Do steakhouses really not use thermapens?

[Murdy]

If I'm paying good money to eat out, I don't want something I can do easily and most likely better at home. I rarely order a steak. Usually, it's either ethnic or something someone had to work at a little (stroganoff, beef bourguignon, etc.)

[glitchy]

I love the responses, I was feeling snobbish that I couldn't order a steak out other than and be happy. I know I'm not a chef, nor even an amazing cook, but I can cook a decent steak. Generally, I'll only order from two places, one does Steak DeBurgo that I haven't mastered the sauce for myself yet and the other is 801 Chop House which is like Flemmings or Ruth's Chris. I feel guilty after 801 though as $50-80 for one steak alone I can put quite the spread on the table at home of Prime or American Wagyu beef.

It was just a little disappointing that 5-10 degrees of doneness would have taken it from being OK to great. Guess, I should have ordered Medium like I predicted. I swear places are just so afraid of overcooking they'd rather you send it back to be cooked a little more than take any risk of you saying it was too done. The steak itself was actually pretty impressive, had it actually been medium rare, it probably would have been one of the top 2-3 non Prime Steakhouse steaks I ever had. It could have been seasoned more like jfmorris says about places, but that's typical and why I thought the place was worth a try when they had the compound butters and other options. They even do a butcher shop business on the side, so I might buy some uncooked steaks sometime to cook at home.

[radiodome21]

It’s even more interesting if you have restaurant experience. The first place I worked at was a long since closed barbecue restaurant, which ended up getting me into the barbecue field in the first place. Looking back at it, if there’s one thing that always stood out it was how much they would microwave food. The brisket, and pulled meats We’re always reheated in a microwave days after they had been smoked and they were ok. Looking back I can say that my food is much better. In fact I never realized I liked brisket until I actually tried some that I coworker made and shared at work. I realized how good fresh brisket is. I’ll order steak if I’m at a good steak house though. It’s why I’m there. I also have no problem sending it back if it’s overcooked. I order medium rare but if there is no red and it’s dry chewy then it’s going back.

[smokin fool]

Agreed there was a very very good Italian restaurant in this area, line ups every night, weekends forget about it.
Every hot dish served was nuked, soup fish meat chicken everything but the salad.

[Dan Deter]

I've been snobbish about steak (and beef in general) since I was a kid, seeing as how we raised and sold our own and even with my family not knowing all the tricks I've learned here, it was still better than what I got anywhere else. Only time I ever buy a steak out is when we go to the Angus Barn in Raleigh to celebrate. I'm sure they don't temp, but they've never disappointed me. Or when someone else is treating me

[Hulagn1971]

Angus Barn is good eatin'.

[Dan Deter]

That it is, brother! That it is.

[Pobeque]

So, back when I was a cook, I worked at a very high end restaurant in NYC. Not a steakhouse, but we always had a Ribeye for 2 or a strip as well as chicken, duck, pork of some sort, lamb, and all types of seafood. We always used a cake tester to the bottom of the lip to test temperature. After a while, you get an innate feel for the internal temp of the food and when to pull it out of the pan/oven. We never used sous vide - unless making coddled eggs - for proteins, it was a big deal in that place to learn how to cook. Pulling proteins out of a bag and searing them is not cooking IMO. When your really slamming a dinner service and have maybe 6-8 pans all with different proteins to different temps, you don't really have time for a thermometer to calibrate and do its thing. The quick cake tester was pretty much immediate in heating up etc. Plus its a thin little wire and you wont ever see a hole poked through the meat - especially if you have to test multiple times. Now that I'm out of the game I use a thermometer, since the cake tester method is all about feel and repetition.

[Donw]

Don’t know how prevalent it is generally but some members of my family owned restaurants. They usually tried to come close to the order but generally cooked it a little less than the requested doneness to reduce food costs because an underdone steak can be brought up to a higher doneness but an overcooked steak has to be tossed.

[Hulagn1971]

Exactly.

[holehogg]

Congratulations on your aniversary.

[glitchy]

Thanks!

[Attjack]

My impression is that professional chefs don't utilize thermometers all that often especially not with beef.

[STEbbq]

That is a good point. I can’t remember ever seeing a thermometer on any of the cooking shows I have watched. Well, maybe for cooking sugar or chocolate.

[klflowers]

There is a Firebirds here in Chattanooga. We went a few years ago with some out of town relatives. I ordered a new york strip, and the waiter brings me out a filet. I told him I ordered the strip, and he says yes sir, that is what this is. I said no, that is a fillet. He argued with me. I asked for a manager and when she came over and looked at the steak, she said is something wrong with your fillet sir? I think the waiter was let go that night, not for not knowing the cut of beef (that was a training failure; he was pretty young), but for actually insisting that the steak was a strip, and arguing with me about it. I ended up eating the fillet for free as I didn't want everyone waiting for them to make me another steak, and it was OK, but I haven't been back.

[Jfrosty27]

I lived and worked in Charlotte, NC 2010-2014 and there was a Firebirds right down the street about a mile from our offices. We seemed to go there around every 10 days or so. They had a great happy hour which usually spilled over into dinner there. It was always just ok in terms of the dining. Spotty food and service.

Fast forward to this last May and I was in Charlotte. I hooked up with my old boss and we went there for old times sake. Same great happy hour, same spotty food and service. 🤷‍♂️ Had a great time with my old boss though. 🤣

[troymeister]

There is a very good Steak House near me called the Golden Steer. I have been a regular customer there for about 30 years. I asked the owner/chef about this and he started laughing. He said basically that they use the same size cuts of meat all the time. i.e. Same size filets, same size ribeyes, New York Strips etc...After thousands and thousands of steaks...Time, color and feel....No time for thermometers. Also, he said that they are cooking at such high heat that by the time you check it, it will be overcooked. He does use thermometers for checking things for food safety...i.e...Meat storage, water temp on steam table, and so on and so forth.

I forgot to mention, Taki the Owner/Chef told me in his wonderfully thick Greek accent, "Look, I gotta one job, I cooka da steaks!"

[Jfrosty27]

That makes perfect sense.

[glitchy]

Except the always undercook them

[FireMan]

AND he cooksa the steaks, not some line cook of the week.

[Hulagn1971]

troymeister beat me to it. I have a friend that cooks the steaks at Ruth's Chris. He's been working there for at least 20 years. He told me the exact same thing. They have the same supplier, all the steaks are the same size relative to the cut and they have been doing it for so long its all time, color and feel.

[Ahumadora]

Question: So going to a steakhouse expecting to be disappointed vs your own backyard steak. Is that considered a pro or a con of joining the Forum here?

[glitchy]

I was starting to feel that way before I joined here. However, since joining I found SRF, Creekstone, and Porter Road which really took steaks up a notch at home.

[holehogg]

Answer: Yip

[klflowers]

I think both. Now I can really recognize a great steak whereas before I couldn't - the pro. On the other hand, ignorance was bliss, so I didn't know what I was eating was sub par - the con.

[Oak Smoke]

I know of one cook that didn’t use a thermometer. Back in my salesman days there was a restaurant in Canyon Tx that i never took customers to. It was my favorite place to hit at the end of a long day. They had a blackened ribeye that was incredible. I had been thinking about that steak since noon that day and finally made it there about 7 pm. The waitress knew me and ask if i wanted my regular. My regular was a blackened ribeye med rare, fried okra, and broccoli rice and cheese casserole. When it arrived it was beautiful. I tried to cut it but my fork wouldn’t go threw it. It was still frozen in the middle. The waitress said it was the cooks first day. It was already blackened so any attempt to cook it longer was just going to ruin it. I ended up with a chicken fried steak. Ever since then I’ve wandered who was cooking my meal when I eat out.

[Santamarina]

As others have shared, steakhouses are cooking steak after steak - hour after hour - day after day. I’m a thermometer guy, but if I cooked that many steaks in such a short time I’d probably get pretty good at looking.

These days when we go out to eat it isn’t because we’re after some incredible food, it’s because we don’t have time or energy to cook at home. Expectations are set accordingly.