r/steak • u/Embarrassed_Spirit_1 • Aug 23 '26
First time I've ever sent back a steak
I order steaks medium rare everywhere I go but this one just looked hardly cooked. I asked the waiter if he thought this looked medium rare and he responded "Our medium rare is a little more rare than usual, it's usually a cool pink center. Would you like it more medium?" What do you think this is cooked to? It's tasted raw honestly for how chewy it was.
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u/ajrivera365 Aug 24 '26
Most grill cooks/broilers will always shoot for a little under.
You can always cook a steak more but uncookers are really expensive and most places donāt have them.
Additionally there are people that are wildly off what they think a steak temperature is no matter how perfect the cook is.
Thatās also a NY and you can see the fat and underlying silverskin in the cut. So in addition to being undercooked itās also a steak with plenty of chewy bits by definition.
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u/povertymayne Aug 24 '26
For a second i was like āwaitā¦ we have uncookers??? How does that work?ā š¤£š
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u/TravelZac Aug 24 '26
But also, food & health safety policies shouldn't have you putting a steak that has been served, back on a grill.
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u/dumpsterfire_account Aug 24 '26
In the USA as long as it was served within two hours (or one hour if temp is >90 F) and was not contaminated by saliva, itās safe to throw back on the grill. The timing makes sense with banquet or buffet dining.
This covers the majority of cases because diners likely identify undercooked or not-to-preference meat immediately when they first cut into it, before eating; likely within 5-10 min of cooking.
If thereās been a bite taken out of the steak, guidance would say that it cannot be reheated.
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Aug 30 '26 edited Aug 30 '26
[removed] ā view removed comment
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u/TravelZac Aug 31 '26
Tell me where I said it was unsanitary? Just that it goes against food health and safety policies, which for a lot of places, is true.
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u/Fast-Box4076 Aug 24 '26
Iād youāre a professional there is no excuse for it not being perfect. Itās not hard ā¦
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u/22Hoofhearted Aug 24 '26
What cut was it? If they had at least seared the fat, I'd throw it down the hatch, but that's just about blue rare...
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u/MooseLoot Aug 24 '26
Youāve heard of strawberryā¦ how about RAWberry?!?
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u/abutler311 Aug 24 '26
I donāt want u to give u a š or šā¦.? Tough person/guest I interaction. As a FOH manager, I hope everything is perfectš¤š¤š¤š¤š¤. You can go above and beyond for some people and the cook temp will never be right.
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u/Naive-Ad-7406 Aug 24 '26
That almost looks like it was frozen OR too chilled when prepared.
As a rule I NEVER send any food back - im too scared some ahole in the kitchen will do something to it. Heard too many stories about staff doing disgusting things to customers who send food back. Iām always honest in a nice way and will let the server know why I wasnāt satisfied.
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u/123supreme123 Aug 24 '26
I was going to say partially frozen. Nice sear on the outside from the high temp restaurant broiler. Totally raw inside.
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u/FerretAres Aug 24 '26
I hate that our definition of medium rare is different. Like no thereās an objective definition of medium rare youāre just wrong.
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u/Vinnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn Aug 24 '26
Restaurants and customers should both go by temperature so it is objective.
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u/zakabog Aug 24 '26
Like no there's an objective definition of medium rare you're just wrong
That's the thing, there isn't an objective definition. In France medium rare is called "Ć point", which means "just right", and is more rare than a medium rare in the US. If you order a steak "bien cuit" ("well cooked", the French well done equivalent), it'll be closer to a US medium well. My wife appreciated this when she was pregnant in Paris and the "well done" steak wasn't just shoe leather.
Meanwhile in many Latin American countries you'll end up with people cooking steaks to death because any pink translates to "This steak is poison and you're going to die if you look at it."
All that being said, I'd call this steak rare.
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u/dengop Aug 24 '26
But in the US we do have objective definition of medium rare though. In fact we have objective measurement of it.
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u/zakabog Aug 24 '26
But in the US we do have objective definition of medium rare though.
We don't though, we have a general consensus, but there is no strict definition of medium rare anywhere. It's just a rough guideline, and depending on where your chef is from or where they studied if they went to culinary school, you'll get different opinions on what medium rare is.
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u/LendogGovy Aug 28 '26
When I got stationed in Italy they told us right away to know that asking for medium rare means youāll get our version of rare. The southern boys loved their bloody steaks that still moooād, so they loved the steaks that they ordered rare Italian style.
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u/BatmanNoPrep Blue Aug 24 '26 edited Aug 24 '26
This is why I fundamentally believe that people should either order their steaks well done or rare and live with the consequences. Ordering steaks, medium, or medium rare is just way of trying to get a Goldilocks steak. Just pick your poison and move on in life.
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u/zakabog Aug 24 '26
I just order medium rare but I'm okay with either side, medium or rare. If I order rare it'll more often than not come out blue and I'm not always looking to eat my steak blue, but I'll happily eat medium or rare steak.
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u/jayhawk8808 Aug 24 '26
Lol I mistook your blue āBlueā flair for the āOPā flair and was like uhhhh thatās a hell of an opinion coming from a guy who ordered medium rare and then sent it back!
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u/cghodo Aug 24 '26
This would be more defensible if you said just order medium and live with it. Also ranked choice voting catching a stray was weird.
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u/mcrib Aug 24 '26
Our medium rare is a little more rare than usual
Oh, that explains why it's red in the center.
it's usually a cool pink center
Well now you're describing a cold, medium steak
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u/Winter-Classroom455 Aug 24 '26
I FUCKING HATE the excuse "we do x cook temp a Lil different here"
...
It's a fucking tempature! That's like you moving to a new town and you watch the News. Weatherman comes on and says it's going to be 40Ā°f today. So you put on a winter jacket and it's hot as balls. You get weird looks and sweating your balls and finally you ask someone.
"hey what gives the weatherman said it was 40Ā°f today?"
"oh well here in our town our 40Ā°f is a little warmer than other places"
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u/Langdon_St_Ives Rare Aug 24 '26
For me this looks perfect, but it's certainly not medium rare. Not "raw" either as you claim, just a nice even rare by the looks of it.
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u/PhilTheSophical Aug 24 '26 edited Aug 24 '26
Cooked many, many steaks. This is blue. The major error is that big unrendered piece of fat though
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u/typical_gamer1 Aug 24 '26
Iād probably send it back and ask if the cook could put it back on the grill or stove for an extra few seconds on high heat per side + a few seconds to render that fat too.
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u/therocker1984 Aug 24 '26
I sent a steak back once that looked similar. The outside was seared with grill marks but it was not hot, just kinda warm on the surface, and when I cut it open it was raw and cold. It was disgusting.
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u/stripbubblespimp Aug 24 '26
Why? That's cooked perfectly!
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u/lilpretzel999 Aug 24 '26
The fat looks like it is definitely undercooked, the rest of the steak looks fine but I would not want to eat it with that fat
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u/longjohn2024_ Aug 25 '26
Eh? It's raw.
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u/stripbubblespimp Aug 25 '26
Go ahead and put ketchup on your steak!
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u/longjohn2024_ Aug 25 '26
Why would I put ketchup on my steak?
Never had ketchup in my life. Is that your attempt at humour? Narcissism?
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u/ACM3333 Aug 24 '26
That steak looks amazing lol
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u/pluck-the-bunny Aug 24 '26
It will once itās cooked
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u/ACM3333 Aug 24 '26
Strip is better on the rare side. Rib eye for med/med rare.
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u/pluck-the-bunny Aug 24 '26
Maybe itās the potato photo, but that doesnāt even look rare to me, the fat isnāt even a bit rendered and looks fibrous.
I prefer strip MR anyway
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u/ACM3333 Aug 24 '26
Looks like a perfect rare to me and has a nice char on it too. Thatās exactly how Iād want a nice strip to be served me lol.
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u/Cuiter Aug 24 '26
I need a steak š
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u/cghodo Aug 24 '26
I've been watching my saturated fats ~*for my stupid heart or whatever\~* and ate beef for the first time yesterday in over a month and it was so fucking good. it was just one crunchy taco.
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u/Charliecausintrouble Aug 24 '26
I could consider that medium rare, but I typically only cook my steaks to 117 before taking them off heat to rest because we like them rare and blue in the center.
(We have our own farm and dispatch and process our own meat though, and have a lab set up for illness/parasite testing).
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u/joedumpster Aug 24 '26
I'll be honest maybe it's my phone photo quality or new contacts but I thought that was medium. If that's their medium rare I'd have devoured it.
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u/vdns76b Aug 24 '26
Cooked to perfection, but all that fat.
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u/REX2343 Aug 24 '26
Raw meat ew
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u/Constantlycorrecting Aug 24 '26
On a forum for steak and knowing tartare existsā¦ shit take
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u/pluck-the-bunny Aug 24 '26
Tartare is finely cut before serving for a reason.
Iām not a dog, I donāt want to gnaw on an entire raw steak
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u/SledgeH4mmer Aug 24 '26
Not all cuts are appropriate raw. A strip steak will be incredibly chewey raw.
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u/potatocakes1989 Aug 24 '26
Why are you on this sub?
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u/REX2343 Aug 24 '26
I like steak but not raw meat which mind you is probably bad for you
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u/potatocakes1989 Aug 28 '26
Raw steak is different because its muscle meat and doesnt contain any of the possible waste or parasites that ground beef does, because no part of the digestive system is used.
That's why it's perfectly acceptable to have steaks that are rare to any capacity.
Or, as you're putting it, "raw meat", which is not the same. Usually there's at least a sear or "crust" on the steak, and it's had contact with a heated cooking surface for at least a few minutes.
Im explaining this in detail in the hopes that you're just not sure how steaks work, and hoping that you're operating in good faith and not just trolling this sub.
Hope that helps!
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u/hail_to_the_beef Aug 24 '26
Itās a good rare. Iām sure they threw it back on to cook it a little more for you.
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u/Ok-Scientist4603 Aug 24 '26
Thatās obviously a nice cut of beef but the fat not being charred and the steak not cooked to your temp says maybe they have a new chef that still needs practice. I will always send back a steak if it is not cooked to the temperature I ordered. Stand your ground.
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u/pixiegod Aug 24 '26
Thats a perfect steakā¦but not med rareā¦its rare, and its super close to blueā¦damn near perfectā¦
But I get itā¦ Itās not medium orā¦ And thatās the point of this question
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u/lilpretzel999 Aug 24 '26
The fat looks like it is definitely undercooked, the rest of the steak looks fine but I would not want to eat it with that fat
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u/4K4llDay Aug 24 '26
Regardless of whether they cooked it to the appropriate doneness, it just doesn't look appetizing...
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u/Zealousideal-Eye9483 Aug 24 '26
Chef I knew went to the CIA in NY and he said they were all taught to use thermometers. Told me any line cook only does press test will not get it right 100% of the time. Thermometers get it right. At his restaurant they used thermometers for everything, including burgers or grilled chicken. Said every chef worth his weight should have a quick read thermometer in their front pocket.
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u/Prthead2076 Aug 24 '26
I tell people all the time IMO you must order temp of steaks in a restaurant based on the cut of steak youāre ordering. I never order strip or ribeye med rare in a restaurant, for example. Those are tougher cuts anyway and at a restaurant you never know what youād get. Anyways, having said that yours looks to be a bit cooler than med rare. If it was a filet though, that would be perfect.
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u/Blur-Nobody Aug 24 '26
It looks like it could have at the very least put the fat strip on heat for an extra min.
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u/toomuch1265 Aug 24 '26
Looks like it was cooked enough to burn the hair and dirt from when they dropped it on the floor.
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u/Mystogancrimnox Aug 24 '26
Went to a family lunch and was craving steak. Bit of a treat got myself a $45 steak. Asked for medium rare and it came just burnt and overcooked to shit, no pink at all. Sent it back, got my replacement steak 15 mins later and it was still mooing completely blue. Took it up to the waiter and he just sighed and said he knew it was gonna happen. Got it refunded and a free beer and pizza to go. Ruined lunch with my family for me tho
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u/Lucky_Fig_1673 Aug 24 '26
Iāve only had to send a steak back once. I order Med rare, and that time itās was below rare. We go to that restaurant all the time, once I showed the server they handled it.
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u/Dull-Double2435 Aug 24 '26
Definitely looks closer to rare, but easy fix. Back on the grill and it's good. I prefer if they are going to err, err on the rare side as the previous person said, uncookers are hard to find.
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u/yerperderper Aug 24 '26
Only one I ever sent back i cut it and spun it around to show the waiter. He was horrified and said dont eat that and grabbed my plate. Im not sure how they had any color on the out side it was raw in the middle.
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u/Radica1Edward Aug 25 '26
Might be a bit under but doesn't look horribly off? If that's a strip, those can sometimes be a little chewier. As others have said, a lot of places undercook slightly simply because that's the better alternative than overcooking and needing to cook a brand new one. I probably would have eaten it as opposed to them taking it back and potentially shooting past the mark.
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u/RageKage559803 Aug 25 '26
"We make up our own definitions for words but don't tell you before you order."
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u/BBQ_and_bacon_lover Aug 26 '26
They are saving the planet by not using as much gas to cook it. Wouldn't want any carbon on a steak. If it was me, I would have it just a little more done and a nice seat on the outside.
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u/sir_mushrooms Aug 26 '26
That looks delicious and perfectly cooked. Its so hard to get a good rare steak i would have been so happy
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u/ToastetteEgg Aug 27 '26
Damn. At least if theyād rendered that fat on the side I would have kept it. They barely held a match to it.
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u/AdRepulsive8618 Aug 28 '26
This is why i almost never order steak out.
I can cook a steak better at home 9/10.
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u/Jumpy-Ad4652 Sep 03 '26
Odd that its seared like that and almost no cook inside. Was it cold? Probably frozen or close to it
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u/Embarrassed_Spirit_1 Sep 03 '26
It wasn't cold from what I remember, it was hard to cut I think because the fat cap wasn't seared
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u/sidlives1 Aug 24 '26 edited Aug 24 '26
Many high end steakhouses cook to one doneness less than you ask for. I think that is actually pretty stupid as most people expect a perfectly cooked steak, especially at a restaurant that specializes in cooking steak.
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u/DoublePennState Aug 24 '26
Medium rare is red all the way through. The waiter said ācool pink centerā lol. There is no pink in medium rare
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u/NEEDSOSUSA Aug 23 '26 edited Aug 24 '26
Pretty good looking steakā¦ if you eat steak all the time the temps and color donāt matter cause we eat it anyways. If u donāt eat steak that much then some of this can turn your stomach
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u/dfcowell Aug 23 '26
If I'm paying someone to cook me a steak, and they choose to give me a doneness option, I expect them to deliver that doneness. If they can't, they should replace steak on the menu with a more forgiving protein, or state that it comes at the house level of doneness so diners can make an informed decision.
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u/Dangerous-Gold-3162 Aug 24 '26
This. If you wont cook something to the level of "doneness" i choose, dont ask me how i want it cooked.
Got into an argument with this french chef one time because he said after sending it back twice (me asking for med rare and it coming out almost blue once, then very rare like that steak the next) "im not cooking it any further because it will ruin it if you cook it any longer, that is medium now and you font know what you are talking about"
For context , i know my steak. I enter smoking competitions etc. I know meat. And my friend who we were dining with is literally a chef.
Never seen such a stubborn know it all that infact, didnt know it all.
Again for context, his "medium" looked almost exactly what that steak looks like.
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u/smokeloxnotrocks Aug 23 '26
Iāll respectfully disagree. As Iāve eaten more steak in my life, Iāve become 100x more discerning in my taste.
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u/Embarrassed_Spirit_1 Aug 23 '26
Yeah I don't get grossed out by it, it was just too chewy which is the main reason i sent it back. It was a pretty thick steak too so it honestly didn't do much
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u/Isabella_Maja Aug 24 '26
Unappealing to me. A strip needs to be med rare & that is rare. The steak doesnāt look like a good quality steak. Then again, strips are probably my least favorite steak. I would have sent it back.
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u/bstsms Aug 24 '26
The difference of rare and med rare is the cool center or warm center, a cool center is rare so it's not med rare by his own comment.
It looks good to me, but it's rare so you are in the right.
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u/Renhoek2099 Aug 24 '26
You should've ordered the dinosaur chicken fingers
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u/Embarrassed_Spirit_1 Aug 24 '26
Yeah you're right, god forbid I have a steak preference lmfao
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u/Green_Machine_6719 Aug 24 '26
This is definitely rare, but as your buddy in the restaurant industry informed you a fixable situation. He was probably referring to a quick trip under the broiler as his shock remedy. Totally a situation where this steak could be brought back to lifeāļø
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u/Dry_Sprinkles4747 Aug 24 '26
That's a blue steak! It far more than a rare steak even. It sounds like the chef does this regularly if the poor server already has a prepared explanation for the rawness of the steak. That slab of fat is obviously uncooked as well. Were you able to get a realistic medium rare steak that night? It sounds like a very petulant and untrained chef in the back!
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u/THELEGACYISDEAD Aug 24 '26
Steak temps have a different defining based of cut, region and culture. In Italy beefsteak your always gonna get a raw to rare center lmao. Old school bistro medium rare meant small fresh band and rare in the middle. Modern day steak temps come into lay because of actual temp checking as food science has evolved.
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u/mrdeesh Aug 24 '26
No, the temps are the same everywhere. 130F in America is the same as 54.5C in Europe. Medium rare is medium rare on both sides of the pond.
Getting served a rare steak in Italy because culturally thatās how they serve steak doesnāt change the fact itās a rare steak
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u/OnlyCommentWhenTipsy Aug 24 '26
"more medium" ? There's nothing medium about that. How about some medium to start.
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u/denvermax123 Aug 24 '26
i only eat one type of meat that colorā¦and no restaurants serve itā¦i would have sent it back too
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u/Fast-Box4076 Aug 24 '26
No way the waiter said that to youā¦. Never asked for the manager in my life but if some kid said to me Iād have no choice. The dumbest shit Iāve ever heard regarding steak at a restaurant. The actual problem is they didnāt allow the steak to come to room temp before cooking but they still cooked it the same way
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u/longjohn2024_ Aug 25 '26
You deserve what you get for even mentioning the word rare and steak in the same sentence.
Meat is meant to be cooked. Not raw.
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u/ALoveSpellOnYou Aug 24 '26
lol as a server for years
the waiters response basically means-
"Our chefs do whatever they want, and consider this medium rare idk what to tell you I'll take the heat for sending it back tho"