Outback Steakhouse Compliment - Getting Your Steak Cooked Well Done Is A Problem - Steaks

Posted by heaven17 on 2008-04-19:

"And I have to deal with this pretty much every time I go there."

While I agree that they should prepare your food as ordered, is there a reason you keep going back to this place even after so many disappointments?
And if you tell me it's because the food is good, I'll scream.

Posted by Wally86 on 2008-04-19:

I don’t like outback steaks. they look so bland to me. I get better steaks at Applebees and Chilis then I get from Outback its an ok steakhouse. Choose a diffrent steak house next time

Posted by Ben There on 2008-04-19:

I was at a steak house last week and noticed that they had something like "we are not responsible for the quality of well done steaks". I asked the server about it and she said that customers wanting "well done" are often very hard to satisfy and told of stories very similar to yours. This place I was at actually suggests to those wanting well done steaks to order someing else claiming that the quality of meats and cooking practices they use loose all value if prepared well done, making it not worth the price of what they were charging. By doing this they actually are pushing people to cheaper foods like fish and chicken, but she said it is still better than someone being unhappy with a really expensive steak.

I think since you continue to be unhappy with the way the steaks are prepared, you should grill your well done steaks at home so you know they will be to your exact taste, and eat something else when dining at Outback.

Posted by dianec on 2008-04-19:

Ben There--You are absolutely right-on about cooking a steak well-done. The quality of a good steak is ruined when it is cooked well--i.e. dried out and flavorless. When I want a good steak, we buy some good grass-fed, organic beef and grill it. Can't beat it! It may seem expensive, but you will pay much more for much less if you order one out.

I always hear people praising Outback, but personally I've never had a good steak there. I've eaten at one in Hong Kone, one in Puerto Rico and at one here in the US. No luck at any of them. Each time I ate at one was because the people we were with with loved Outback.

Heaven-17--good point.

Posted by PMS on 2008-04-19:

Anymore the quality of meat at the Outback is suspect. It's a shame because Outback use to rock. But if you get your steak well done then meat quality is of little relevance. Try the Golden Corral they're pretty good at burning substandard meat and you'll save some money to boot.

Posted by CrystalSword on 2008-04-19:

I prefer well done beef, but that is my choice, and I am rearly disappointed, hubby prefers his to run through the kitchen, slap a band-aid on its butt and hope its still mooing!

Posted by Starlord on 2008-04-19:

Yes, and it is as hard to get a rare steak as it is to get one well done. Cooks tend to fix steaks the way THEY like them. I was eating at a Ponderosa steakhouse once and they give you this little plastic tent on your tray. The color and the number let the cashier know what you got. I ordered mine very rare, and when the waitress brought it out, I could tell it was at least medium rare. The cook at the grill station gives me a smart aleck look, flips open his little fridge, gets a rib eye, throws it on the grill, flips it over, then onto a sizzler plate, and slides it across the counter. I asked, "Why couldn't you do that the first time?" He got this horrified look on his face and said, "You're gonna eat THAT?" I smiled as I headed back to my table.

Posted by Wally86 on 2008-04-19:

I get my steaks medium well or medium thats the perfect steak for me.

Posted by LeeSee on 2008-04-19:

I guess I'm strange, I love mine practically road kill. The rarer the better. :-)

Posted by Starlord on 2008-04-20:

I am with you, LeeSee. Wally, Alton Brown of Good Eats feels that anything past medium is toast, and why spend the money? My sister, when we were kids would not eat steak unless it crunched (shivers.) I hate seeing a beautiful, dry-aged piece of prime beef incinerated.

Posted by Ponie on 2008-04-20:

A steak done more than medium-rare? AAAAAACK!!!!

Posted by Principissa on 2008-04-20:

I'm a medium rare person myself. What I don't understand is why you would go back to a place that continually screws up your food. I give a restaurant 2 chances, that's it. If they still can't get their act together after 2 tries, we never go back. Maybe you should find a different steak house to eat at.

Posted by Mrs. V on 2008-04-20:

I like mine well done (as in NO MOO LEFT). I like my burgers done that way, too ^_^

I just can't eat a piece of meat that is still bleeding *shudder*.

And, yes, it is VERY hard to get a good cut of steak well done and still tast good.

I always ask the waiter/waitress if their cooks are good enough to do a well done steak and have it come out ok (and right the 1st time). If they say no, I order something else.

'But' most of the time the cooks take it as a challenge and I get a good, well done steak ^_^

Posted by old fart on 2008-04-20:

If PMS posted a comment like, "a well done steak is an abomination in the eyes of the Lord" , I'd have to agree with him...

Posted by flipper on 2008-04-20:

I love a a good medium rare steak. My son always said he wanted his "sacrifice burned". To me, he might as well eat shoe leather.

Posted by dimplepie on 2008-04-20:

To the OP. It sounds like you're special!

Posted by travisdavis9 on 2008-12-04:

dimplepie made me laugh, ok back to the topic. The issue is about EXPECTATIONS. Cooks and esp chefs who take their art seriously are offended by the notion of anything cooked more than med. Know that, understand that and your chances of getting a stroke is greatly diminished.
It's like asking the sushi chef to deep fry your unagi, you catch my drift young jedi?

Posted by travisdavis9 on 2008-12-04:

In the meantime just bite your lip if you're at black angus, outback, or 100% positively absolutely at Peter Luger's or Wolfgang puck's Cut...order the chicken or fish.
Another words if you want steak your way, cook it yourself.

Posted by Butterfly Well on 2012-12-13:

If you order a filet and want it well done, order it "butterfly well." Cooks in half the time and this way they also have to give you a steak thick enough to cut part way through and not the smallest they can fine. My steaks at Outback are always cooked done well.
We all have different tastes, so give us "well-doners" a break.