Porterhouse Steak

[Meg888]

Hi. Can anyone advise how best to cook this - 'well done'? Thanks in advance

[pastafreak]

Here are the basics.....though I'm not sure I'd do it "well done"-that's a waste of a steak.

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/perfect-porterhouse-steak/

[Meg888]

Thanks Pasta, yes you are right, maybe not well done but just short of - I really don't like to see a lot of blood, it just puts me off! That recipe is for open flame grilling?? Is there any other way do you know, my neighbours would think me nuts if I got the barbie out on Xmas Eve!

[vodkancoke]

You cook it in a pan like any other steak. It's best rare-med/rare but if you don't like blood then I can understand why you would want to cook it well.

[vodkancoke]

Sorry, pressed submit too quick! You can also grill it, or use a griddle pan.

[friedgreentomato]

get a frying pan hot season the steak with salt and pepper and rub a little olive oil into the meat.

pop in the pan and cook turning a couple of times until it is cooked to your liking.

I would suggest doing it a little more than medium if you don't like blood.

[ummmm]

And cover it in foil and let it rest for as long as poss.

[Goonermatt]

It's not blood, so stop worrying and enjoy a nice, juicy steak.

http://www.todayifoundout.com/index.php/2010/04/the-red-juice-in-raw-red-meat-is-not-blood/

[Meg888]

Great thanks for the replies, Gooner, when I open that link I get a blank page.... so today I found out - nowt! ;-)

[pastafreak]

The link worked for me...so I copied the info....

the red juice in raw red meat is not blood. Nearly all blood is removed from meat during slaughter, which is also why you don’t see blood in raw “white meat”; only an extremely small amount of blood remains within the muscle tissue when you get it from the store.

So what is that red liquid you are seeing in red meat? Red meats, such as beef, are composed of quite a bit of water. This water, mixed with a protein called myoglobin, ends up comprising most of that red liquid.

In fact, red meat is distinguished from white meat primarily based on the levels of myoglobin in the meat. The more myoglobin, the redder the meat. Thus most animals, such as mammals, with a high amount of myoglobin, are considered “red meat”, while animals with low levels of myoglobin, like most poultry, or no myoglobin, like some sea-life, are considered “white meat”.

Myoglobin is a protein, that stores oxygen in muscle cells, very similar to its cousin, hemoglobin, that stores oxygen in red blood cells. This is necessary for muscles which need immediate oxygen for energy during frequent, continual usage. Myoglobin is highly pigmented, specifically red; so the more myoglobin, the redder the meat will look and the darker it will get when you cook it.

This darkening effect of the meat when you cook it is also due to the myoglobin; or more specifically, the charge of the iron atom in myoglobin. When the meat is cooked, the iron atom moves from a +2 oxidation state to a +3 oxidation state, having lost an electron. The technical details aren’t important here, though if you want them, read the “bonus factoids” section, but the bottom line is that this ends up causing the meat to turn from pinkish-red to brown.
Read more at http://www.todayifoundout.com/index.php/2010/04/the-red-juice-in-raw-red-meat-is-not-blood/#hVDRjV45hP2VswIk.99

[Goonermatt]

Opens fine for me.

It says the red juice is water mixed with a protien called myoglobin and is not blood, the majority of which is removed during slaughter. There is as much blood in your steak as there is in a chicken fillet.

So you did learn something!

[Meg888]

Thanks for that Pasta & Gooner, and so yes, I have learnt something now! I think in future I shall try it 'medium', as I know it pains a chef to cook well done, and when I cook it myself it's hard not to know when you've gone to far and ruined a fine piece of meat.... a meat thermometer is called for I think

[friedgreentomato]

don't need a meat thermometer, if you press your steak and it feels like your forehead then it is well done, if it feels like your chin then it is medium if it feels like your cheeks then it is rare.