My son's girl is a chef, and when we took the two of them out for dinner, my hubby ordered his steak 'blue'. I'd never heard the term before ('cause I like mine cremated), but son's girl explained (disgustedly) that it's the correct term for "virtually walking", as she put it - she's a vegetarian.
Actually, I've found that the usual term in France is "seignant" ("flowing" - ie with blood still running). "Blue" is certainly the term in the UK for a VERY rare steak, but I've not come across it in France. Maybe it's just the parts of France I go to..............
I don't think that it is a recipe for food poisoning. Beef is pretty safe in this regard (although I'm not 100% sure why this is compared to pork/chicken). Think about Steak Tartare.
I've known of restaurants where if you order the "blue " steak you must sign what would best be described as a consent form , that you are willing to eat this at your own risk and cannot hold the restaurant responsible for any ill health or at worst fatality.
i always order steak 'blue' in this country as i find chefs always err on the side of caution, and therefore i get a steak that is actually rare...and if i'd ordered rare, it would really be medium.
elsewhere, less squeamish, blue means that a good vet could simply bring your steak back to life. perfect!
Can anyone explain to me why my answer to this question describing a French steak with blue cheese sauce has been banned? The last time I had an answer banned it was because I said I didn't fancy the idea of mint-flavoured custard. There must be some VERY weird reasons for banning answers............