menu to a brisket or pulled pork or ribs? i was thinking about trying 150 and just dim the lights and explain cherry pellets give the meat a red tint?
All the rhetoric aside, preference for cooking steak is still a subjective thing. If they like/want well done, that's up to them. (Same thing if they want to drown it in ketchup and sprinkle some Lucky Charms.)

Probably not worth buying Prime or Wagyu for the job, but they are your guests. Steaks make it simple for each of you to get what you want - not like you'd have to cook a prime rib to well to make them happy.
 
alot of good points here. ostrichsak i had a very similar experience with my wife. she was a WELL done girl but now she likes them medium because of a texture preference also. it took probably 3 years to get her to that point.
 
my inlaws cook streaks well done in the oven. and i want to invite them up for steaks but im not really even sure how to do that. i typically reverse sear by cooking at 200 until 110 then pull and sear at 500 until 135. would i still pull at 110 and sear for along time at 500? had to look it up and well done is about 160, it just feels wrong to even think about going over 135. any one cooked a well done steak that doesn’t suck?
I reverse seared some filets this past weekend. My wife likes hers well done. So I just pulled hers from the initial smoke at a temp of 135 then seared. I cut into it for her and she still thought it was a little pink. (I immediately called my divorce lawyer to start the papers - Not really). Then I just threw them back on pink side down for less than a minute and she loved her steak. I got a real steak and she had her shoe leather. We were both happy. I did taste hers and it was still really good.
 
I cook steaks the way I like them....med rare, to medium (depending on cut). If you want to ruin your steak after I serve it, that's what the microwave is for. :p
 
To the OPs question, a well done steak can still be juicy if you use a highly marbled cut. IMO, this is why the Japanese invented Kobe beef. The Japanese cook the hell out of their beef. I know. My mother was Japanese and I lived in Japan for 7 years.

But, don't under estimate how far some people's preference deviates from the classic juicey medium-rare. My mother would cook a steak for me until all the moisture was gone. She thought that was the proper way and I should like it that way. I actually prefer medium-rare to rare steaks. Some people don't even like an au jus to go with well-done meat. I recall a guest asking to cook some steak further, that I had specifically cooked well-done, I think to dry it out after I had ladled an au jus over the whole platter of sliced meat.

For people that like their individual steak well-done, I either try to learn the process of how they cook it themselves or try to serve them something else.

For groups, I won't ruin an entire tri-tip for one or two guests that want well-done. However, I've compromised at a light medium at a party host's request, when catering. Usually, my tri-tip cooked between medium-rare and medium is a hit with the masses.
 
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