What's wrong with asking for meat to be well done?

Question

Why do people repeat what I say as a a question if I ask for a steak or a hamburger to be well done? Am I breaking a rule here?

Answer 1

I think it is just an uncommon request. Might vary based on what part of the country you live in too, I hear. Also, I think restaurants are wary because if your steak comes TOO overdone, it's not like they can fix it. People might have different ideas of what well done is. I usually ask for medium-rare, and they always double question me as well. The difference there is, I can always have them cook mine more, where if your steak is what you consider over cooked, and could ruin easily, they'd have to start over.

Answer 2

steaks and burgers are very different things, Unless steak is actually ground on site most municipalities will not allow you to serve a rare/ medium rare burger . The reason for this is that while the source meat is not usuallycontaminated ,the process of making ground beef with all the handling required by people and machines significantly raises the probability of food borne illness.
A steak doesn't have those issues, since the temperature of a commercial grill or salamander is enough to kill anything growing on the steaks exterior and contaminants don't exist inside the muscle.
A prime1.5" rib -eye steak charred on the outside and medium rare in the middle is a thing of beauty . As you cook it more the beauty rapidly declines until you arrive at well done and the beauty is gone. When a waiter asks you about that what he means is " Are you you sure you want to be doing that to this beautiful and expensive piece of meat ? "
When he comes in my kitchen he's apologetic about it-and then we all say bad things about you

Answer 3

Because its kills the flavor and texture of them meat. Its a burnt mess. The only thing that should ever be cook well throughly is the hamburger since bacteria thrives more in ground meat than a steak. Careful when you order your steaks that way, since cooks like to give a lower grade cut of beef for those that order well done.

Answer 4

IMO, there are two types of meals to consider...

Steaks, burgers, and other grilling are meats which I feel should be eaten rare to medium. They are quickly cooked which lends to the surface being charred and the middle remaining rare. Over-cooking while grilling can give you a burnt taste and tough meat.

Next, you have slow cooking. When using this method, I see no problem with well done meat. It cooks evenly throughout, and is less likely to have a burnt taste. In addition, if you slow cook in a sauce, the meat will always come out moist.

The above was all strictly my opinion.

Answer 5

No, not at all. Not everyone can eat meat with a lil or a lot of pink in the middle. I take it that most people eat it with a lil pink in it. I always order my burger/steak or whatever kinda meat I'm eating to be well done. Eating meat with some pink in it makes me feel like I'm eating something raw. Go ahead and get it well-done.

Answer 6

Most everyone knows that when cooking meat if it's cooked well done it loses alot of it's flavor as well as tendernous and it seems a waste if it's a really good cut of meat. However if your preferance is well done than you should ignore what other people think and eat your meat the way you like it even if it lacks more taste and is a tough piece of meat to chew.

Answer 7

Nothing's wrong, it's your personal preference. But a lot of people would argue that medium or rare steak has better flavor and texture. I would never eat a rare hamburger, though...risky!

Answer 8

Generally people who really enjoy the taste of beef appreciate it more when its cooked rare. Cooking beef until its well done changes the texture and the taste. If thats the way you like it, thats the way you should get it. I do encourage you to get past whatever distaste you have for pink beef and at least sample it medium rare to see what I am talking about.

Answer 9

In restaurants, most would prefer that they cook it medium rare, but if someone were to order well done, it Will be cooked that way. If you are at a house as a guest, nothing wrong with your request, either way it is your choice.

Answer 10

when i was a server, i always repeated back to the guest to be sure, wether they order rare or well done. personally i have to have my burgers well done, but i prefer my steaks medium well, because they will finish cooking to well done by the time it gets to the table and it isnt dried out and leathery.