Why You Should Use Tongs To Serve Steak

There are many ways to cook a steak. You can grill it, bake it, slow cook it, pan fry it, reverse sear it, and so on. Then there are the degrees of "doneness" to choose from during cooking, ranging from rare to well done. Steak preparation certainly offers a lot of flexibility, but one thing about steak that isn't as widely considered is the best way to handle it after it's cooked and before it reaches your mouth.

Indeed, not all steak-handling methods are created equal. If you've ever used a fork to move the steak from the stove (or whatever you cooked it on) to your plate, you probably didn't think twice about it. Grab, stab, and serve, right? No big deal. But if you want the best-tasting steak, it is a big deal. It's best not to use a fork or any other utensil that can pierce it (via Insider). So what's the right utensil for the job?

Before you mutilate your steak with a fork as you move it to your plate, ask yourself if you want a mediocre steak or a good steak. You'll want to put the sharp object down and grab something less invasive, like tongs. Yes, that's right — tongs. But why?

According to Insider, using a fork to grab your steak can cause the meat to lose its juice and flavor, especially if you like your steak cooked rare or medium-rare. Using tongs allows you to grip the steak without puncturing it, keeping all the juices and flavor intact. A spatula would also work well.

Now if you like your steak well done, you won't have to worry about the loss of flavor or juice as much, since well-done steak is the most firm, driest "degree of doneness," as the Omaha Steaks company blog notes. But regardless of how you like your steak, it certainly wouldn't hurt to use a pair of tongs or a spatula to move it to your plate.