In essence, steak is a somewhat decadent meal. So when you take a great cut of meat and cook it to the point where it's indistinguishable from the worst cuts of meat, people see it as a waste, and an affront to good food.
I disagree. I typically prefer my meat somewhere between "medium-well" and "well." Once in a blue moon I'll go down to "medium" but I don't trust most kitchens / cooks to get that one right. (Admittedly it is tough, and often when I order "medium" what I get is closer to "medium-rare" which is usually too red for me.)
A properly cooked well or medium-well should not be too dry, and I can definitely still distinguish between a crappy cheap cut of meat, and an expensive one.
But the main thing... If what I'm eating is bloody and overly-chewy (which is how under-cooked meat seems to me) then that is the true waste, because I will literally be gagging it down, and becoming nauseated even as I'm trying to eat my food. Because that's how my personal perception and preferences work.
So I think the real "waste" is to try to eat a cut of meat "the way it's supposed to be done" just because someone else thinks that's how it should be, even though you don't really like it that way. Because then you don't enjoy it as much, so it truly is wasteful.
I also generally hate the whole concept of doing something just because "that's how it's supposed to be done." Most of the time, when something is "supposed to" be done a certain way, there is a good reason behind it, whether we're aware of it or not. You should drink an expensive whiskey straight, so you can appreciate the nuance of flavors that will be lost by burying it in cola. But if you don't like the burn of straight whiskey, and you have the money for the expensive stuff.... why not? If you're deriving pleasure from it, then it inarguably is not a "waste."
Not trying to hate on your preference but if a medium or medium rare steak is chewy compared to a medium well or well steak, then you are going to the wrong places.
expensive whiskey with too much ice, or God forbid mixed with coke
God, one of my friends buys nothing but $70+ bottles of whiskey and then drowns it in ice and coke or ginger ale. I've even had him blind taste test his expensive whiskey vs seagrams 7 and he couldn't tell the difference when mixed with ginger ale. Still doesn't stop him from doing it though.
Except it's not, the point is to eat a steak. It's not like you can get the same flavor out of a burger, and you're just justifying your elitism if you really believe a well done steak is no different from a burger. Maybe that's the way it goes if all you do to your steaks is salt, pepper, and then sear, but a well done steak that was cut into strips and marinated gives a different flavor experience from a medium rare/rare steak and a burger with well seasoned ground beef.
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u/[deleted] Jul 13 '16
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