Black and Blue Steak VS Medium Rare
I am a steak lover and always get medium rare because I love a nice red center and a charred outside. My friend told me that he gets his steaks "black and blue" which means charred and crisp on the outside and rare on the inside. Just wanted to know what the big difference between the two is? And also will top steakhouses know what "black and blue" means?
steakrules85
Mar 01, 2007 05:12PM
Yes, top steakhouses will indeed know what black and blue means. Medium rare, on the other hand, does not mean nice red center and a charred outside. It means more - nice red center, surrounded by dark pink, with a grilled outside. The big thing for black and blue is that it is grilled/seared over very high heat for a short period of time. It is mostly raw in the middle, with only the outside charred to a bit of a crisp. Bring rare into the equation; it is like black and blue, but not charred to a crisp. Just grilled regularly.
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This is also referred to as "Pittsburg," though I don't know why. Some places can't get their flattop hot enough to acheive this, though. I have ordered my steaks "Pittsburg Rare" at a few different restaurants, and it's surprising to me that only one place hasn't known what that was. When done correctly with a beautiful piece of meat, it's delicious.
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Black and Blue isn't charred outside, rare inside. It is charred outside, raw inside. It has a cold red, raw, slippery center, not a warm red center.
http://www.goodcooking.com/steak/doneness.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steak
http://www.emerils.com/recipes/by_nam...
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I'm not sure I'd make the switch directly from medium rare to black and blue. Thats a big jump. Think of black and blue steak the same way you'd think of a seared tuna steak. Crusty on the outside but cold and raw in the middle. I believe the difference between rare and black and blue is that rare is a cool/slighly warm red center while black and blue is a cold red center.
Years ago I ate my steak medium rare but as I got older and ate more steak I kept progressing more and more towards rare. First I asked for rare-medium rare or sometimes it was known as rare plus. Now, I just get rare. Haven't gone to black and blue yet but I feel thats my next progression. the only problem I have occasionally with ordering steak rare is that sometimes it will not be cooked long enough to develop that nice crust I love.
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