Vincenzo Interesting statement about Japan and Taiwan I am curious have you tried to order a steak at an American res truant with either of these backgrounds to see if if comes out right? I must admit I have not but you may have pointed out a new venue to finding a great steak in your local town.
We need to remember that no matter how well cooked is the meat, it has bacteria on it and it does not necessarily die during the cooking process.
My steak has to be dry like a sole shoe in order for me to eat it, not necessarily burnt like JB's but dry and extremely well done. I think Outback in the US makes a very decent t-bone steak (my favorite!).
Actually, if you go to a Japanese steak restaraunt in the US and specify how you want it done, they will do a very nice job for you. Especially at a teppanyaki restaraunt, where the chefs cook on a table right in front of you (most in the US call it Benny Hanna Style). I still remember one guy ordering it bloody and the chef threw the meat on the grill for approximately 5-10 seconds, seasoned and flipped it over, cut it into squares in another 5-10 seconds and tossed it on the guy's plate. I can say he defintely got what he ordered. I ordered medium and my wife ordered well done, both were perfect. I think their cutting the steak into cubes helps keep the meat more moist during cooking as it reduces the cooking time. The only problem is...Japanese restaraunts are EXPENSIVE!
I must be a very unusual American, because I prefer my steak not just well-done, but slightly beyond that.
Unfortunately, culinary schools here in the US tend to produce one of four types of chefs:
1. A chef trained in the French tradition who has been taught never to cook a steak beyond rare,
2. A chef who considers himself to be an artiste and thinks that he knows best, not the customer,
3. A chef who is so time- and space-conscious that he refuses to let a steak take up space on his precious grill any longer than it takes to reach medium,
4. A chef that is simply too lazy to cook a steak to order, and serves it medium or less, regardless of the order.
Occasionally, one does get a chef who has learned from his customers that some people actually do like well-done steaks. Sadly, these gems are quite rare and usually reside in places a well-done steak lover is only visiting.
More often, one will find a chef (or more likely, a non-chef cook) who comes close, but is a bit frightened of over-cooking a steak.
To solve this dilemma, I no longer use the term "well-done". Instead, I say the words "Burn It" (yes, with the Capital Letters). This tells the non-chefs that I don't mind if they overcook the steak a bit, as it will probably end up exactly the way I like it, and it tells the chefs that I want it overcooked the point where they are seriously considering ways in which to murder me.
There was one memorable incident from my youth where my family (all of whom like our steaks well-done) was eating out at a restaurant where the chef was incapable of understanding the term "well-done". I, as the only one ordering steak on that particular occasion, had to send it back three times, after which my father went back to the kitchen, told the chef exactly where to go and cooked it himself. The owner (who was not the chef) understood the concept of "the customer is always right" and backed my father up. The chef was fired soon after that incident.
I consider myself fortunate that I have not had to repeat my father's actions, though I have asked more than one chef if I needed to do so. To date, they have all received the message.
Ultimately, to get a well-done steak in the US, one should be firm about the order, and have no qualms about sending it back and reminding them that you are paying for it.
First of all I love to eat a good steak I just can not afford it all the time but I do like mine done medium to medium rare. I like the center to be red but still hot enough to kill any bacteria.
I cook a lot of steaks I have cooked many special order steaks and I have no problem getting them done correctly the first time. IF you want a medium rare steak and I cook it guess what your gonna get a medium rare steak. IF you want a well done steak I will get you a well done steak and it will still be as tender as I can get it. I like to make peoples steak eating an enjoyable time. I know my grill serves up only the best cooked meat I can serve.
Restaurants not good at explaining risks of undercooked meat to customers
Front-line staff, such as servers in restaurants, are often trusted with providing customers with food safety information regarding their meals. A challenge to the food-service industry is that these positions have high turnover, relatively low wages and servers are focused primarily on providing patrons with a positive experience. And new research shows that this poses a problem. Ref. Source 8f.
I prefer medium cooked steaks myself. I can eat medium well or well done but they don't have the flavor that a medium does in my opinion. Some really high quality steaks taste great well done. Most of them however taste tough and lacking flavor. If I wanted it like that I would eat beef jerky. Just kidding *smile*.