The photo you posted — ten slices of steak stacked from blood-red on top to charcoal-black on bottom — is the most honest doneness chart on the internet. Most restaurants give you five words: blue, rare, medium-rare, medium, well. This image gives you ten visual steps, and it is useful because steak does not jump in five big leaps. It changes every 5 degrees Fahrenheit.
If you have ever ordered "medium" and gotten something pink or gray, this is the guide to point at.
1. What the numbers mean (with real temperatures)
Forget the old "poke test." Use a thermometer. Pull the steak 5 degrees before the target, it will rise while resting.
1 – Blue (Bleu): 100-110°F / 38-43°C
The top slice in your photo. Seared 30 seconds per side, ice-cold purple-red center, almost raw texture. The French call it bleu because it looks bruised. Steakhouse chefs will only do it with prime beef they trust. It is soft, slippery, intensely beefy.
2 – Rare: 115-120°F / 46-49°C
Your second slice. Warm red center, cool in the middle. Myoglobin has not set. This is what most high-end steakhouses serve when you say "rare." Juicy, tender, but can be chewy if the cut has fat that has not rendered.
3 – Medium-Rare: 125-130°F / 52-54°C
Your third slice, the sweet spot. The center is ruby-red, edges are pink, fat is starting to melt. This is the temperature where collagen softens but muscle fibers have not squeezed out their juice. About 70% of chefs will tell you this is "correct."
4 – Medium-Rare Plus: 130-135°F / 54-57°C
Your fourth slice. Still pink-red, but the red is narrower. Good for thicker steaks (1.5 inches+) because the carryover heat will push it to perfect medium-rare after 5 minutes rest.
5 – Medium: 135-145°F / 57-63°C
Your fifth slice. Warm pink center, no red. This is where most Americans say "medium." The steak is firmer, juices are clear pink, not red. Fat is fully rendered, which is why ribeye lovers often choose this.
6 – Medium-Well Start: 145-150°F / 63-66°C
Your sixth slice. Light pink, mostly tan. The muscle fibers are tightening. You lose about 20% of the moisture compared to medium-rare. This is the line where chefs start to sigh.
7 – Medium-Well: 150-155°F / 66-68°C
Your seventh slice. Trace of pink, mostly brown. Still juicy if you rested it, but the texture is steak-house "well done for people who do not want to admit it."
8 – Well Done: 155-160°F / 68-71°C
Your eighth slice. Uniform brown, firm. Myoglobin is fully denatured. If cooked slowly, it can still be moist. If grilled hot and fast, it is dry.
9 – Well Done Plus: 160-165°F / 71-74°C
Your ninth slice. Dark brown, slight crust through the center. This is what fast-food chains serve. Moisture is gone, flavor comes from Maillard crust and seasoning.
10 – Burnt / Pittsburgh / "Noir": 170°F+ / 77°C+
Your bottom slice. Black outside, dark gray inside, often charred for flavor. In Pittsburgh they call it "black and blue" — charred outside, blue inside — but your photo shows the true well-beyond-well version. Some people order this for texture, not juiciness.
2. The science behind the color
That red juice is not blood. Slaughtered beef has almost no blood left. It is myoglobin, a protein that stores oxygen in muscle. Myoglobin is red when cool, pink at 130°F, tan at 145°F, brown at 160°F. The color change is protein denaturing, not doneness of fat.
That is why a medium-rare steak (3) looks "bloody" but is completely safe if the outside hit 160°F for a sear. Bacteria live on the surface, not inside a whole muscle.
3. Why restaurants mess it up
Thickness matters. A 1-inch steak goes from 2 to 6 in 90 seconds. A 2-inch steak gives you a 4-minute window.
Carryover cooking. A steak pulled at 125°F will be 130°F after 5 minutes. Most home cooks cut too early.
Heat source. Your photo shows a hard sear with a dark crust and even gradient inside — that is reverse sear or sous vide, not a screaming hot pan only. If you only grill hot, you get a gray band under the crust.
Pro tip: for numbers 1-4, use a thermometer and pull early. For numbers 6-10, cook low and slow (275°F oven to target, then sear) so you do not dry the center before the outside is done.
4. Which number should you order
Filet mignon, strip, ribeye prime: 2 to 4. Fat needs heat to render, so ribeye is best at 3-4.
Sirloin, flank, skirt: 3 to 5. Lean cuts get tough below rare.
Burgers and ground beef: 8 minimum (160°F) for safety, USDA rule.
Wagyu or heavily marbled: 3-4. The fat melts at 130°F, that is the point.
Culturally, the fight is real. In France and Argentina, 1-3 is normal. In the U.S. Midwest, 5-7 is standard. In well-done households, 8-10 is respect, not insult.
5. How to hit your number at home
Bring steak to room temperature 30 minutes.
Salt heavily 40 minutes before, or right before — never in between.
Use a digital instant-read thermometer, not your thumb.
For 1-3: 90 seconds per side in cast iron, rest 3 minutes.
For 4-6: reverse sear — 225°F oven to 10 degrees below target, then 1 minute sear.
For 7-10: 275°F oven to target, no rest needed, add butter at the end.
Cut against the grain, and look at the color, not the juice on the board.
Bottom line
Your photo is more accurate than most menus because it shows the continuum. There are not five doneness levels, there are ten, and every five degrees changes texture.
Number 1 is for thrill seekers and tartare lovers. Number 10 is for people who want crust and chew. Numbers 3 and 4 — the ruby center with a dark sear — are where science, flavor, and juiciness align, which is why chefs, butchers, and steak competitions all land there.
Next time you order, do not say "medium." Point to the picture and say "I want a 3" or "give me a 6." You will get exactly what you see, and you will never send a steak back again.
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