What is the appeal of eating meat cooked rare?

Question

All the TV chefs and best restaurants insist that meat should be pink in the inside. I have eaten at some restaurants and have blood spew across the plate when I try to cut into my meat. I think its disgusting and I do not eat meat which is pink in the inside. Meat should be BROWN throughout!! For that reason I rarely eat red meat at restaurants (i find white meat and fish tend to be cooked more throughly)

I know I am one of a dying breed of people who feel this way.

ANyone out there understand where I am coming from? FOr those who prefer their meat pink, what is the appeal?

to SAYS ME: the incident with the blood spewing everywhere was when i was on holiday in Rio de Janeiro. My Portuguese was really basic but I managed communicate to the waiter to send the steak back TWICE - and it still came back bloody. That experience, coupled with other similar I have had here in the UK, has put me off eating red meat point blank in restaurants full stop, cos sending it back rarely has much effect. Plus I can sense that the chef and waiters probably think I am some kinda backward heathen for wanting my meat to be cooked properly!!

to respond to some other comments, i have always, always insisted on my meat being well done, but there appears to be a world between what they consider " well done" and what I consider "well done". Even at the incident in Rio I had specifically asked for it to be well done and it still came back bloody.

Answer 1

I totally agree with you, my fella & my dad both eat it rare and i really dont see the appeal, they have blood all over the plate mixing with other food. I have tried it and it was disgusting!

Me, i like meat when its properly cooked and tender, the kind where its falling off the bone....yum!! Im more of a white meat girl too!

And, your chance of getting worms from eating meat rare is increased by 85%!!!!! ewww!!!

Answer 2

Red meat is always served Rare, unless you ask for it otherwise, because that's the way it's meant to be served.

You don't like it that way, because you have a preconceived idea that blood is bad and shouldn't be eaten/drunk. You've obviously seen too many horror films. You haven't talked about taste, only about colour and aspect, and taste is supposed to be the most important when eating, isn't it?

You are right, blood and uncooked meat have a higher chance of carrying bacteria, but if it's from a good restaurant close to a farm, where the meat is fresh and treated properly then there is no real risk. My favorite ever meat restaurant is in Spain, in the Pyrenees. The owners had a farm, and all the food in the restaurant came from their farm. They served fillet steak in big cubes, like a rubics cube, and so it was really raw in the middle.
You eat around the outside, then hand it back to the waiter who puts it back in the fire to cook another layer. That way, you can eat down to whatever level of raw you can handle, and it's always hot !
Great place, and the meat cut like butter !

Answer 3

It is supposed to have more flavor, more juiciness, etc. However, it is very important to have the right cut of meat. If you just go out and eat a package of raw hamburger meat, it will tast pretty gross (at least most people think so). If it is a tender filet that has been aged and cooked properly, it can be delicious rare. The same goes for fish. Some of the best salmon I ever had was seared with a translucent center. But, if you don't like it, you don't like it. Don't let a food snob tell you what you should like.

Answer 4

I have always loved my meals with meat to be cooked rare. To me it adds a great taste. Especially mixed with certain spices, sauces, and/or seasonings. It is moist, not dried out like a medium or well done (let us say we are talking about steak here) steak. But if you are the type that like to eat your steak or any other kind of meat well done, so be it, it is your choice and the restaurant should always ask you once you order it. If it does come too pink for you all you have to do is tell the waiter or waitress to have the cook to cook it a little bit more for you. But as far as I know the meat has to be cooked for so long due to legal reasons. If you ask for a rare steak, they have to cook it for so long and make sure it was on for the required time limit by law. If not say the person gets a tapeworm, food sickness, or other nasty parasite and they can come back and sue the place for negligence and unhealthy cooking procedures among other lawsuits. My appeal to the rare cooked meat is it is juicy and moist, i find well done or medium to be too dried out for my tastes. I hate having to chew through fully cooked meat, it is so dry and bland to me.

Answer 5

I changed, I was like you!

But after a trip to France I changed as the less (but still 100% cooked) rare meat allows you to taste the flavour of the meat.

Don't think that it is not cooked if you where blind folded and feed different warm (cooked) meats the well done one's will taste less and they will be more like bits of rubber compared to the less well done cooked rarer meat.

I think it's a mind set and the idea that the meat is not cooked (and the blood thing) than is your / the problem. Forget the blood thing the more meat is cooked the less goodness and nutrition there is left in it.

Hope this helps and makes ya think less or change attitude / approach and thinking slightly...
Go for it! (with red wine)
Cheers

Answer 6

My daughter who is 11 loves her meat rare. It has a different flavor and texture than a piece of meat that is cooked all the way threw. If you had meat at a restaurant that spewed blood across your plate then the restaurant didn't serve it right. For meat to be moist and still juicy you have to let the meat stand 10-15 minutes for the juices to redistribute. So I would say the it is mainly texture and taste that is appealing to people who eat their meat rare.

Answer 7

I totally agree with you. I think meat should be brown throughout. I guess it is personal preference. I can't stand to eat pink beef. It tastes to me like the iron tablets I used to take when I was little because I was anemic. I've been to a few parties where they didn't thouroughly cook the meat and I just don't eat it. Why ruin my night by trying to eat something to me that just isn't appealing. Thank goodness there is someone out there besides me that eats well cooked beef. Happy Holidays!

Answer 8

I personally eat steak, lamb and duck blue, i have tried eating it more well done but find that it is tough and looses so much of the taste, infact the best way to eat beef is caparchio (think that is how it is spelt) which is very thinly sliced raw beef with olive oil and parmesan cheese slithers, Being a Chef, i have no problems if i have to cook meat well done for others. I guess it comes down to personal taste..

Answer 9

Rare meat has more flavor a better texture and obviously more moisture. I absolutely am not able to eat an over cooked steak. It is too dry for me to digest.

It is sad that you have a hard time getting a steak cooked to your liking. Chefs are afraid to over cook a steak because it destroys the flavor and they are afraid to under cook it because of food poisoning scares. I actually have the same problem. I tend to find mine over cooked and unfortunately can't get it recooked without waiting for a whole new steak which puts the rest of my party waiting for me to finish.

Answer 10

Meat cooked rare is generally more tender. A little pink is ok, too raw and it's kinda gross. If the meat seams a little to pink for you, let it sit a minute or two, it will cook a bit more. Most meats dry out when they are cooked to well done.