Find a Job You Really Want In
In honor of National Beef Month, we cut out the fat and got right to the good stuff- Steak.
From rare to well done, most people know how they like their steak– and have a strong opinion about it. But as anyone who’s ever gone to dinner with their Midwestern aunt knows, not everyone has the same good taste as you. In fact, some people like to order burnt hockey sticks and call it meat.
We turned to Google Trends to uncover how each state likes their state. The results? A lot of the country is flat out ordering their steak wrong.
Most Interesting Findings
- The good news? Most states don’t prefer well done steaks.
- Ok, now for the bad news: A disappointing, 17 (presumably taste bud dead) states enjoy well done steaks.
- What states are the biggest steak villans (aka biggest fans of well done steak)? Washington, Missouri, and West Virginia.
- A hunch, these states probably also enjoy using copious amounts of A1 to add some flavor back into their dinner.
- 14 states like their states medium rare.
- Another 11 states border on dangerous with a taste for medium well.
- Who appreciates a nice rare steak the most? Wyoming, South Dakota, and Oregon.
- Blue steak (the least cooked, most likely to moo of steak preps) is beloved by New York, Hawaii, and Massachusetts.
How We Figured This Out
To hash out each states’ favorite way to have their steak cooked we turned to Google Trends. After all, when you’re grilling it’s a fairly common occurrence to double check your cook time to get the steak just right (or well done and just wrong).
We then aggregated the search trends for the common degrees you can cook steak. From there, we determined what steak type is searched a disproportionately, high amount in each state.
For example, while New Yorkers eat all types of steak, the search interest in “blue steak” is disproportionately higher than the remaining states. This makes “Blue steak” the most preferred way to get a steak in New York..
We opted not to include hamburger steak, which coincidentally is what all the people who like well done steaks should be ordering. It’s not real steak and doesn’t taste like it, but neither does well done steak.
We looked at a full year of searches, giving each state full opportunity to demonstrate their good taste (or lack therefore of.)
Just because you can order it, doesn’t mean you should
To quote the philosopher Hank Hill, when someone asks for a well done steak you “politely but firmly ask them to leave.”
Of course if you are a server or work in food service, you might not have much choice. In fact, your job may depend upon you smiling as you hand the customer a greyish, tough, chewy, flavorless, and dry piece of meat.
Ultimately, at the end of the day, the choice is yours. But can you at least buy a cheaper cut of meat? I promise it will taste the same when you slather it A1 sauce.
How Each State Likes Their Steak Cooked
| State | How They Like Their Steak Cooked |
|---|---|
| Alabama | Medium Well |
| Alaska | Medium Rare |
| Arizona | Medium Rare |
| Arkansas | Medium Rare |
| California | Well Done |
| Colorado | Medium Rare |
| Connecticut | Medium Well |
| Delaware | Medium |
| District of Columbia | Medium Rare |
| Florida | Well Done |
| Georgia | Well Done |
| Hawaii | Blue |
| Idaho | Medium Rare |
| Illinois | Well Done |
| Indiana | Medium Well |
| Iowa | Medium Well |
| Kansas | Medium Rare |
| Kentucky | Medium Well |
| Louisiana | Well Done |
| Maine | Medium |
| Maryland | Well Done |
| Massachusetts | Blue |
| Michigan | Well Done |
| Minnesota | Well Done |
| Mississippi | Medium Well |
| Missouri | Well Done |
| Montana | Medium Rare |
| Nebraska | Medium Rare |
| Nevada | Well Done |
| New Hampshire | Medium Rare |
| New Jersey | Medium Well |
| New Mexico | Medium Well |
| New York | Blue |
| North Carolina | Well Done |
| North Dakota | Medium |
| Ohio | Medium Well |
| Oklahoma | Medium Well |
| Oregon | Rare |
| Pennsylvania | Well Done |
| Rhode Island | Medium Rare |
| South Carolina | Medium Well |
| South Dakota | Rare |
| Tennessee | Well Done |
| Texas | Well Done |
| Utah | Medium Rare |
| Vermont | Medium Rare |
| Virginia | Well Done |
| Washington | Well Done |
| West Virginia | Well Done |
| Wisconsin | Medium Rare |
| Wyoming | Rare |
Author
Kathy is the head of content at Zippia with a knack for engaging audiences. Prior to joining Zippia, Kathy worked at Gateway Blend growing audiences across diverse brands. She graduated from Troy University with a degree in Social Science Education.
