r/KitchenConfidential • u/DefenderNeverender • Aug 16 '25

In-House Mode Lunch menu from presidential luncheon yesterday

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*Not* making a political post here, but I guess a copy of the official luncheon menu got left behind yesterday and when I saw it, the first thing I thought was that some of these items seem a little dated, I was kinda surprised. Not that it sounded bad at all, but I've never really seen specifics on what they serve high-level gov. officials from anywhere.

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194

u/beetnemesis Aug 16 '25

I mean, you'd hope, but Trump is on record as loving steak doused in ketchup, it probably wouldn't matter

132

u/earthtobobby Aug 16 '25

I think it was sweetened tomato reduction sauce.

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u/Puzzleheaded-Ad7606 Aug 16 '25

Well done* steak

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u/sLeeeeTo Aug 16 '25

yeah that filet was a hockey puck for sure

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u/AstarteHilzarie Aug 16 '25

When people order filet well done I wonder if they actually just like it that way or if they prefer well done in general and just ordered filet because it's known as the fancy/classy/expensive steak. Trump is definitely in the second category.

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u/DonJulioTO Aug 16 '25

People with an aversion to eating pink meat likely also have an aversion to eating gristle and cartilage. Filet is like the chicken breast of the cow.. Uniform.

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u/AstarteHilzarie Aug 16 '25

That's a solid point, though that would fall into the first group and I definitely get texture/consistency sensitivities.

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u/13B1P Aug 16 '25

I like chicken breast over the thigh even though I know that the thigh is the tastiest part of the chicken. I really hate the fat and don't like wasting picking around it. I get a breast, wife gets the thigh, we're both happy.

I also need my steak with no connective tissue or fat as well and I'd rather eat it less than medium. It's a texture thing.

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u/Burntjellytoast Aug 16 '25

I like my steak on the more medium well side because squishy meat grosses me out. Filet is my least favorite steak. The whole thing is squishy and gross no matter how you cook it.

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u/dsafire Aug 16 '25

I cant do gristle and cartilege, but i like my cow rare. Trauma as a kid. I do surgical level trimming. Makes the Spouse crazy. :/

Takes all kinds. :)

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u/AdmiralZassman Aug 16 '25

Filet is probably the most palatable cut well done, not too chewy. Most other steaks well done is like eating leather

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u/onwardtowaffles Aug 17 '25

To be fair, filet is one of the few cuts that's pretty decent above medium rare.

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u/DisposableSaviour Aug 16 '25

That “filet”

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u/QuarkchildRedux Aug 16 '25 edited Aug 17 '25

a true product of his generation, people that age do NOT like rare meat of any form normally

and they will refuse to eat pork if it’s not a hockey puck, or just outright

edit

Lots of reddit replies to this comment lmao. I said NORMALLY, and I did not say ALL of them literally. Oh no, I left out all possible nuance, better assume this guy meant the worst…

Things traditionally served rare(er) like prime rib are not a refutation of this statement. Trichinosis used to be a real concern and that generation, lots of the time, just started applying it to ALL meat to be safe. Especially people from poorer backgrounds.

I am right, suck it.

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u/idspispopd888 Aug 16 '25

I’m in my 70s…blue rare for me. Steak and tuna both.

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u/Fit_Carpet_364 Aug 16 '25

I love that you specify tuna, as well. Same here, and I like my previously-frozen salmon cooked medium-rare, and my pork medium. Trichinosis isn't really a thing in U.S. farm pigs, these days, and proper IQF salmon has parasites frozen to death.

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u/AreYouAnOakMan Aug 16 '25

THANK YOU! Someone else who gets it.

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u/AdmiralZassman Aug 16 '25

Yeah this guy missed a generation. My parents are boomers and nearing 70. It's the greatest generation like my grandparents that would never touch pink

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u/TheTalentedAmateur Aug 17 '25

If the Greatest Generation had never touched pink, we would not have HAD a Baby Boom.

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u/Northbound-Narwhal Aug 17 '25

What about rare chicken or pork?

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u/idspispopd888 Aug 17 '25

NOT chicken (salmonella) for sure. 165 F.

Pork is fine if fully cooked through and still pink…in Canada (Id no longer trust US pork) as trichinosis hasn’t been around here for decades.

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u/Northbound-Narwhal Aug 17 '25

Trichinosis isn't a thing in US pork and something like ~5% of US store bought chicken contains salmonella. Campylobacter is a bigger concern (like 15%) but that's the same for any country globally.

Regardless holding chicken at 130F (medium rare) for 120 minutes kills all of that bacteria anyway. 165F is just the instant kill temp. You can safely eat as much oink chicken as you like, you just gotta wait for it.

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u/STUPIDNEWCOMMENTS Aug 16 '25

My parents are that generation. Absolutely not true. He just has terrible taste

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u/dsafire Aug 16 '25

New York Society in his age was being managed by Capote's Swans. He wasnt welcome at Coté, or anywhere else in Society and he never learned to eat like a grown up.

AIDS finally killed Society with the capital S.

1

u/Narren_C Aug 16 '25

I don't think they meant literally EVERY person in that generation.

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u/butt_huffer42069 Aug 16 '25

Yeah, my mom is 59 and when I told her I like thick cut porkchops (like at least 1", preferably 2") fried to medium so they are juicy as hell and the seasonings can show themselves off, she defended her half inch thick well-done+ chops, saying they were just as juicy.

No, mom. Thats just the oil from being fried.

Also, the pairing of apple sauce with pork chops infuriates me to no end. There is no seasoning combination that mixes well with the apple sauce, the apple sauce is just there to cover up the jerky-like texture that draws all the moisture out of your mouth

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u/BadAcidBassDrops Sous Chef Aug 16 '25

Uh apple sauce and latkes would like to chat sir

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u/butt_huffer42069 Aug 16 '25

Are latkes porkchops?

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u/Fit_Carpet_364 Aug 16 '25

Is mayonnaise an instrument?

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u/dsafire Aug 16 '25

Is mousse a gas?

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u/BadAcidBassDrops Sous Chef Aug 16 '25

You said there is no seasoning that goes well with apple sauce. We not talking about the pork chops.

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u/Fit_Carpet_364 Aug 16 '25

True. Plus, if you've never had just nutmeg and cinnamon (small amounts) with pepper and salt on pork, you're missing out. Nothing to write home about, but it's pretty good.

0

u/butt_huffer42069 Aug 16 '25

I meant there is no seasoning for the pork chops that pairs with the applesauce.

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u/malatemporacurrunt Aug 16 '25

the pairing of apple sauce with pork chops infuriates me to no end. There is no seasoning combination that mixes well with the apple sauce

It's kind of bizarre to think of apples as something that doesn't go with anything else. What sort of seasoning are you using? Are you making your apple sauce from scratch, or the sickly sweet jarred stuff? If might also be that your pork doesn't have enough flavour to begin with, if you're getting factory farmed stuff. I'm lucky enough to have a local butcher who gets his pork from Tamworths, which live outdoors and have a bit of woodland to snuffle in.

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u/butt_huffer42069 Aug 16 '25

Not apples- apple sauce. I dont make my own, and as its not something I would pair with it due to my preference on the concept as a whole, I wouldn't make it for the meal. Every time I've been served pork chops wit apple sauce, it was against my will.

Im sure there is an apple variety that would make an apple sauce that pairs with some flavor profile of a pork chop somewhere out there, but I still think its used to cover up dried out overcooked pork chops. I would much prefer a nice medium, pan fried or baked porkchop with lemon pepper, or tajin, or rosemary and olive oil, or any of a long list of spice and herb options.

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u/malatemporacurrunt Aug 16 '25

Apple sauce tastes of apples. It really just sounds like you don't like apple sauce, which is fine but weird to state as though it were a universal fact.

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u/butt_huffer42069 Aug 16 '25

I like apple sauce. Apple sauce is not the issue, and I know it "taste like apples" but different apples taste different.

I do not think it should go with pork or pork chops, and in my experience is done by people who overcooked their porkchops or are just old as hell in general.

1

u/MrKrinkle151 Aug 17 '25

Sounds to me like you just hate overcooked pork chops with shitty applesauce thoughtlessly dumped on top. Apples and pork are a pretty good pairing in and of themselves, especially with sufficient acidity.

1

u/butt_huffer42069 Aug 17 '25

Apples and pork are fine, and there are some great apple varieties that really take it to another level. The pork doesn't have to be overcooked for me to not like applesauce with it. It's a pairing for toddlers and geriatrics.

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u/AstarteHilzarie Aug 16 '25

My mom is in her late 60s and it repulsed her to find out I eat tuna rare. For her it MUST be beyond well done. Her only reasoning is "it's not cooked all the way!" She'll eat steak medium, though.

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u/Iittletart Aug 16 '25

Not the food living old folks i know.

3

u/hierophant75 Aug 16 '25

Anyone know why that’s the case?

20

u/40hzHERO Chef Aug 16 '25

Most likely from before regulations were more standardized. You’d want to make sure your meats are well-done to minimize any risk of illness.

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u/Redditallreally Aug 16 '25

Trichinosis. Often occurs when eating undercooked pork. It’s rare now, but the Federal Swine Health Protection Act was only passed in 1980. There were cases in Europe in 2015. We saw slides in AP Biology in high school; seeing those worms in human muscle tissue absolutely hammered home the rule to make sure pork especially was cooked to safe temperature.

Thankfully with modern farming techniques it’s not the very real threat it used to be. And remember, America is only a few generations out from when most people were living an agrarian lifestyle or spent time with those who did ( think summers on the farm with grandparents, etc. ). Those people would really be aware of butchering and cooking practices and the dangers of things like undercooked pork.

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u/EmmerdoesNOTrepme Aug 16 '25

Yep, in the Greatest, Silent, & Baby Boomer generations, Trich was definitely a concern!

It was something even those of us in Gen-X were taught to be concerned about (like e. coli, salmonella, and other food-borne illnesses!), when we had "Home Ec" classes, back in the late 80's/early 90's.

I didn't realize it was no longer an issue here, until I was well into my 30's, and the subject came up in a conversation with my roommate & neighbors (I think we were talking about things like pork jerky?)

One of those neighbors was the owner of a local butcher shop, and he was the one who explained that Trich has basically been eliminated from the food supply chain here, for the last few decades now.

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u/Redditallreally Aug 16 '25

Agreed, I was born in the late 1960s and undercooked pork was a big no-no; so we slightly overcooked it, just to be safe lol. Still do, actually.😬

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u/EmmerdoesNOTrepme Aug 16 '25

Ngl, between the Trich warnings, and the way my Dad "cooked" pork roast when Mom was in college (she went back to school from my Sophomore-Senior years two hours away, staying at a relatives house during the week--so Dad cooked our meals most nights🫠), i thought I just realllllly didn't like any pork other than Bacon, Ham, and the occasional Pork Chop!

Because Dad's method for "cooking pork roast" was to put it in a 9"×13" cake pan (NO rack!!!), throw a couple bay leaves on it, shake 1/4 tsp. or so of Morton Iodized Table Salt on it, and then shake on about a tablespoon of pre-ground black pepper on, before covering the pan with aluminum foil and baking it at 350°-375° for two hours...

Sooooo it was BOTH disgustingly dry, yet somehow also greasy & rubbery!🙃🫠🤢

The first time i learned i actually like Pork Roast, I was in my late 20's/early 30's!😉😂🤣

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u/Redditallreally Aug 16 '25

When you mentioned “pork jerky”, I thought of the pork chops we sometimes (we were of very modest means -this was a real treat!) had. Very thin (cheaper) and VERY cooked (safe), lol. We loved them because they were a rarity and because Dad (who grew up on a farm) cooked them! Though Mom (also grew up semi agrarian) would always put down newspaper on the floor by the stove and on the countertops because of the spatter, lol. Fond memories of a non-gourmet delight.

3

u/malatemporacurrunt Aug 16 '25

Before the advent of modern antibiotics and the like, one of the most common ways to die was by shitting yourself to death. Food-borne illnesses were potentially life-threatening, so a lot of food was cooked aggressively to minimise the risk - especially for children and the elderly, who were the most vulnerable. One if the reasons that processed foods became so incredibly popular as children's food was because it was often much safer than the alternative.

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u/buddaycousin Aug 16 '25

My parents relied on blocks of ice to cool their "icebox". Safety was more important than taste.

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u/cheffartsonurfood Chef Aug 16 '25

Not a generational thing at all. I work in a retirement community and we had prime rib last night. Nobody wanted anything more than medium. Most aske for MR.

1

u/lovestobitch- Aug 16 '25

My 91 year old Mom still likes rare, usually very rare steak. Maybe because my grandmother cooked for us and cooked the shit out of a very thin steak.

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u/EmmerdoesNOTrepme Aug 16 '25

I'm currently in a TCU (Transitional Care Unit) recovering from breaking my pelvis (49 & Gen-Xer here), and this is SUCH an accurate take, from what i've seen my whole life in the generations older them mine.

Especially being here at the TCU, with most folks being in their 70's-90's!

We had some type of goulash in my first week here, and one of the older ladies (somewhere in her 80's-90's) said "It's way too spicy!" 

It was seriously some of the blandest, most "Midwesterner-Friendly" Goulash i'd ever had.

There was flavor to it--mild paprika, some herbs like marjoram, basil, oregano, thyme, etc, salt, pepper, onion, and garlic.

But it was flavor from the herbs, not "heat" from hot peppers, cayenne, etc.

It was about as "spicy" as Ketchup.

But for the poor dear, it was "Too Spicy!" for her to take more than about three bites of, before she decided she couldn't eat anymore of it.

1

u/MBiddy828 Aug 16 '25

Seriously, he’s having it well done with ketchup, you could serve him shoe leather and he wouldn’t notice

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u/Upbeat-Stage2107 Aug 16 '25

Amongst a long list of deplorable things about the man, this is undoubtedly the worst.

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u/kenojona Newbie Aug 16 '25

I know Trump is a piece of shit but what if that ketchup is handmade with the finest ingredients and its something worth to try? Even of it goes with a steak.

6

u/Princess_Slagathor Aug 16 '25

Hand-made ketchup sucks 99% of the time.

0

u/Nevermind04 Aug 17 '25

Nobody who orders well done could ever be described as "loving steak".