juicier and more tender, but also delivers fat-soluble flavor
compounds to the tongue and palate—beef at this
temperature tastes significantly “beefier” than beef at
120°F. When tasting the steaks blind, even self-
proclaimed rare-meat lovers preferred this one, making it
the most popular choice.- 140°F (medium): Solid rosy pink and quite firm to the
touch. With more than a 6-percent moisture loss, the meat
is still moist but verging on dry. Prolonged chewing
results in the familiar “sawdust” texture of overcooked
meat. But the fat is fully rendered at this stage, delivering
plenty of beefy flavor. This was the second most popular
choice. - 150°F (medium-well): Still pink but verging on gray. At
this stage, the muscle fibrils have contracted heavily,
causing the moisture loss to jump precipitously—up to 12
percent. Definite dryness in the mouth, with a chewy,
fibrous texture. The fat has fully rendered and begun to
collect outside the steak, carrying away flavor with it. - 160°F (well-done): Dry, gray, and lifeless. Moisture loss is
up to 18 percent, and the fat is completely rendered. What
once was cow is now dust.
So, as far as temperature goes, my strong
recommendation is to stick within the 130° to 140°F range.
To all you hard-core carnivores out there who insist on
cooking your well-marbled, Prime-grade steaks rare, you are
doing yourself a disservice: unless it renders and softens, the
fat in a well-marbled piece of meat is worthless. You may as
well be eating lean, Choice-, or Select-grade beef.