Study finds two-thirds of Americans would choose steak for final meal
'Outnumbered' panel discusses what would be their pick for a final meal
Food trends come and go, but America’s love of beef is eternal.
Nearly two out of three Americans would choose steak with their last meal, according to the new 2022-23 Consumer Steak Report published by Meats by Linz, a meat wholesaler in the Chicago area.
Some 64% of survey respondents said "if they could choose their ‘last meal,’ steak would be included."
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"Doesn’t surprise me," restaurateur Cameron Mitchell, who operates Ocean Prime, a national chain of 17 upscale surf-and-turf concept eateries, told Fox News Digital this week.
He sells "a couple of million steaks" every year, each seasoned simply with salt and pepper and broiled at 1,200 degrees to reach crispy-on-the-outside, tender-on-the-inside perfection.
A bone-in ribeye from Ocean Prime, a national chain of 17 upscale steak-and-seafood concept restaurants. "Doesn't surprise me" that steak remains America's favorite food, Ocean Prime owner Cameron Mitchell told Fox News Digital this week. (Cameron Mitchell Restaurants)
"America has grown up on steak and thrived on steak for years," said Mitchell, adding, "I still love a good steak and potato. It’s the quintessential American meal."
The nation appears to agree.
"The classic term ‘meat and potatoes’ certainly rings true for the consumers surveyed, as baked potato was the top side dish when cooking steak at home and while dining out," reports Meats by Linz.
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Americans consumed 27.6 billion pounds of beef in 2020, according to the US Department of Agriculture, easily the most of any nation in the world. The United States accounted for 21.2% of all the beef consumed worldwide.
China, with four times the population, consumed 21 billion pounds of beef; the entire European Union ate 17 billion pounds of beef.
"Beef is part of our primal instinct," said Chris Coombs, who owns "urban steak bistro" Boston Chops as well as fine-dining French concept Deuxave in Boston. He claims that enjoying beef is part of our "primal instinct" as human beings. "No matter how much fake meat floods the market, at the end of the day we’re carnivores and there is nothing more primal than gorging ourselves on fine American Angus beef," he told Fox News Digital. (Courtesy Chris Coombs)
The nation's love affair with beef cuts across gender lines, despite steak’s popular image as a "masculine" meal — 75% of men, and 65% of women, consider steak to be one of their favorite foods, the survey of 1,048 U.S. consumers found.
The results defy the headline-making trend of "beyond" and "impossible" foods — those plant-based products meant to imitate the taste of meat that are supposedly riding a wave of popularity.
"Beyond Meat" announced on Monday that it was releasing a new line of plant-based steak tips at 5,000 Kroger and Walmart locations around the country.
"Beef is part of our primal instinct."
"Beyond Steak is a highly-anticipated expansion of our popular beef platform and we’re proud to introduce this innovative product to consumers nationwide," Chief Innovation Officer Dariush Ajami said in a statement.
But those "fake meat" products don't satisfy our "primal" desire for animal flesh, said celebrity chef Chris Coombs.
He rose to culinary fame with, among other dishes, his signature skillet-fried ribeye with butter and herbs that graced the cover of Food & Wine magazine.
A filet mignon, seasoned with salt and pepper, from Alba Restaurant, an upscale Mediterranean steakhouse in Quincy, Massachusetts. Filet mignon is America's second-favorite cut of steak, after ribeye, according to the new 2022-233 Consumer Steak Report by Meats by Linz. (Kerry J. Byrne/Fox News Digital)
"Beef is part of our primal instinct," Coombs, who owns "urban steak bistro" Boston Chops, and fine-dining French concept Deuxave in Boston, told Fox News Digital.
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"As humans at the end of the day, no matter how much fake meat floods the market, at the end of the day we’re carnivores and there is nothing more primal than gorging ourselves on fine American Angus beef."
Coombs names his favorite cut of steak: the rarely heard-of spinalis. It’s that strip of super-tender meat that caps the edge of the ribeye.
Ordering a steak well done can be a perfect way to ruin a first date.
It offers a unique combination of oh-my! fork-cut tenderness with extreme soul-satisfying umami — that savory mouthfeel that makes you go "mmmm!" with each bite.
"America has grown up on steak and thrived on steak for years," restaurateur Cameron Mitchell, owner of Ocean Prime, told Fox News Digital. He added, "I still love a good steak and potato. It’s the quintessential American meal." (Cameron Mitchell Restaurants)
Not all steak eaters are looked upon equally in the eyes of the America’s beef-loving public.
And ordering a steak well done can be a perfect way to ruin a first date.
More than 1 in 3 survey respondents (34%) "would be critical" if somebody ordered their steak well done on a first date," according to the same Meats by Linz survey.
The results again crossed gender lines, with 37% of men and 32% of women preferring the potential of a second date with rare-to-medium steak lovers.
A recent survey found that 37% of men and 32% of women prefer the potential of a second date with rare-to-medium steak lovers. (iStock)
Ketchup on a steak is a bigger red flag for romantic prospects: 42% of Americans — and an equal percentage of men and women — would look askance at their date for destroying steak with the sweet condiment.
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Former President Donald Trump ignited a social media firestorm early in his tenure when he was found ordering a steak well done with ketchup — inviting criticism from both sides of the political spectrum.
Now you know why.
Ketchup goes on French fries, not on steak, say American consumers. (iStock)
Among other survey results are the following points.
Ribeye is America’s favorite cut of steak, enjoyed by 61% of survey respondents, followed by filet (47%) and T-bone (43%).
We prefer our steaks with A.1. Sauce (39%), followed by barbecue sauce (13%) and Worcestershire sauce (10%).
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Grilling is the best way to cook a steak, enjoyed by 78% of respondents, while medium-rare (35%) is America's favorite level of tenderness.
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