Comments on line cook.: Well done = Poorly done

Queen

2008-10-03T12:53:00.000-07:00

Queen

i remember when i first started on the grill at wo...

2008-09-26T23:11:00.000-07:00

i remember when i first started on the grill at work, how terrified i was of a 15-top party - and then how my fears were confirmed when 14 of those entrees were the NY steak off of grill.

a mix of anger and relief came over me when i saw the temps - 10 well done, 2 mid well, 1 medium. it wouldn't be that hard after all.

how long does it take to cook a well done burger s...

2008-09-22T23:59:00.000-07:00

how long does it take to cook a well done burger sous vide? it takes 20 minutes to get it to medium rare...in our kitchen, when the well dones start rolling in you're sure to hear the call "destroy all integrity."

What Mendo said. I've got tendonitis, bursitis, ar...

2008-09-21T11:12:00.000-07:00

What Mendo said. I've got tendonitis, bursitis, arthritis... and probably a few other itises I don't know about yet. When you're involved in a profession where constant burns are really the least of your worries, take care of yourself. And Heart, I'm a sucker for female vocals.

That looks an awful lot like the burgers we made a...

2008-09-21T01:59:00.000-07:00

That looks an awful lot like the burgers we made at home the other night. (In Paris, you have to take these things into your own hands.) I don't think I ever really liked beef until I had it cooked less than well done. Now I'm a medium/medium rare girl (French beef is tougher than its American counterpart and needs a little more cooking, for my palate, anyway.)

And Queen is the only one of those I like without irony. Strangely enough, what I love about them is their perfectly-tuned sense of irony.

Journey. And I was fortunate in that I had wise pa...

2008-09-20T20:22:00.000-07:00

Journey.
And I was fortunate in that I had wise parents who taught me that better flavors could be had in the more rare meat.
Love your blog, btw. It's very entertaining.
Lara in Los Gatos
(losgatosgirl on blogspot)

here in NC they won't let restaurants serve burger...

2008-09-20T15:30:00.000-07:00

here in NC they won't let restaurants serve burgers less than medium....so if I want a nice juicy med-rare burger I have to either cook it myself, or go on vacation. it's a shame....

Ah...meal three of my four Nopa meals in eight day...

2008-09-19T21:57:00.000-07:00

Ah...meal three of my four Nopa meals in eight days. After a heavy night of slinging back Pliny the Elder at the Toronado, even after a day of eating, and a full meal at Boulevard, putting back that burger just seemed like the right thing to do. Mid-rare of course.

Queen, but gawd, what a bunch of shit choices.Take...

2008-09-19T10:07:00.000-07:00

Queen, but gawd, what a bunch of shit choices.

Take care of your body son-I'm 45 with plantar fascitis, rotator cuff problems, tendonitis and I'm sure some other crap I don't yet know about. Exercise regularly and stretch often (wish I had).

Thank you for this great blog. It has been one of ...

2008-09-19T06:47:00.000-07:00

Thank you for this great blog. It has been one of my links for a while now and I really enjoy it as I hope my readers do!

This burger looks is gorgeous and perhaps a bit dangerous looking. Professionally, in the fashion industru, no one would ever order a burger, it was like a sick unwritten rule scrawled on the bathroom wall at Chanel and passed down like one of the commandments of something! Anyway, when I was on my solo shopping loop in Boston, I would duck into the Oak Room for a delicious burger experince in a dark corner of that swank old room. Not to worry! I am a yound fashion retiree now and out of the closet! I will have mine medium (Sorry! It's a texture in my teeth thing). Be well!

I hate ordering well done. Normally i'm the one en...

2008-09-19T05:55:00.000-07:00

I hate ordering well done. Normally i'm the one enthusiastically ordering rare. BUT --

I'm five months pregnant. I can't have that california roll either, and it pisses me off. i also can't have a whole stack of other things, and I'm not in any way what you call a cautious eater. It's just that your immune system goes all haywire when you're knocked up.

So when you get that order for well done (though i usually go for medium or medium well, just to make sure it's hot all the way through), keep it mind it might be someone who HAS to do it, not WANTS to do it. Have a little pity, and slip a hungry woman the biggest pork chop every once in a while.

would i choose heart, journey, queen or styx? shit...

2008-09-19T05:02:00.000-07:00

would i choose heart, journey, queen or styx? shit, i'd choose me and just shoot myself.

come to the test, though, i'd probably go mattie's way with freddie and the boys.

and in regard to well-done anything... hell, you know how i like my burger.

serving those patties of bliss, i've tried to harden myself. still, every time someone says "well-done" (be it pork chop, fish, anything, but especially burgers) i'm shaken. unless i'm drowning deep in the weeds, i never let it go without some resistance.

it honestly feels like a personal insult to be told "well-done."

that said... nice post, ricardo.

well done.

>I love deglazing veg roasted in a pan and then hi...

2008-09-19T04:22:00.000-07:00

>I love deglazing veg roasted in a pan and then hitting that with a few square inches of cold butter. It's awesome. Then dusting in a fat pinch of herbs.

Man, I love that.

orale holmes...nice post

2008-09-19T00:42:00.000-07:00

orale holmes...nice post

Almost stopped in for a burger tonight, but I thou...

2008-09-18T22:59:00.000-07:00

Almost stopped in for a burger tonight, but I thought it might be your night off. I think I guessed right.

As for your question:

QUEEN

without a doubt. The others to choose from don't come anywhere close to Freddie Mercury's orbit.

man that burger looks amazing...almost too big to ...

2008-09-18T20:11:00.000-07:00

man that burger looks amazing...almost too big to fit in the mouth...in reference to note point #2 I would go with Queen...I want to ride my bicycle son!...point #3 the chatter of the chit machine doesnt so much make me happy as excited..close enough though.point #5 my toes have been numb for the past 3 days straight...i'm told its because of my steel toed shoes...but ive been wearing them for 8 months...ah well..as for the topic of well done i never have and never will order well done and after getting my father to read Kitchen Confidential have managed to get him to start ordering medium-well...meh its a baby step in the right direction..

Rare for the win. Absolutely.I do like my fries wi...

2008-09-18T19:57:00.000-07:00

Rare for the win. Absolutely.

I do like my fries with a bit of crunch in them, though. Limp, soggy fries suck.

Really hope I get to eat at Nopa soon.

"It is what it is." If I had a dime for every time...

2008-09-18T19:15:00.000-07:00

"It is what it is." If I had a dime for every time I said that shit........

You are living in the what I call "The Life" so I ...

2008-09-18T18:38:00.000-07:00

You are living in the what I call "The Life" so I know you know the phrase "It is what it is." You can't beat them, you can't educate them and they won't ever, ever go away. The most horrific piece of carbon has to rest in between those two bun halves. They expect no less.

Take faith in those that do order it right. Watch over them, love them. They are the ones who will bring your message to streets. Not us. We are too far over on the other side.

Don't dismiss well done fries either. It is the well done ones that represent how far you can take a fry and it will still be delicious. Pomme frites cooked to well done perfection in duck fat is a thing of beauty. Try it. See how you feel about well done fries then.

Good to see you posting again. You make me nostalgic for my days in "The Life."

Cheers.

I HATE overcooked meat. I grew up with a mother an...

2008-09-18T15:58:00.000-07:00

I HATE overcooked meat. I grew up with a mother and grandmother that used to cook their meat until it was drier than the bones: I couldn't stand it.

When I started cooking, the first thing I did was to learn how to cook meat and keep it juicy and tender.