Two of the most popular ways to prepare a steak are tagliata – grilled strip loin, sliced and served with peppery arugula and lemon – and Bistecca alla Fiorentina, an extra thick T-bone grilled over high heat.
Beef Tagliata is one of Italy's most popular ways to prepare steak. A boneless steak is marinated in balsamic vinegar, olive oil and rosemary, then grilled. The steak is then sliced thin and served over peppery arugula and cherry tomatoes that have been been dressed with lemon juice and salt.
Eat: Beef can be braised (brasato and arrosto), roasted, grilled (bistecca alla fiorentina), stewed (coda alla vaccinara, garofolato, and stufato), or boiled (bollito misto). It can also be minced and added to sauces (ragù alla bolognese), meatballs, or meatloaves.
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.
By a small margin, the most popular way to have your steak prepared is… Well done!
Two of the most popular ways to prepare a steak are tagliata – grilled strip loin, sliced and served with peppery arugula and lemon – and Bistecca alla Fiorentina, an extra thick T-bone grilled over high heat.
Most big steakhouses broil their steaks, using overhead, infrared broilers that produce incredibly hot temperatures to cook steaks. Don't worry though, you don't need to go out and invest in one, but the principle is the same. You need incredibly high heat in direct contact with the meat.
The French eat beef raw, undercooked, and well done. Both beef tartare and beef carpaccio are popular dishes. Tartare is like a hamburger but chopped instead of ground, while carpaccio is very thinly sliced meat or fish. Steak tartare is a dish made from finely chopped raw meat or fish.
According to a YouTube video, the chef states that he does not eat well-done steak, as the cooking method deprives quality beef of its inherent flavor. Despite his hardline stance, Ramsay is happy to prepare steak at any doneness to meet the needs of the customer.
The most common techniques in Italian cooking are: Boiling or simmering: food is cooked in hot water. Examples of this include pastas, rice, vegetables, and tough but flavorful cuts of meat.
“Vorrei una bistecca ben cotta, per favore.” (“I would like a well-done steak, please.”)
Italian Cuts and Dishes
The most prized cuts are the lombata, the filetto, and the Fiorentina…or the sirloin, tenderloin, and the hefty T-bone steak carved out from between the two.
This is one of the most important tips of all so do not skip this step! When steak cooks, the muscle fibers tighten. If you cut into those tight muscle fibers as soon as it's off the heat, all the juices pour out. That's why resting meat for 5-10 minutes is the secret for preparing a juicy and tender steak.
For a medium-rare steak, aim to remove the steak from the heat at about 130°F, about eight minutes total cooking. For a medium steak, 140°F is the sweet spot at a total of nine to 10 minutes cooking. A well-done steak will take about 12 minutes.
If you want to order a well-done steak in French, you'll need to say “bien cuit,” literally well cooked. Bien cuit or well done is probably the least popular way for steak eaters to order their meat in France. The interior is fully cooked with no pink visible.
You should hold the knife in your right hand with your index finger extended down the back of the utensil. Then, holding the fork in your left hand, pin down the meat and cut a single bite in a zigzag motion. Finally, place the knife on the plate and transfer to fork to your right hand to take the bite. Psst!
For a medium-rare steak just ask for your steak entre à point et bien cuit.
The center of the steak becomes supersaturated with liquid—there's more liquid in there than it can hold on to—so when you slice it open, all that extra liquid pours out. By resting the steaks, you allow all that liquid that was forced out of the edges and into the center time to migrate back out to the edges.
Your steak probably tastes better at a steakhouse because we use lots (and lots) of butter. Bonus points when it's compound butter! Even the dishes that aren't served with a pat of butter on top are likely doused with a ladle of clarified butter to give the steak a glossy sheen and a rich finish.