As far as steak temperatures go, I thought I'd seen it all. Medium and medium rare are probably the most popular. My experience shows that medium well follows in popularity, with well-done next and rare pulling up the rear. I don't know why, but I still love it when someone orders a rare steak. You go. Just last night a gentleman ordered a ribeye from me, and when I asked him how he wanted it cooked, he said, "It's probably ready right now." Extra rare, heard.
Then there are the less-frequent temp orders. People who don't know they don't actually like steak order it butterflied and cooked well-done, with a side of ketchup. Some guests want it Pittsburgh rare (or "black and blue"), which indicates a crispy charred exterior and a cold red center.
But this guy. This guy liked it raw. He ordered a 9-ounce filet mignon and told his server he didn't want it cooked. "Just sprinkle some salt and pepper on it, please." This was definitely something new. My co-worker came back to the side station to tell us all, and when the guest's steak came out, we nonchalantly walked by the table so we could watch him eat a slab of uncooked meat.
I know what some of you are thinking -- it's just like steak tartare! That's raw meat. too! To which I say -- it's absolutely not the same thing. Steak tartare is finely diced and mixed with seasonings and topped with egg and served with crostini. Those things are there to dilute the fact that you're snacking on blood-red steak. They soften the blow.
It takes ten ingredients to distract you from the fact that you're flirting with death by eating raw beef.
But this man, he had no distractions. He picked up his knife and fork, and went to town.
Could you? How much money would it take?
For the record, he was sitting at a table with four or five other guys who all ordered their steaks cooked in the usual ways. No one made a huge deal of the carnivore with bloody flesh in his maw, which leads me to assume that he eats like this pretty regularly.
And that's what scares me a little. I used to eat my steaks extremely well-done. I was afraid of food poisoning and didn't know that it could taste any better -- until that first time I ate prime rib, medium. I steeled myself to have a bite of beef that was actually pink in the center, instead of grey. Oh, my God. Steaks can be tender! And flavorful! I started to order them cooked less and less, and these days I will eat the bright red center of a medium-rare steak with reckless abandon.
So is raw-meat guy simply me in a few years? I surely hope not. Besides the fact that it would certainly cut down on the number of steaks I overcook at home (a high number), I think it'd be kind of rude to ask people to sit with me while I gnawed on a slab of uncooked meat. I've seen a lot in the restaurant and I respect my guests personal preferences -- even you, well-doners! But raw meat? That is bloody disgusting.