However, many chefs and steak connoisseurs will say that medium rare provides the best steak flavor. Medium rare also allows the steak to retain its juiciness, whereas a more cooked steak tends to be a drier piece of meat.
Medium rare is the most ideal because it provides the best and truest flavor of the beef, and allows for a charred outside and cool interior. Anything above medium-rare starts to take away from the texture and flavor of the beef.
A medium-rare steak is juicy, tender, and packed with flavor. When you cut a medium-rare steak, you'll see that the meat is pinkish on the outside and a deeper red inside, but not so red that it looks like raw beef. Instead, it's the ideal point between undercooked and ruined.
Most chefs regard beef cooked to medium-rare — with an internal temperature of 130-135F (55-57C) — as the best way to bring out flavour and retain moisture in tender cuts such as rib eye and top loin. Unlike rare, medium-rare allows time for the outside to caramelise and develop a sear.
If you eat undercooked chicken, you can get a foodborne illness, also called food poisoning. You can also get sick if you eat other foods or beverages that are contaminated by raw chicken or its juices.
The answer: When it comes to nutrients – protein, iron, zinc, etc. – there's no difference between steak that is cooked medium rare or well done. The concern is that meat cooked until it's well done contains more potential carcinogens called heterocyclic amines (HCAs) than meat cooked for a shorter time.
Whether you have your steak medium-rare or well done (or any of the variation in between, as well as extra rare and rare) is simply personal preference. Yes, medium-rare steak will usually be more tender and juicy, but well done steak can also be tender and juicy – it's all about how you cook it.
Medium (or Medium-Rare) Meat
That means your steak or burger will be tender but well-cooked and provide just enough flavor. High-quality meat will be tasty at this temperature and tender enough to chew easily. The center of the meat will display a light pink color with charred brown outsides.
What's more, the red juice that oozes from your medium-rare steak isn't blood, either. It's the same protein found at the bottom of your packaging, according to The Huffington Post. Rare steaks and burgers aren't exposed to heat for as long as well-done meats, causing more red myoglobin to be present.
A medium steak no longer contains a red center, but is pink throughout most of the steak. Medium steaks retain the buttery, flavorful taste of Medium-Rare steaks, but have slightly less juiciness and tenderness, due to moisture loss.
Blue steak is the rarest and most tender way to prepare a steak, making it an essential part of menus in steakhouses and restaurants.
Rare beef is tender and moist, that's why. The more you cook meat the more moisture is purged from the meat. Muscle fibers also contract, making the meat firmer, as they cook. Meat that is firmer and has less moisture isn't as tasty to some as moist tender meat.
If we're talking beef steaks, and beef steaks only, the verdict is that eating pink meat is safe – if it's medium rare. Bacteria primarily resides on the outer surface of the steak, and doesn't penetrate the inside, notably E. coli.
Steak doesn't contain parasites that chicken and pork do — eating it rare doesn't pose any health risks. Medium rare steaks are warm with a pink to red centre — soft and juicy on the inside and firm on the outside.
The main difference between medium rare and medium steak is the level of doneness – or the degree to which the meat has been cooked. A medium rare steak is cooked until the center of the meat registers between 130 and 135 degrees Fahrenheit. It is almost completely pink in the center, except for a little red.
Visually, a medium-rare steak will have a medium pink to red center and will be warm to the touch. Contrary to popular belief, the cut will not be red meat, undercooked meat, or raw meat, but rather, have a light pink center that's safe to eat.
“Officials say the internal temperature of a steak, or other solid cut of meat, is not a significant health concern because harmful bacteria that may be present would normally only be on the surface of the meat, and would be eliminated even if cooked “rare.””
Steak that is slightly pink in the middle may be offered to children as young as 6 months of age as long as the internal temperature of the cooked meat has reached 145 F (63 C) and the meat is allowed to rest for a few minutes before it is served. This cooking method reduces the risk of foodborne illness.
Yes, anybody can as long as they can chew it. Medium Rare is safe to eat because there are little to no dangerous microbes deep in the steak because it is a dense meat.
Well done steak is harder to digest
While some folks might prefer to have all of the pink grilled out of their steak, doing so actually makes it harder to digest. According to Best Ground Beef, when beef is overcooked, the proteins, fats, and sugars all melt together.
It may fear of the health consequences of undercooked meat. It may be fear of the red juice/blood that a rare or medium rare steak produces. (Note: the red juices that are seen in a rare or medium rare steak are NOT blood. All the blood of the cow is actually removed during processing, long before it's a steak.
Undercooked. If a steak hasn't been cooked long enough, it can become chewy or tough as there hasn't been enough time for the heat to fully penetrate and melt the fat and any connective tissue.
They asked people how they order their steak and they found that most people prefer their steak cooked medium-rare, followed by medium, and then medium-well.
If the fresh meat is a steak, roast or chop, then yes — medium-rare can be safe. That means the meat needs to reach 145°F internally and stand for three or more minutes before cutting or consuming.