A good rule of thumb is to actually use your thumb. If you hold you hand palm upwards and poke the fleshy pad of your thumb you can feel the resistance it give and how quickly if goes rebounds to it's normal shape you can use this as an indicator of how it is cooked. By then touching the thumb to one of your fingers you'll tense the muscle and it approximates to increasing levels of how well done it is.
thumb and no finger is Very rare steak
thumb and index finger is medium rare steak
thumb and middle finger is medium steak
thumb and third finger is medium well steak
thumb and little finger is well done steak
Yay! Someone else does what I do. However, how do you get round this if cooking the steak for visitors? It doesn't look great if you present them with a piece of steak with bits cut off it!
Hi, Pirate. I know what we both do is considered 'uncouth' by some people. However, davy is just learning how to cook steaks, so once he's used our method a few times he should have the timing perfected and be able to cook multiple steaks without cutting into them. Anyway, who wants a steak after someone's been sticking their thumbs and other digits into it?:)
Trouble is Stewey, I've been cooking for about 20 years and still have to check! I also can't remember any recipes, even if cooked every week and have to use recipe book every time. Some of us are just not natural cooks! I watch all these programmes on cooking and weep at my total inability to cook despite having shelves full of cookery books. Still no-one can accuse me of not trying!
With a digital meat thermometer you will get it right every time, same with roasts. Just don't forget to cover your meat with foil and rest it before eating so the juices can re-distribute back into the meat.