How to Tell Your Steak is Cooked Properly
In the professional kitchen the ability to know how well a steak has been cooked is usually done by touch. An experienced cook can tell by gently pressing on a steak with his tongs or finger to determine the state the steak is in.
Every one is equipped with doneness template. It’s your hand. By making a very relaxed fist you have at the bulge just above the thumb the place where you have the comparison, see the arrow in photo.
In a very relaxed state this area when pressed will reflect the feeling a raw or very rare steak would feel like. There is a great amount of give when pressed.
By “lightly” squeezing the fist you will have the equivalent of a medium rare steak. The give is less in this state and it bounces back more quickly. A fairly tight grip on the fist will be the same as a medium steak and a very hard squeeze will be a medium well done steak.
Next time your cooking a steak take a feel and see when you cut into the steak how it’s done, it won’t take long to get the feel and it is a skill, like riding a bike, you won’t forget how to do.