Best Steak for Well Done?

I was working with some German guys a few years ago, one of whom wanted his steak well done at a Ruth's Chris when we were on the road.  The waiter said that they couldn't guarantee the steak if it was ordered well done, so he responded, "Then cook it as much as you can and still guarantee it."

I end up trying to be an evangelist on this issue, and will cook someone a medium steak, and see if they'll eat it.

Chicken Fried

The more you cook proteins the tighter they get. Doesn't matter much. I would go with fillet. What a shame. It should be the least ruined by the overcooking. Might still be edible. 

Good fatty beef is still good if overcooked. Make a jus, cook a rib medium rare low and slow and put it in jus till no longer pink. Doing that tonight.

gdenby said:

Well Done !? Go w. rib eye, because the fat gets all crisp. Put lots of salt on it too.

I would've said ribeye also, there's a lot of fat to at least keep it moist.  

Just make them a hamburger.

My wife will only eat well done steaks, so I cook her a fillet butterflied and it turns out decent. Not as good as my med-rare ribeye but it's ok. She likes it. 

tdub4 said:

Thanks to all for the feedback. @Skiddymarker I appreciate the detail and will give that a try. Will also try a ribeye to see how that goes as well. 

I'd caution that when using a rib eye for those that like their steak ruined, it must be the actual rib eye. There is no fat whatsoever on just the eye, the cap and small eye can be trimmed off and saved for ginding if you are into that. In other words the rib eye looks like a fillet, little or no fat at all. If you cook what most of us call a rib steak, the fat may be a turn off for those that like things grey and dried out. 

That's why I've found the NY strip works well, it is fairly lean, not too expensive and most of the flavour, for one that is well done, will come from the seasoning - specially a board sauce. 

Skiddymarker said:

tdub4 said:

Thanks to all for the feedback. @Skiddymarker I appreciate the detail and will give that a try. Will also try a ribeye to see how that goes as well. 

I'd caution that when using a rib eye for those that like their steak ruined, it must be the actual rib eye. There is no fat whatsoever on just the eye, the cap and small eye can be trimmed off and saved for ginding if you are into that. In other words the rib eye looks like a fillet, little or no fat at all. If you cook what most of us call a rib steak, the fat may be a turn off for those that like things grey and dried out. 

That's why I've found the NY strip works well, it is fairly lean, not too expensive and most of the flavour, for one that is well done, will come from the seasoning - specially a board sauce. 

That's why I suggested a fillet. I like the idea of butter flying it as mentioned above. I know it goes against some conventional wisdom, but it has very little fat to begin with and is tender. I should remain the most tender simply because of the cut. I feel the fat content in the other cuts will be literally "rendered" useless by the overcooking. I'm a ribeye guy personally, but never cook to anywhere near those temps. They are used to eating shoe leather, they'll love it no matter what. Don't beat yourself up. 

Yes, those who like their steaks well-done are used to chewing on shoe leather.  Just make it the most palatable of shoe leather as you can.  i.e, smothered in sauteed mushrooms with gravy or smothered in A-1 or...

People like the burnt ends of brisket, can't get much more Well-done than that. So while they might not be able to enjoy the juicy tenderness of some nice pink or red meat, they do usually enjoy the caramelized goodness of nicely browned meat with other moisture providing products to help swallow that chewy hunk of over-cooked meat.

If you want to, give them a Salisbury steak made with home ground ribeye that has lots of marbling.  Let them know this is the most premium grade of meat used for making a Salisbury steak.

Cook a sirloin. Not too expensive but has enough fat that it should hold up to the overcooking and still be edible. 

Prime grade ribeye or new york. I know because thats the way I eat my steak. Heres an example of some fine looking steaks. These steaks are perfect for cooking well done. Lots of marbling to keep them juicy.