How to Order a Steak (doneness) in French, German & Italian

Food & Drink, Events and Entertainment
1
I’m sure a lot of us have had diffulty at ordering the correct doneness of our Steaks in restaurants in Switzerland. I’ve researched this quite a bit and it's been very tedious as there are very different views out there and I'm sure mine aren't of everyone's opinion, nevertheless, I hope it helps.

English -French -German -Italian

Very Rare -Bleu -Blau -Molto Al Sangue

Rare -Saignant -Blutig -Al Sangue / Poco cotto

Medium Rare -Entre Saignant et à point -Englisch -Media Cottura

Medium -à point -Rosa/Durch -Rosa

Medium Well -Entre à point et bien cuit -Halb Rosa/Halb Durch -A puntino

Well Done -Bien Cuit -Durch(gebraten) -Ben Cotto

Here’s a chart with Degrees of Donesness:

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Eg_JuhZynbw/Sck1QfHttsI/AAAAAAAAAGY/zPi5fY_tHSI/s400/degrees.jpg

2
A well cooked steak should ooze blood when you cut it. Very rare for me!

3
I find the finger method is better...

How I order my steak depends on the place I'm in...

4
Sure if you're cooking the steak yourself, the finger method is a good way but I don't see how it'll help in ordering a steak when dining out in a restaurant/grill.

If the place that you're in operates in only French, German or Italian, then perhaps the terms above could help.

5
only two ways to order a steak: either "rare" or "ruined"...

6
Hi,

This is interesting, can I ask where you got the above translations? I've never heard 'S-a-point' and "a-p-b-c" used here as a "cuisson" perhaps puting the word "entre" (between) between the 2 might work, but I suspect that if you order those cuissons in a France or CHF restaurant, you'll get some strange looks.

Mrs T

7
Very helpful post. I should mention that in many places, you would also use Blue in English to emphasise very rare. Def in Canada, one would use Blue.

And echoing the above post, I don't think it's common to be able to order medium-rare in French; it's either or, in which case of course you would pick rare, cuz medium is a waste of a good filet.

8
Also, in English, well-done can also be referred to as BURNT. What a waste.

9
Also, in general, the "blue" doneness of an Englishman is equivalent to the "rare" doneness of a French... oh, I could go on...

I think you have the Italian translations of Medium and Medium-rare the wrong way around

10
Hi Mrs T. Your comment is correct. I would add the word 'entre' for French, as I have corrected. I once chef'd at a Brasserie and we used these phrases to accomodate the guests who wanted their steaks to this doneness. I like my steaks Medium Rare as do many others and this is how I always order my Steak.

I must say though, that when you order in France, the steaks are more bloody than when ordered in the USA. A medium steak in France is far less cooked than a medium in the USA.

11
The only problem I have with bleu is that the meat is not hot but cool (sometimes cold). Bleu tends to be seared on the outside and then plated.

I love the idea of cow sushi but I really to like my beef warm to the touch.

Brian.

12
Rare is good. You can always ask to have it cooked a bit more..not so easy to have it uncooked.

13
A good steakhouse will always have a few fillets on the pass sitting there at room temperature for the customers who wants it done Bleu

14
Unfortunately, this is often the case Brian. Problem is the steaks are taken straight out of the fridge storage and then seared. Not giving them enough time to warm up.

To solve this, order your steak first before anything else and ask the chef to leave the steak out at room temperature while you go ahead with ordering drinks & rest of your meal, apero, starters, etc... When time comes for your Steak, it should have warmed up a little.

Some restaurants cook the 'Bleu' steak first of all, and then leave it under the heating lamps (kitchen pass) to warm up while they finish preparing the rest of the meals for your table.

15
You can also say "Avec Sangue" (french) or "con Blud" (italian). Sorry about the spelling.

I have had a steak ruined when I ordered it rare this way because the waiter didn't actually listen to me whilst I was ordering. He knew that I spoke english and my wife used an english accent and assumed that I wanted my meat well done.

Needless to say, it got sent back after I called the owner over, cause the waiter still wouldn't listen to what I was trying to say.

I have also discovered that describing the color is also good. You can use Red for rare, Pink for medium and Grey for ruined.

16
Although, a "medium done" steak in France may well be a little rarer than you are expecting.

17
Yes, also in English, you can order it 'bloody' to mean very rare.

Or 'alive'.

Or 'Moo'.

Or 'walking' ...