While hunting for the perfect hot dog, I spent some time with Peter Smith at PS-7. There was a lull in the interview so I mentioned my recent steak debacle, and asked him if he ever used cake testers to test the doneness of steak. Peter confirmed I was right to not toss my steaks in an ice bath. He then went on to demonstrate the proper technique.
Plunge the cake tester all the way into the meat and mark its depth on the tester with your thumb. This way when its removed you can tell what part of the tester was in what part of the steak. Count to three and quickly pull the tester out and touch it to your face. The area just above my lip where my mustache would start (if I had one) is most sensitive for me. Starting where your thumb marked the outside of the steak draw the tester across your lip. As the tester moves across your skin you can “feel” the steak from its surface, to its center, and then out the other side.
Warm near your thumb, then cold, then warm at the tip of the tester indicates a steak that is rare, or completely underdone. Hot, then slightly warmer than your body temperature indicates medium rare. As you start to perceive heat across the entire length of the tester — it’s game over.
Peter also described how to use a tester to tell the doneness of fish based not on temperature, rather resistance. I’ll cover that in another post.
Medium Rare
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The problem with cake testers is you’re chancing putting a E. coli stick on your lips.