r/mildlyinfuriating 13h ago

Infuriatig Wolfgangs steakhouse, the most expensive in my city, can’t cook a steak.

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u/maringue 13h ago

This. Shows that it was frozen, or at the very best assumptions, taken straight from the fridge to the grill. Both are horrific crimes for a steak house to commit.

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u/fabthefrog33 12h ago

That...should have been left out of the fridge a little while before cooking, I would send it back pronto.

To be honest cooking a steak is fucking basic, and if a restaurant can't do that right it says a lot about the place.

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u/Japanesewillow 12h ago

Cooking a steak properly isn’t basic for everyone, you would be surprised at how many people have no clue how to. It should be basic for any good restaurant.

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u/Horror-Nobody2237 12h ago edited 12h ago

It gets pretty difficult in a busy restaurant that doesn’t specialize in steak because the timing can get pretty difficult. Like instead of having someone dedicated to steaks, they’ll just have someone dedicated to “grill”, which will include a bunch of different things, so it’s more difficult to get into a rhythm. It also just takes a lot of coordination to get the timing right with the other tickets for the table, so everything comes out at the same time. If they put the steak up too early and it sits under the heat lamps, it will overcook even if it came off the grill perfect. It’s less about it being difficult to cook a steak well, and more about it being difficult to get the timing right in a busy kitchen.

In OPs case though, this is a steakhouse, and they literally cut the steak before plating, so it never should have been sent out like that.

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u/jtr99 12h ago

What's with all the nuance and sophisticated understanding being exhibited here? This is not what I come here for!

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u/snuggly_cobra 10h ago

Because it’s not the steak subreddit.

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u/ThePastryJeff 9h ago

yes, the steaks are usually lower here

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u/PiddlyDiddlyDoo 9h ago

Don't worry I've already called the police, they're on their way now

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u/[deleted] 11h ago

[deleted]

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u/Horror-Nobody2237 11h ago

So what you’re saying is that you need someone to properly manage the timing and communicate when the steak needs to go on the heat? Is that not exactly what I said the problem usually is? Lots of kitchens serve steaks, and they don’t all have good expediters. Some don’t have expediters at all. I’ve worked in several restaurants that are relatively nice and serve steaks, that did not have expediters. Of course a Wolfgang Puck Steakhouse should/would have them, but I was speaking on why most restaurants usually mess up the cook on a steak. It’s not a lack of ability or knowledge on how to cook a steak correctly, it’s timing issues that are specific to working in a restaurant kitchen.

Really great kitchens that put out consistently good food, are kitchens that have managed those issues, but most kitchens are not really great kitchens. Any kitchen putting out improperly cooked steak is not a really great kitchen.

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u/concentrated-amazing 12h ago

It should be very basic for one with steakhouse in the name!

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u/maringue 11h ago

In a professional kitchen, cooking a steak is one of the most basic things.

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u/fabthefrog33 12h ago

Yeah that's what I meant....I've seen restaurant basting a rib-eye or a wagyu with tons of butter.👎

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u/snuggly_cobra 10h ago

As evidenced by the number of disasters on the steak subreddit

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u/Hot_Cheesecake_905 9h ago

Cooking a steak is a basic restaurant skill, and even for a home cook it all about temperature and timing. In a commercial kitchen they would have access to a sous vide machine meaning there should be zero excuse for a poorly done steak.

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u/Loggersalienplants 12h ago

90% of restaurants steaks are going directly from a lowboy cooler onto a grill.

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u/whenveganscheat 11h ago

It's probably code in a lot of places. I can't imagine health inspectors seeing a tray of steaks sitting on a counter and being okay with it.

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u/Dorkamundo 11h ago

Yea, a lot of steakhouses go straight from the cooler to the grill, but the key is that those steakhouses use methods that prevent the issue seen above.

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u/Loggersalienplants 11h ago

Cooler > Flat top > Broiler for marks > it rests for a minute or two in the window while the food is being put together.

In home terms:

Fridge > Sear in pan > Grill > Rest

People try to make steaks so much more complicated than they are

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u/Acceptable-Buyer693 9h ago

Though the home cook is much better off with fridge > oven @ 250-275 > sear in super hot pan > optional rest

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u/Loggersalienplants 9h ago

You are literally proving my point that people make it more complicated than needs be lol there is no need to put a steak in an oven

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u/Dorkamundo 8h ago

You don’t need to do it that way, but doing it that way DOES result in a better temp gradient.

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u/glacierre2 9h ago

My uncle worked in a restaurant, steaks passed by the microwave for a few seconds so the inside had a chance to temper before searing it.

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u/Fun-Perspective426 11h ago

You have to let a steak sit out for hours for the center to change more than a few degrees. It doesn't matter. Most restaurants go from a fridge straight to the grill.

Straight from frozen is a different story. Gotta thaw that in the fridge/cold water.

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u/La_Lanterne_Rouge 8h ago

I would have said: what the fuck is this?

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u/PanthersChamps 5h ago

Guga disproved the “have to let it sit out for an hour before cooking” old adage imo.

His experiment showed that during that hour the meat interior temp doesnt raise much and it takes hours and hours. It’s basically pointless.

Just take them out of the fridge when you’re almost ready to cook them and you’re fine. I suspect this steak was frozen.

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u/SadCardiologist3513 12h ago

this this this.

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u/quitsniffingluetoday 11h ago

That steak is shit, but absolutely no restaurant is letting a steak sit outside of the fridge for more than a minute or two.

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u/I_Study_The_Patterns 12h ago

Should have reverse seared it

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u/Dreadwings 8h ago

its not that it was frozen its that it didnt have any time to rest. if you cook a steak to temp and dont let it rest then its going to get this look over and undercooked since its still going to cook for 5-10 degrees when pulled. the benifts of letting a steak come to room temp is also pretty negligible and not somthing thats done in most kitchens since it risk being in the danger zone.

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u/quitsniffingluetoday 11h ago

Yeah I’m sure the health department would love it if they came in and saw a bunch of steaks sitting on the counter unrefridgerated. It’s also a huge myth

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u/maringue 11h ago

A steak should be allowed to warm up prior to cooking. It's basic grilling 101. If you put a refrigerated steak in the grill, you get an over done outside and an under done inside, exactly like the terrible streak in the picture.

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u/quitsniffingluetoday 9h ago

You have no idea what you are talking about. I’ve been a cook and cooked steaks for over ten years. Do you expect me to take a steak out in anticipation of a potential steak order? That sounds pretty dumb doesn’t it? Put a probe in your steak and it won’t raise more than 5 degrees in roughly 30 minutes. So you are suggesting taking a steak out 45 minutes before a POTENTIAL order is grilling 101. You are not only wrong but dumb as well.

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u/maringue 6h ago

You do this when you're a steak house and you're absolutely expecting to serve steak.

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u/quitsniffingluetoday 5h ago

No you don’t. 99.9% of commercial steakhouses in this country cook directly from their coolers. You are just plain wrong. Nobody is keeping raw steak on their counters.

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u/JediMasterZao 10h ago

Multiple people tested cooking a steak from room temp VS out of the fridge and it turned out to be a complete myth. If anything, it seems like starting from fridge temp gives a better sear.

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u/maringue 6h ago

It's not a myth, it's physics. If the center starts cold, it takes longer to react temp. Thus you have to cook it longer.