Steak - Rare, Medium or Well Done?

Steak Doneness: How Do You Like It?

Steak: Rare, Medium, or Well Done?
Some people want their steaks well done: Charred on the outside, thoroughly brown and chewy on the inside.

Others want their steaks done medium or medium rare, with a warm, succulent, juicy pink center. Some people want their steaks so rare that it practically moos when they stick a fork in it. I like my steaks done to a tender and flavorful medium rare. However, I've been strongly tempted to try rare...

So what kind of a steak eater are you? Do you prefer a crispy critter, or do you like your steaks pink and juicy?

Degrees of Cooking

Well done: Grayish-brown with no sign of pink, usually slightly charred on the outside. Cooking a good steak to this level of doneness is a challenge. It has to be done slowly on low heat, or else you end up with shoe leather.

Medium well: Mostly gray-brown throughout, but with a hint of pale pink inside. Good for someone who wants an ever-so-slightly juicy steak, but detests any sign of "blood" in their meat.

Medium: A more pronounced band of pink in the middle of the steak. However, there should still be slightly more gray-brown than pink coloration.

Medium rare: Warm and mostly pink to red center. Firm on the outside, soft and juicy on the inside.

Rare: Cool or warm red center. It's nearly like raw meat, but obviously cooked on the outside.

Very rare or blue: Red, cool, and practically raw. It's barely cooked for the true carnivores amongst us.

Raw: I think this one is self-explanatory. Die-hard carnivores can go for this.