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Steak eaters: how do you like your steak cooked? And what cut is your favorite?

Doneness and Cuts

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ting1984

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My family used to always order steaks well-done. I later learned that foodies frown upon this, and medium rare is considered best for juiciness, tenderness, and flavor. I've since tried steaks at different levels of cooking, and I've decided that medium is my favorite. Medium rare doesn't quite render the fat enough for my liking, while going beyond medium turns the steak into dry shoe leather instead of tender and juicy. I like pink, tender, juicy steak best.

Among cuts, I like ribeye the best. It's got more flavor and a better texture than KC/NY strip. As for the less fatty cuts, I don't find filet mignon to be that flavorful. If I want a less fatty steak, I'll go with top sirloin; it's cheaper than filet, but just as (if not moreso) flavorful, imo.
 
Was never a big steak eater to begin with. But when I did, I'd follow how my mom got hers done - well done. I have since woken up to the real world (all those wasted years!), and have realized that medium is the way to go. Cut doesn't matter to me, whatever is the cheapest.
 
I don't care about the cut of steak that I get, the important thing for me is that the cook is medium-rare. I've had well-done steaks too many times growing up and it's always turned me off from wanting steak until I finally had one that was medium-rare, which was so much better than well-done.
 
I'm not big on meat so I don't really get into steak that often but...I prefer blue rare. I don't like fat so I prefer lean quality steaks.
 
I've never really been a big steak eater and I don't eat it all anymore (or any red meat) due to health problems but I always used to have mine cooked medium-rare, leaning more towards the rare side and I always picked the filet mignon cut as it was usually the most tender and was generally the smallest piece so it was easier to get through.
 
Anything in between medium to rare is good with me. When eating out I usually order medium rare. I find this also to be the safest because if you are eating at a less than fancy restaurant and they slightly overcook or undercook the steak then I still get a steak that I'm happy with.
 
Medium to be honest. It has to be from a place that does steaks well, however. I’ve learned my lesson about not going to some restaurant that focuses on other cuisine and ordering a steak instead. If I want a steak then I’m going to go to a steakhouse. No preference on the cut.
 
I tend to prefer rare to medium rare. I like when the outside is crispy and slightly charred but the inside is still pink. Kind of a difficult balance but it's really good if you get it right. As for cuts, I don't care too much but T-bone and ribeye are both good.
 
Interesting results so far...no well-doners yet. I did research on other forums and polls on this sort of thing, and there's something of a stereotype that women supposedly like their steaks more well-done than men typically. But I wonder if this is more of an age-based thing...we have mostly younger female members here, who have likely been more exposed to the medium rare preference that's become more of a thing in the last couple of decades.

(Anecdotally, btw, my Boomer dad isn't big on medium rare himself, and my Gen Xer husband doesn't eat meat at all.)
 
Not a big steak fan. I do like it chopped up in a hoagie roll with some melted cheese on top thou.

Idk much about cuts so I'm gonna say tenderloin. That sounds like what I usually eat, but I also don't buy the steak so idek what part that is.

As far as cooked, I hate seeing pink, so whatever no pink is, I want that. I know its safe to eat if it has reached the proper internal temperature even if it's still pink but I just don't like seeing pink. I also know a little pink makes the meat more tender but I still don't like looking at it.
 
I rarely eat steak, but when I do it has to be medium. Rare or medium-rare is too under-cooked for me and medium well or well done feels like it's dry and/or burnt.

For your research, my parents (both boomers) prefer their steaks well done, so that's how I grew up eating them until I found out medium was so much better. My father-in-law, also a boomer, prefers his steak rare. My husband, a Gen-Xer like myself, doesn't eat red meat because it causes him stomach trouble.

Edit: I forgot to add that I really don't have a preference on the cut because I haven't had enough different types to choose between them. I often just get whatever comes in the smallest size because I can't eat any of the bigger cuts.
 
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LadyDestani said:
I rarely eat steak, but when I do it has to be medium. Rare or medium-rare is too under-cooked for me and medium well or well done feels like it's dry and/or burnt.

For your research, my parents (both boomers) prefer their steaks well done, so that's how I grew up eating them until I found out medium was so much better. My father-in-law, also a boomer, prefers his steak rare. My husband, a Gen-Xer like myself, doesn't eat red meat because it causes him stomach trouble.

Edit: I forgot to add that I really don't have a preference on the cut because I haven't had enough different types to choose between them. I often just get whatever comes in the smallest size because I can't eat any of the bigger cuts.
Click to expand...

My dad became a foodie in the last decade or two, and it took him a long time to even try the foodie thing with steaks, because well-done was such a thing in older generations. My older half-sister is Gen Jones, and she still will only eat steak well-done.

As far as cuts, it took me awhile to learn what cuts are, and the sizes -- I don't cook much myself, or handle unprocessed meat much, so I had to read up on it. I think I grew up always getting well-done top sirloin; that cut looks and tastes so familiar to me, I grew up thinking all steak was top sirloin basically, lol. Ribeye and strip are pretty big, and as big as I'll go. The smallest is filet/tenderloin, though top sirloin is pretty small, too. T-Bone is so big it combines two cuts: filet and strip. And porterhouse is an even bigger t-bone. I've never had that one, admittedly; I've only had t-bone once.
 
I don't eat it often, but medium-rare is how I go, leaning toward the rare side. Because I'm not making shoe leather, I don't mind a leaner cut, but I don't have it often enough to have a distinct preference.
 
The cut usually doesn't matter to me, but I always order medium-well or medium steak.
 
I always like Medium. It’s a good halfway point. I’ll eat medium rare and medium well, but not well or rare. I’d always prefer medium anyway.

I don’t really care about the cut, but strip is probably my favorite.
 
The biggest things I've noticed about the different cuts are the textural and flavor differences. The strip steaks and top sirloin are chewier in texture, although the top sirloin is ultimately easier to chew since it also isn't very fatty. Ribeye and filet are very tender, but ribeye has more flavor due to the fat.

One sad thing about my beloved ribeye is it's so huge and fatty that I rarely can eat more than 50% of it. The 50% that isn't overly fatty, is amazing and some of the best-tasting stuff in the world. But I can eat almost 100% of a top sirloin because it's so small and low-fat.

I also didn't mention steak grades, or quality at different restaurants. I've found local restaurants always seem to have better quality grade steaks than the larger chains. I especially avoid steaks at Ruby Tuesday. If you have top sirloin there, vs. a place like Cheddar's, it's like two different steaks. Ruby Tuesday top sirloins are gross and almost inedible. But top sirloins at Cheddar's are almost perfection.
 
bro, steak is delicious. i don’t have it very often but a medium-well filet mignon is just *chefs kiss* 🤤.
 
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