Choosing a Perfect Steak - Know Your Steak Cuts

Chefs are taught a lot about steak cooking, but one can still go to a restaurant and have a shocking experience.

At home, the game of serving a consistently tender and tasty steak gets even harder.

I'll follow with an article on cooking the perfect steak, but before we get to that, I'll address the most critical factor of choosing the right cut.

Here are some tips on selecting the right steak. Choosing the grade of meat will follow in a future article.

Choose a great cut

Steak varies a lot in quality.

Firstly you need to select the right cut for your needs, budget and appetite. Here's a quick list of beef cuts that we can that we can definitely classify as 'steak' as well as some common other names.  

Tenderloin (fillet steak, tournedos, eye fillet)

This is the 'premium' cut and the most tender with the least fat.

A good quality grain fed or Wagyu tenderloin will have a lot of fat marbling through the meat, but this cut should be trimmed of all sinew and will have no fat on the outside. This is the most expensive cut and the most tender, but Rib steaks have more flavour.

Tenderloins are usually smaller steaks as well. Probably the smallest of all the cuts.

Restaurant portions average 180-250g and it's boneless and fat free.

A double cut from the head of the tenderloin is called a Chateaubriand..

Seared Tenderloin can be baked in puff pastry, either whole or in individual portions, with mushroom duxelles or pate. This is called "Beef Wellington." 

Rib Eye, Scotch fillet and Prime Rib

Rib steaks are extremely flavoursome and can be very tender.

The rib has a large piece of moist fat running through the center. This is normal. Leave it there as it gives the meat flavour and keeps it moist.

A rib eye is a fillet of rib - cut off the bone. This is also known as Scotch fillet or 'cube roll'

The Prime rib or "O.P. Rib" is a rib-eye with the bone still on it. Like a huge lamb cutlet, but from beef instead.

Cooking on the bone always gives a lot more flavour, but it does take a little longer to cook.

A prime rib is a premium cut. The Prime rib is up there with the Porterhouse as one of the the largest of the steak cuts, and it's definitely the tastiest.

Expect a prime rib to be 450g to 550 grams.

A rib eye steak will be between 250 grams for a tin one, to 300 grams medium or 400g for a thick one. 

Sirloin, Entrecote, striploin, New York strip

This is the 'third best' cut, and the best value.

It is normally sized somewhere between a tenderloin and a rib steak too.

The Striploin or sirloin has thick fat along the top which should be trimmed down to around 1cm thick. It shouldn't be trimmed off totally as it bastes the meat while cooking and keeps it moist.

Sirloin is very tasty and a great cut, but can be tough if not very careful about choosing the brand or grade of meat. A 'standard' portion is 250 grams, with a large steak being 350 to 400 grams.

T-Bone and Porterhouse

These are a 'combination' steak on the bone.

The bone is a "T" shape. One side of the "T" is a fillet steak or tenderloin, the other side is a sirloin. Both are attached to the bone.

these are the same steak, except the Porterhouse is cut from the back of the shortloin where the fillet steak piece is large and meaty.

the front of the shortloin is where the fillet steak starts to get smaller, so these steaks with smaller tenderloin pieces attached are referred to as "T-Bone"

These are great steaks, normally large. A porterhouse cut thick is probably the largest steak of the lot. Expect around 550 grams 

Rump Steak

This is the 'bum' of the animal. A plump buttock with an external layer of fat which can be trimmed down to an acceptable level.

The rump is probably the 'driest' steak, with the least marbling through the meat compared to the other premium cuts above.

The rump can have great texture and flavour.

Often the rump is just sliced across the grain to give a large piece of tasty meat.

This can be a disadvantage because done this way the grain will run in different directions through the different muscles in the rump.

This means that some bits will be tougher than others.

Steak should be cut across the grain of the meat for best results.

One solution to this is 'seam-cutting' or splitting a whole rump into different muscles and then cutting each across the grain into smaller steaks.

A rump will be around 250 grams if seam cut, to 400 or 500 grams cut across all the muscles.

Lesser cuts

Flank steak and Skirt steak

These are cut from the abdomen or belly of the beef and have a very specific texture. They're OK seasoned and seared over high heat, but they don't have the typical 'steak' appeal of the prime cuts above. 

Bad steaks

Any other cut is not a steak.

A lot of leg meat or shoulder cuts are passed off by supermarkets and 'creative' butchers as "steak"

They are not.

Round 'steak' for example, is a dry, tougher piece of meat not well suited to grilling or pan frying. You can break it down mechanically, or tenderise it, but it's not as well suited to barbecuing and will always be tougher.

Chuck steak is not steak. It's stewing beef.

Choosing a great grade of meat may give you an eating experience that is tender enough from an inferior cut, but the steak cuts from thee same animal will always be tastier and a lot more tender.

A steak cut will not always guarantee tender meat either. Some animals just have tough meat. Even the fillet steak.

A steak is the tenderest part of the beef - what we call a 'first class cut' because it is suited to fast cooking methods such as grilling, barbecue or pan frying.

"BBQ steak" "Budget steak" and similar things are tricks. They are based on price, not taste or tenderness.

If that's ok with you, go ahead. But to get the best taste and a tender piece of meat, choose the cuts above. 

My next article will be on choosing the right grade of beef to ensure that your steak will be consistently tender and flavoursome.

Shane Brierly is a professional chef who has been travelling the globe for the last six years cooking, eating and discovering. He prefers the "path less travelled" and is currently living in South-East Asia blogging about food, drinks, cooking and sights from his travels. Shane can be found at http://chef-a-gogo.com and is happy to answer any questions or respond to feedback left in the comments section. He loves teaching people how to cook, and is passionate about fresh food, quickly and simply prepared.

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Choosing a Ribeye Steak Marinade Recipe

One of the best things about marinated steak recipes is that you can choose from literally hundreds of different recipes and even adapt those to your taste. Also, you can mix and match your steaks with the marinades. There are some marinades that are better for certain cuts of steak though.

If you are using a cheap, tough cut of steak you might want to use a marinade with plenty of citrus juice in it, or similar, because this will tenderize the steak. If you are using such a marinade on a more tender cut of steak you will need to be careful not to leave the marinade on for too long because it can make the meat mushy.

Cook Steak

Types of Marinated Steak Recipes

There are various types of marinated steak recipes you can choose from. What about a smoky barbecue flavored marinade, a spicy international marinade with chilies or a tangy citrus based one?

The best way to choose which marinade recipe to use is to compare a few different ones. Think about what you are going to be serving alongside the steak. If you are serving plain rice, you might want to make something that can be boiled after marinating and used as a sauce, so you can ladle some of the hot marinade on to the rice as well. If you are serving a tasty side dish with the beef, a simpler marinade recipe might be more suitable so you do not have a flavor clash.

Marinating Ribeye Steak

You might like to use a ribeye steak marinade recipe if you have some ribeye steaks for dinner. Ribeye steak is really juicy and delicious and using a marinade on it can make it really mouthwatering, extra tender and extremely flavorful.

This cut is from the beef rib and the meat is fattier, or more marbled, than a lot of other cuts of beef. This marbling adds to the natural flavor and juiciness. You can get bone-in ribeye steaks and boneless ones, although technically bone-in ribeye steak is a rib steak not a ribeye.

Because this type of steak is naturally juicy, it is suited to dry cooking methods and does not need to be basted as it cooks. The marbling melts as the meat cooks and juices are released, keeping it succulent and stopping it from drying out on the grill. A marinade for ribeye steak is about giving gentle flavor rather than being necessary to tenderize the meat or overpowering the flavor of the beef.

Ribeye is really tasty as it is so a marinade for ribeye steak should give a hint of flavor rather than anything too strong. Save the strong flavored, tenderizing marinades for cheaper beef cuts.

The best way to cook a ribeye steak is on the grill but you could fry or broil it if you wanted to. Marinate the meat for a couple of hours. That is enough to give it a good flavor without having a negative impact on the meat texture.

Choosing a Ribeye Steak Marinade Recipe

Marinated steak recipes range from simple to complex and there are marinades for every cut of meat and every occasion. A good ribeye steak marinade recipe should add a hint of flavor to the steak without being overpowering. Ribeye steak is a real treat for dinnertime and an easy steak marinade can make it even more delicious.

Easy Steak Marinades Help Make a Truly Mouthwatering Meal - EasySteakMarinades.net

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Choosing the Best Salad to Go With a Steak

There are various side dishes that you can make to go alongside a nice, juicy steak. You might want to serve a hot vegetable side dish or perhaps you prefer a salad. Remember that salads do not have to be boring.

If you are taking the trouble to cook a delicious steak and perhaps using a flank steak marinade to give it plenty of flavor, it is also a good idea to make a flavorful side dish to go alongside it.

Cook Steak

A boring heap of lettuce would not look good on the plate with the meat and it would turn what would otherwise be a gourmet meal into something a bit uninspiring. So how do you make an exciting side dish to go with meat, which is not going to overpower the flavors you used in your steak marinade recipe?

Decide Which Flavors to Use

The salad you make depends on a few things. First of all, if you are using a richly flavored steak marinade recipe, you will not want to serve a very strong flavored side dish because the flavors are likely to clash. Neither will you want to use the same flavors in it that you are using in the flank steak marinade because contrast is the key to a successful recipe.

A richly flavored piece of meat in a red wine-based flank steak marinade would be nice served with a crisp salad. You can combine some basic ingredients like leaves, cucumber, and green onions to make it and perhaps even serve some potato salad on the side to give a pleasing contrast.

Use a store-bought dressing or make your own. A simple combination of extra virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar makes an easy yet effective dressing. Add a few drops of lemon or lime juice to give it a zing.

Super Simple Recipes

When it doubt, keep things easy. Choose some nice leaves such as arugula and toss them with some thinly sliced cucumber, pitted black olives, and green onions to make a basic dish. If you want to add anything wet or slimy to the salad, like tomato wedges, avocado or strawberries, do this just before serving it, so the leaves do not get soggy.

The highlight of the meal should be the meat itself with the other ingredients there to offer a contrasting look, flavor, and texture. You can stick with green ingredients or make a colorful salad.

There is nothing wrong with a lettuce, green onion, cucumber, and avocado dish if you only want to use one color, or you could add tomatoes, olives, fresh pineapple, or beans for some color.

Use your imagination and let your creativity guide you. Since there are so many ways to make these recipes, it is very difficult to mess it up (unlike your meat - make sure you keep an eye on that while it cooks!)

Choosing the Best Salad to Go With a Steak

You can make a gourmet meal by using a flank steak marinade to give your flank steak a nice flavor and a tender texture. Choosing a great steak marinade recipe and making a tasty salad to go with the meat means you can make a gourmet meal which is delicious yet easy.

Easy Steak Marinades Help Make a Truly Mouthwatering Meal - EasySteakMarinades.net

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Choosing a Ribeye Steak Marinade Recipe

One of the best things about marinated steak recipes is that you can choose from literally hundreds of different recipes and even adapt those to your taste. Also, you can mix and match your steaks with the marinades. There are some marinades that are better for certain cuts of steak though.

If you are using a cheap, tough cut of steak you might want to use a marinade with plenty of citrus juice in it, or similar, because this will tenderize the steak. If you are using such a marinade on a more tender cut of steak you will need to be careful not to leave the marinade on for too long because it can make the meat mushy.

Types of Marinated Steak Recipes

There are various types of marinated steak recipes you can choose from. What about a smoky barbecue flavored marinade, a spicy international marinade with chilies or a tangy citrus based one?

The best way to choose which marinade recipe to use is to compare a few different ones. Think about what you are going to be serving alongside the steak. If you are serving plain rice, you might want to make something that can be boiled after marinating and used as a sauce, so you can ladle some of the hot marinade on to the rice as well. If you are serving a tasty side dish with the beef, a simpler marinade recipe might be more suitable so you do not have a flavor clash.

Marinating Ribeye Steak

You might like to use a ribeye steak marinade recipe if you have some ribeye steaks for dinner. Ribeye steak is really juicy and delicious and using a marinade on it can make it really mouthwatering, extra tender and extremely flavorful.

This cut is from the beef rib and the meat is fattier, or more marbled, than a lot of other cuts of beef. This marbling adds to the natural flavor and juiciness. You can get bone-in ribeye steaks and boneless ones, although technically bone-in ribeye steak is a rib steak not a ribeye.

Because this type of steak is naturally juicy, it is suited to dry cooking methods and does not need to be basted as it cooks. The marbling melts as the meat cooks and juices are released, keeping it succulent and stopping it from drying out on the grill. A marinade for ribeye steak is about giving gentle flavor rather than being necessary to tenderize the meat or overpowering the flavor of the beef.

Ribeye is really tasty as it is so a marinade for ribeye steak should give a hint of flavor rather than anything too strong. Save the strong flavored, tenderizing marinades for cheaper beef cuts.

The best way to cook a ribeye steak is on the grill but you could fry or broil it if you wanted to. Marinate the meat for a couple of hours. That is enough to give it a good flavor without having a negative impact on the meat texture.

Marinated steak recipes range from simple to complex and there are marinades for every cut of meat and every occasion. A good ribeye steak marinade recipe should add a hint of flavor to the steak without being overpowering. Ribeye steak is a real treat for dinnertime and an easy steak marinade can make it even more delicious.

Easy Steak Marinades Help Make a Truly Mouthwatering Meal - EasySteakMarinades.net

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Choosing a Steak

So you've decided to have steak for dinner. But what kind? There are many different cuts of steak, some with multiple names, which can make steak selection confusing. The following is a descriptive list of the many delicious cuts of steak that you can try.

Filet Mignon or Tenderloin

Cook Steak

These two names describe the most tender steak you can buy. This is part of the reason why it is also the most expensive. It is a very lean cut of steak, with very little marbling or thin threads of fat in the meat. Tenderloin is a versatile meat that can be cooked a variety of ways, though it should be cooked only to medium rare. The small amount of fat in this cut means that it is also prone to drying out if cooked for too long.

New York or Strip

Another tender steak, the strip steak is part of a muscle that does very little work. The less work a muscle does, the more tender the meat will be. This cut has a good amount of marbling and a medium fat content, giving it a decent flavor. It is an ideal steak for broiling but is also very tasty when grilled. A New York strip steak is boneless.

Porterhouse

A porterhouse steak is a combination of tenderloin and strip steak on the bone, basically a 2 in 1 deal. Because of its size and the quality of the meat, it is more expensive than most steaks. A very tender, large steak, this cut is great for larger portions and can be broiled or grilled.

T-Bone

T-Bone and Porterhouse steaks are very similar. Both are large on-the-bone steaks that contain both tenderloin and strip steak. Compared to Porterhouse steak, a T-Bone cut has more strip steak and less tenderloin steak. T-Bone also has a good amount of marbling giving it a lot of flavor.

Sirloin

Sirloin steak includes a variety of types of steak. The most popular is Top Sirloin, the most tender type of sirloin. This is a lean steak with less marbling than other cuts of steak and therefore less expensive. However, it is more flavorful than bottom sirloin, which is best used for roasts. Top sirloin is a popular steak choice because it can be found fairly cheap but still has a good flavor.

Rib Eye

Rib eye steak is simultaneously one of the most tender and fattiest portions of steak, with a lot of marbling within the steak. These qualities makes rib eye steak one of the most flavorful steaks available. It is a great cut for broiling and grilling, as well as pan frying.

For More Information

Once you have chosen your steak, you have a number of cooking options and potential flavors to mix with other foods. For more information on choosing and cooking steak and to find great steak dinner recipes, please visit CD Kitchen here.

Choosing a Steak

Joseph Devine

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