What Is Blue Steak? Understand it and Make It. (2024)

Are you (or is someone you love) a big fan ofrare steaks? Have you heard or cracked jokes about “the bloodier, the better?” Well, if you’ve answered yes, then you might have also heard of blue steaks (orblue rare steaks.) If you haven’t heard of them until now, you’re probably wondering what is ablue rare steak. A blue steak is a steak that has been cooked just enough for theoutsideto have taken on a seared crust while theinsideis cooler than a traditionalrare steak.The interior will have more resemblance toraw meatthan even arare steak.

That bit of information probably spurs some serious questions, like isblue rare steaksafe to eat? What temp isblue rare steakcooked to? Can you tell me how tocook blue steak? What steak should I cook blue, and are there steaks I should not cook blue? Well, we’re going to answer all those questions (and maybe some more,) while providing some additional context about the safety of blue steak and some variations on the theme ofblue rare steak. Let’s (quickly) fire up our grills and dig in.

What Is Blue Steak?

As stated above,blue rare steakis a steak that hasn’t even been cooked to a rare level of doneness. This is accomplished by cooking a thicker steak, at least one inch thick, overhigh heatfor a very small amount of time. The goal is to have a perfectly-seared exterior while the center of the steak is cool and almost raw.

What Is A Black And Blue Steak?

To further complicate things, you may have heard of a black and blue steak. No, it does not involve beating your steak up. Nor does the butcher beat the meat up prior to purchase. It’s a version of a blue steak that is charred rather than seared. This can be accomplished by cooking these steaks over a hot charcoal or gasgrill. Otherwise, the idea is the same.High heatfor a very short period of time in order to keep a cool center that borders on raw.

This is also sometimes referred to as a Pittsburgh Blue Steakor simplyPittsburgh steakdue to stories about steel mill workers in Pittsburgh quickly cooking steaks for lunch on hot equipment.

What Temperature IsBlue Rare SteakCooked To?

We’ve probably all heard thatrare steaksare cooked to around 120°F. Blue steaks are cooked to around 115°Finternal temperature. The best way to keep an eye on your internal temperatures no matter what level of doneness you’re looking for is with aninstant-read thermometer.It’s the best way to ensure you’re getting the best results for what you’re looking for.

If that 115°Finternal temperaturetarget gives you pause, that’s understandable.After all, isn’t it basically araw steak?You might be concerned about food-borne illnesses andbacteria. After all, we want to enjoy our steaks, not end up with food poisoning afterward. So you might find yourself wondering if this kind of steak is safe to eat.

The chart below shows all the steak temps. Blue Steak sits just above Rare. We didn’t include it in the chart as Blue Rare Steak is not a very common doneness level with steak.

IsBlue Rare SteakSafe?

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)has guidelinesthe department has established over the years. When it comes to steaks, the USDA recommends that they should be cooked to a minimum of 145°Finternal temperaturefor safety.

That number may raise questions that I’ll address. You’re likely wondering why are we even talking about a steak that is cooked to a full 30 degrees cooler than the USDA recommendation. Well, the USDA recommendations are established partially to help protect people from themselves but also to help protect places like restaurants. The likelihood of you getting food poisoning from a steak that was still good when it was thrown on thegrillor flat top to be cooked to 145°F is next to none.

The last thing any restaurant wants is customers getting sick from their food. So the USDA institutes guidelines that will ensure the safety and well-being of people who eat those steaks.

So now that begs the question why can you purchase steak at a restaurant that is cooked below the guideline temperature? Restaurants use a warning printed on their menus that basically says that if you’re ordering food at a lower-than-recommended doneness, then they are absolved of any wrongdoing.

However, there’s a reason why people order medium-rare steaksall the time and rarely get sick from them. With solid cuts of meat like a steak, as long as the meat has been properly cared for, anybacteriawill exist on the exterior of the meat. So if yousearor char ablue rare steakproperly, the surface of the meat will be well past that recommended temperature to kill any peskybacteria. Make sure that you aresearingthe sides of the steak, not just the top and the bottom. When ablue rare steakis cooked properly, it’s safe to eat.

Now no amount of cooking will preserve you from a steak that went bad, so make sure you familiarize yourself withthe signs of a steak gone bad.Cooking only kills thebacteria, it doesn’t repair any damage that’s already been done.

Why EatBlue Rare Steak?

Now that we’ve established that a blue steak is safe to eat, you still might be wondering why would you cook or eat one. After all, you might prefer the bit of warmth that amedium-rare steakoffers. Or you’ve simply grown accustomed to cooking arare steakand don’t want to have to change your routine. So why ablue rare steak?

Blue steaks are incredibly tender and juicy. The fibers in the middle of the steak haven’t really cooked at all, so they haven’t tightened up and squeezed much moisture out at all. When you cook a steak that is packed full of beefflavorusing theblue rare steakmethod, you’ll get all of that beefflavor. Plus, thathigh-heatsearingor charring of the exterior gives plenty offlavor, too.

Now we need to figure out how to properly cook ablue rare steak.

How ToCook Blue Steak

So now that you know whatblue rare steakis, you want to know how to cook it at home. Thankfully, it’s pretty simple. You just need a high heat source (gas grill or gas range with pan), and a good quality steak, seasonings (saltand blackpepperare really all you need,) and that aforementioned instant-read thermometer.

The next decision you need to make is are you wanting toseara blue steak or char a black and blue steak. If you’re going for a traditionalblue rare steak, you’ll want to use a cast ironpanor a griddle over a stove or on agrill. If you’re wanting more of a black and blue steak, cooking right on thegrillgrates over a blazing hot charcoal fire or gas burners set to high will do the trick.

However, you still need to figure out what type of steak you’re going to want to cook. There are two key characteristics you’ll want to look at when choosing a steak for this particular method: tenderness andmarbling. You want to start out withsteaks fromtender cutsof meatbecause you’re barely going to cook it.

However, that lack of drawn-out cooking time also means you want a lean steak. All that interiormarblingwon’t have time to render out at all so you’ll be left with a steak that has a lot of chewy fat. You might like that, but we’d prefer just plenty of beefy steak when we take a bite.

So with those criteria in mind, let’s look at the steaks you should look for and the ones you should avoid when cookingblue rare steaks.

What Are TheBest SteaksForMaking Blue Steaks?

When you’re looking for a steak that is tender and lean, there are a few obvious choices. The first is thefilet mignon. It’s cut from the tenderloin which is, of course, quite tender and also lean. It’s one of the most prized steaks and is typically cut thick, so it will work well for cookingblue rare steaks.Anytenderloin steakwill be ideal for a blue steak, actually.

Flat iron steaksalso work quite well for blue steaks. While these steaks come from the chuck primal, they are trimmed to remove some of theconnective tissueand fat so they retain their tenderness without having the fat that will be unpleasant for ablue rare steak.

You can also go with a slightly less tender but lean steak and go with thesirloin tipsteak. We covered thesirloin tipandtop sirloinsteak in our article aboutsirloin vsribeyesteaks. While they might not be the most tender steaks, they still are tender enough especially when combined with how lean they are for cooking blue steaks.

What Steaks To Avoid ForBlue Rare Steaks

Speaking ofribeyesteaks, you’ll actually want to avoid them for cooking blue steaks. That samemarblingthat makes them one of the most beloved steaks will actually backfire (unless you love chewing on fat.)Ribeyes simply have toomuch fatfor cooking as a blue steak.You’ll essentially want to avoid any fatty steaks that you would normally love cooking to a medium-rare level, includingporterhousesteaks.You’ll also want to avoidskirt steaksand flank steaks for the same reason, toomuch fatandconnective tissue.

Cooking A Blue Steak

Now that you’ve decided what steak you want to use, you want to season it withKosher saltand let it sit for 10-20 minutes while you prepare your grill, griddle or cast ironpan. You will only be cooking the steak for around one minute a side. You don’t need to add butter to yourpanor griddle. You simply want a dry heat to get that crust developed quicklyover theentire outer surface of the steak. Here’s a step-by-step process.

1. Take your steak out of the fridge and season withKosher salt. Let it rest for 10-20 minutes on the counter.
2. Preheat your griddle orcast iron skilleton high. You want this cooking surface to be about as hot as it can safely be.
3. Once the skillet or griddle is preheated, add your steak.
4. After 45 seconds to a minute, flip the steak and place it on another area of the cooking surface that is still athigh heat.
5. After another 30 seconds, check theinternal temperatureof the steak with your instant-read thermometer. You want to pull the steak somewhere between 112-115°F to ensure you don’t end up withrare steakinstead of blue steak.
6. Searthe sides of the steak by usingtongsto essentially roll the sides of the steak slowly across the cooking surface.
7. Remove the steak and serve! You do not need to let your steak rest since the interior has not cooked.

How To Cook A Black And Blue Steak

The idea is essentially the same as a standardblue rare steak. However, rather than going for that nice and even brownsear, you’re going for char marks. The best way to do that is over a gas or charcoalgrillwhere you can expose the exterior of the steak to an open flame (like on the solo stove cooktop). Other than that, it’s the same process.

1. Remove your steak from the refrigerator then season all sides withKosher salt. Leave it on the counter to sit for 10-20 minutes.
2. Start yourgrill. If you’re using a charcoalgrill(and let’s face it, the charcoal will make the steak taste even better,) load up a charcoal chimney full and start it. If you’re looking for a new chimney or fire starter, check out ourrecommendations.I love to use the Char-Griller chimney with theGrillTrade Fire Starter Sticks. Always hot and quick, plus the trigger release makes dumping the lit charcoal easier than any other chimney I’ve used! If you’re using a gasgrill, turn the burners to high and let the grates preheat.
3. Once yourgrillhas come up to temp, put your steaks on over the direct heat. Do NOT close the lid! You aren’t trying to cook theinterior of the steak, you just don’t want it cold.
4. After 45 seconds to one minute, flip your steaks.
5. After 30 seconds on the second side, check theinternal temperatureusing your instant-read thermometer. Look for 112-115°F beforegrillingthe sides.
6. Grillthe sides by pressing each section onto the hot grates to get a good char.
7. Remove and serve!

Wrapping It Up

Blue steak isn’t for everyone. It’s for people who loverare steaksbut want to try something even rarer. As I said earlier, if you or someone you know loves to joke about getting steaks “the bloodier, the better,” ablue rare steakis definitely something you should try. However, if arare steakgets you a little squeamish, you’re not going to want to try this.

Have you ever tried ablue rare steak? Let us know what you think in the comments!

FAQs:

Question: We Joke About Rare And Blue Steaks Being Bloody, But Is That Really Blood When You Cut Into ARare Steak?

Answer: No, it’s not blood. It’s water containing a protein calledmyoglobinthat exists in muscles for carryingoxygenfrom the blood to the muscles. So while we sometimes callrare steaksbloody, there’s no actual blood. It’s simply a protein.

Question: Does The Name Blue Steak Have Anything To Do WithBlue Cheese?

Answer: You probably noticed that we did not mentionblue cheeseas an ingredient when it comes to cookingblue rare steak. That’s because the name likely comes from theinternal temperaturebeing so cool compared to any other way of serving steak. However,blue cheeseis a good addition to steak. You could even make a compound butter withblue cheesefor serving steaks.