Bloody Meats Part 2: I've become too French...

How to tell when red meat is cooked: Ignore your watch. Oh, and please, “No thermometers” says our French chef with a sniff and hand-wave to dismiss this ridiculous idea. Instead use the "fat pad" of your thumb--you know, the old Abductor pollicis.

How do I personally know the fat pad technique works? I actually cooked red meat too bloody for a French chef. In my effort to prove I could cook my red meat the French style rare or “bleu”, I tossed out years of fearing I would poison my guests or cooking students with undercooked meat. And, I ignored my kitchen friend, the thermometer, which I had brought into the kitchen and hidden under a piece of parchment paper for fear of mockery by the chef if discovered. In France I have evolved from a person who doesn’t eat red meat to “hey, this piece of bloody meat looks pretty tasty to me.”

I failed to cook my meat to “bleu” because I tried to use another chef’s recommendation regarding how long to cook red meat for different grades of doneness (see Nov 25th blog). I now know that this chef's grill must be fiery hot and as I’ve always preached “it’s done when it’s done, not when the clock says so”. So here’s the fat pad technique (see links below for credits):


Index Finger = Rare with internal temperature around 125F. Feels soft and squishy, like a sponge

Middle Finger = Medium Rare with internal temperature around 145F (Our French chef says around 135F). Feels firmer but yielding, like a Nerf football

Ring Finger = Medium with an internal temperature around 160F (our French chef says around 145F). Feels slightly yielding, like a racquetball.

Pinky Finger = Well with an internal temperature around170F (our French chef says why would you ruin meat this way, but if you do the temperature is around 150F). Feels springy, like a tennis ball.

So here's my offending piece of meat, with an artichoke and bernaise sauce and twice cooked potatoes (pommes pont neuf style).

Finger doneness pictures from Men's health magazine with link found at http://lifehacker.com/software/grilling/determine-the-doneness-of-a-steak-267250.php