"well done" news and stories

Have you noticed how the centers of your steaks have become bloodier over time? Since, say, 1982, according to New York Times food writer Florence Fabricant?

Susan Burton has. In an essay on Slate.com, Burton publicly declares her meat preference as "cooked through, gray, no trace of pink." And while you may think that sounds like she's ordering up shoe leather, Burton says "that [her choice] signifies 'food safety.'" With that, she sets off on a fascinating historical journey of how the tradition of cooking meat well done has slowly slipped out of favor in American kitchens.

I, like so many other people, always assumed that In-N-Out burgers only came one way: well done. The vast majority of fast food burgers are served this way and, while I don't mind the odd crisp edge that appears on well-cooked burgers, many fast food fans lament the lack of juiciness in their meat. Lament no more, In-N-Out fans. According to a post on A Hamburger Today, you can get your burgers cooked medium-rare or rare at In-N-Out restaurants. Someone who identified himself as an In-N-Out associate told them that all you have to do is let the person taking your order know that you want it cooked to a certain doneness.

A fresh, delicious and extra juicy fast food burger? Quick - someone stop by In-N-Out for lunch and try this out. We want to know if it's true!

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It is difficult to tell when a steak is done simply by looking at it unless you like your meat very, very rare or very, very well-done. The cooking times given in recipes, if given at all, tend to be vague because the temperatures that our grills and stoves work at can vary so widely. For example, a dial set to "medium heat"  on one stove might actually produce as large a flame as "high heat" in another kitchen. Cutting meat open once at the end of cooking isn't a big deal, but if you need to keep checking the interior of the meat, you can lose a lot of the cooking juices. The best way to check if the meat is done is by using a meat thermometer (125F for rare, 135F for medium, and 155F for well-done, according to Real Simple), but you can also use your hand as a reference and determine the doneness from the firmness of the meat.

I labeled a diagram of a hand, above, to identify the reference points. Simply press the labeled spots on your hand. They correspond with the following levels of doneness:

1. Rare meat should feel soft and offer little resistance to pressure.
2. Medium meat should feel firm, but with a little bit of give to it. The less give, the more well-done the piece will be.
3. Well done meat should also feel firm, but will have only minimal give to it.

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