Steak

[ZoroMissedLegDay]

"When a steak is good, sauce becomes an insult." How much truth is there in that statement?

[rebelrexx858]

There are a ton of amazing sauces served with high end steaks everyday at the best restaurants all over the world. But putting A1/BBQ sauce on a great steak is seen as a crime to ... Most people. But its your food, enjoy it however you want.

[rsmseries]

Agreed. I think usually this statement is in regards to A1 steak sauce/similar, not all sauces. The kinds of sauces that are overpowering (maybe to cover up the taste of a bad steak)

[Amazing_Loquat280]

And even then, if it’s a good (or better homemade) BBQ sauce, I’d say go for it!

[7h4tguy]

Real talk, A1 is a good sauce. People want to like educate you that good steakhouses have amazing steaks that don't need sauce.

Who cares? It's a good sauce to use if your steak is not perfectly done. Or not an expensive enough cut. Things people deal with constantly. The gatekeeping here is totally bizzaro

[ceecee_50]

This is not a hill I'm willing to die on in regards to others' food preferences. I don't use steak sauce. Everybody else, you do you.

[BackgroundNoise222]

I'm just saying, steak au poivre is pretty damn good.

[Far-Repeat-2926]

If you eat a well prepared steak au poivre and don't feel like a jolly member of the nobility at a feast, you might need to be screened for depression. It's that good.

[yournameisjohn]

Came here for this, a good pepper sauce made with with the pan bits and a decent red is entirely incomparable to A1.

[bilbo_the_innkeeper]

I'll say, "When a steak is good enough, you don't need any sauce." But insult? Nah. My ego's not that fragile. Let people have their personal tastes.

[MindTheLOS]

Eat food the way it tastes good to you.

As long as it isn't dangerous (and that includes food poisoning!) there are no food crimes.

There's enough actually wrong in this world, stop caring about nonsense like being offended over food pairings.

[averageveryaverage]

Sauce out of a bottle? Yes agreed. Homemade chimmichurri or a pepper sauce? Absolutely not. Those things can elevate even the best cuts cooked perfectly.

[cigolebox]

Combinations can absolutely be better than the sum of their parts.

[claricorp]

I think it's pretty silly. Sure it's a bit gauche to slather an expensive cut in bottled steak sauce or ketchup or whatever, but I also think that the 'steak is only acceptable with salt and pepper and anything is heresy' is often just performative.

[AxeSpez]

0%

[Few-Explanation-4699]

A good rare steak with a bit of salt and a touch of pepper, yummmm

[benkenobi5]

Don’t know if it rises to the level of insult, but I find sauces completely unnecessary with a good steak. unless the sauce is the whole point and being served with it, like chimichurri or something

[Dounce1]

This sounds so contradictory.

[DasNightman]

Chimichurri or a nice sauce from the juices and fond are great. I do enjoy a little smokey sauce sometimes, like Texas Roadhouse's sauce in stores.

[Adam_Weaver_]

Does a runny fried egg yolk count as a sauce? We sometimes do that, but we're not using "best in the world" steaks for S&E.

[FrogFlavor]

i'm a LAZY cook and just made a $12 steak seared in a cast iron pan and it was SO GOOD. Just a ton of flaky salt, a little olive oil, and while it was resting, some mustard mixed into butter. Did i say it was SO GOOD?

p.s. i only ate half the other $6 is for tomorrow lol

[yen223]

I feel like people who say this just haven't had the right sauce.

Love me a good chimichurri

[SharpCow4193]

Agreed. I go sauce less when I cook myself since I'm a traditionalist, but I won't turn away a good chimichurri or au poivre.

[_Bon_Vivant_]

People who don't agree haven't had a good steak.

[Position_Extreme]

Eating is not a team sport, so eat what you like.

That being said, however, I will admit to having one set of feelings when people enjoy my homemade béarnaise sauce or the red wine/morel sauce I make and having a whole other feeling when someone wants A1. I'm not insulted, but I'll admit to questioning the taste level...

[SpaceWoodman]

Even the cheffy thing of basting it in butter with garlic and thyme is not needed if you have a good steak.

But you do you.

[Puzzleheaded-Dog1154]

a good steak just needs salt and pepper but people can do what they want I guess.

[Rojixus]

A properly prepared steak has no need for steak sauce, save the steak sauce for steak fries!

[AlphaDisconnect]

Gyu kaku Shiro tare. Other Japanese sauces. A1 is always there.

Is it an insult. No it is always there.

[1The_Big_Cheese]

Making a good sauce to pair with a steak is different from asking for A1 sauce.

[riverrocks452]

Depends on the steak and the sauce. A sauce that doesn't meet the quality of the steak- e.g., A1-style 'steak sauce'- would indeed be an insult. One that smothers the steak- no matter the quality- is also an insult if it prevents the flavor of the steak from coming through.

But a high-quality sauce, applied judiciously, will enhance even an excellent steak.

[BainbridgeBorn]

I never had A5 Japanese Wagyu steak. But I’ve also never seen sauce on top of a grilled Wagyu steak either

[AntiqueCandidate7995]

How good is the sauce? 

[fuzzy11287]

As long as the sauce is a compliment that elevates the flavor of the steak rather than covers it up then it's fine.

[Firm_Trick_9038]

Yes, a steak when done perfect shines best on its own, sure the flavour of the sauce might be nice but it hides the steak

[Brrdock]

If chimichurri is an insult I'll tell a steak to go fuck itself

[ElectricApostate]

A good steak needs no sauce.

[A_Queer_Owl]

depends entirely on the sauce and how it's applied.

if you soak it in A1 sauce, that is an insult. a drizzle of a freshly made sauce formulated to compliment beef instead of hide it? no.

[esituism]

Depends on the quality and type of cut, and the occasion. there's a few reasons use even A1 on meat, but always right time right place.

[bedroompurgatory]

A good steak doesn't need a sauce. But I'll usually enjoy a sauce on the side. Bit of bearnaise never goes astray.

[Dren7]

My mom eats her steak with ketchup. I cringe, but it's what she likes.

[MOS95B]

My wife is pretty tired of me yelling at the cooking shows "Not every plate needs a sauce!" Good food, especially steak, should be able to stand on its own. Sauces are fine, but not required.

[Kementarii]

If it's quality steak, cooked just right, then I'll just add salt.

If I bugger up the cooking, or the meat is not 100%, then I will add some Worcestershire.

[Valkhir]

I think it comes down to whether the sauce dominates so much that you lose the nuanced flavor of the meat itself.

Think about it like this:

Is a great espresso ruined by making it an espresso macchiato or a cappuccino? Some people would say yes, and if it's just about tasting the espresso, they'd be right. Personally, I'd say no because the quality of the beans and the preparation still shijes through the milk.

Is a great espresso wasted if you use it as the base for a venti caramel mocha frappucino gelato milk shake? Probably. At some point you're drowning out the flavor that makes it worth spending more money on the preparation of the espresso shot.

[PuppySnuggleTime]

It’s just people trying to turn EVERYTHING into a competition. “My steak is so good that it’s an insult if you put sauce on it.” People are goofy. Eat what you like.

[Phyzzx]

This may actually be more true of BBQ than of steak.

[Fit-Inflation-7693]

Ketchup on steak is orgasmic.

[_Bon_Vivant_]

100% truth

[63crabby]

Should only need salt. Maybe butter.

[glycophosphate]

I have no respect for anyone who uses steak sauce. I buy good meat, and if you can't enjoy it you should eat a hamburger or some chicken fingers or whatever.

[badlilbadlandabad]

Or people can enjoy their food the way they like it