What is the difference between medium, medium, and medium-rare steaks? Finally figured it out...

Expert of this article: Liu Jingjing, PhD in Food Biotechnology, China Agricultural University

For those who "can't live without meat"

For my friends

A must-have on the dining table

All kinds of meat products

Among the many meats

beef

Loved by many people

And the steak

It can be said to occupy the "C" position

Combining beauty and deliciousness

Every time I eat steak

Have you ever thought about this question?

Why can steak be eaten medium rare or medium rare?

But chicken and pork need to be fully cooked?

today

Let me give you some scientific knowledge

What is the difference between different degrees of doneness of steak?

To ensure the unique tenderness of steak, steak is usually divided into three levels: rare, medium, well-done and well-done according to the degree of doneness.

For a medium-rare steak, only the upper and lower layers of the cross section are gray-brown, while the rest of the steak is basically raw, slightly elastic, and contains a large amount of bright red blood. The internal temperature is approximately 55-58°C.

For a medium-rare steak, there is about 50% raw meat in the center of the cross section. The meat color is light gray mixed with light brown, with a slight hint of blood. The gravy is light red, relatively clear, and elastic. The internal temperature is about 60-63℃.

The cross section of a medium-rare steak is mainly light gray-brown, with a small piece of raw meat in the center. There is little blood in the meat, and the gravy is light white. It is hard and elastic, and the internal temperature is about 66-68℃.

A well-done steak is brown inside, has colorless and transparent juices, a dark skin, is hard and less elastic, and the center temperature of the steak is about 70°C.

Is the “blood” in steak actually blood?

The main coloring substances in meat are hemoglobin and myoglobin. When the blood is drained sufficiently during slaughter, myoglobin becomes the main coloring substance in meat.

Qualified meat will go through a strict slaughtering and bleeding process, which is the key link to determine the quality of meat and its hygiene. Therefore, the blood in steak is mainly myoglobin, not blood.

Isn't it safe to cook steak well-done?

Regular beef slaughtering and processing companies have very strict control over the quality and safety of meat. They can even trace the source of each piece of livestock and poultry meat, ensuring that beef products are free of contamination from harmful microorganisms or other harmful substances when leaving the factory, making them safer to eat raw.

Small-scale beef cattle slaughtering workshops are relatively backward in terms of tools, environment, personnel, and operating methods, so cross-contamination may occur during the production process, especially the microbial contamination situation is difficult to control, and it is difficult to ensure the production of high-quality beef products. Such beef products cannot be eaten raw.

The best parts for making steak can be divided into four parts:

Beef tenderloin, the longest muscle on the cow's back, is called fillet steak;

The tenderloin of the upper loin of beef is called sirloin steak or sirloin steak;

The rib eye steak is made from the meat on the side of the ribs.

T-bone steak is T-shaped and is made from a large piece of beef consisting of the tenderloin, spine and tenderloin on the back of the cow.

Studies have shown that different degrees of doneness have a significant impact on basic nutrients such as protein, fat, and water in steak.

The content of monounsaturated fatty acids in medium-rare steak is high, which is easy for human digestion and absorption and has high nutritional value. Well-done steak has a high center temperature, and the beef protein aggregates and denatures, which hides the enzymatic sites and makes it difficult to be enzymatically digested.

You can choose steaks of different doneness levels according to your preferences.

Why can steak be eaten medium-rare, but chicken and pork must be eaten well-done?

Due to the different growth habits of animals, raw pork may contain parasites and there is a risk of transmitting diseases such as tapeworm disease, trichinosis, and ascariasis. It needs to be cooked until thoroughly cooked before it can be eaten safely.

During the slaughtering process, live chickens may come into contact with feces, slaughter sewage, and odors, which may cause some pathogens in fresh chicken, posing a potential threat to human health. Therefore, chicken must be cooked until fully cooked before it can be eaten.

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