What is a steak?

Have you ever wondered what the difference is between all those different types of steaks you can buy at the grocery store? Why exactly does a tiny piece of tenderloin cost more than a piece of sirloin? And never mind the difference between "top sirloin" and sirloin!

Well never fear. What follows is a brief tutorial into the unique world of beef cuts.  Rather than go into complex explanations of where on the animal these cuts come from, I direct your attention to the diagram below. Also, since there are so many different cuts that can be used for so many different things I will stick to the most common steaks.




Accessed on 14 June, 2011 from http://www.thenibble.com/reviews/main/meats/beef/glossary.asp.

 

The first thing that most people use as a basis for beef cut judgement is tenderness. Tenderness is associated with muscles that are not used very much therefore they are very soft. Thus the prime cut comes from the tenderloin, or the filet mignon if it is cut into smaller pieces. Allow me to clarify at this point that the best cuts come from steers and heifers between 8 and 16 months; as an animal ages its meat becomes tougher.



A perfectly cooked tenderloin!
Accessed on 14 June, 2011 from
http://www.wizardrecipes.com/recipes/spice+rubbed+beef+tenderloin.html.



The next cut is the sirloin. When you buy sirloin steaks, you actually want to make sure that you are buying top sirloin, since the top sirloin has more tender steaks than the "bottom sirloin."

Next is the short loin, which is usually cut into strip steaks such as New York Strip or the t-bone steaks. The t-bone, like the porterhouse contains part of the tenderloin.

Other cuts of steak that you could purchase would include round steaks, or chuck steaks.

I also stumbled upon an interesting website on beef cuts titled Best Value Steak Cuts; The World's First Steak Guide to "Sustainable Steaks" Excludes Tenderloins, Strip Steaks & Rib Steaks. To summarize this website which can be found here, they rate the top three beef cuts as follows:

1. Boneless Blade Steak (one of the aforementioned chuck steaks),
2. Thin Flank Steak (often overlooked and used in recipes such as stir frys),
3. Tri Tip Steak (a bottom sirloin steak)

Allow me to also say that this website made a valid point that I must pass on. They wrote that

...there is lot to be said about the flavor in tougher cuts of meat that is not present in the more tender cuts. Many argue that fat content is the sole factor in the determination of flavor, but chefs and food scientists have known for decades that there is an inverse relationship between flavor and tenderness, i.e. tougher cuts, regardless of fat content, are more flavorful. To this day, it is still a mystery, scientifically speaking, as to why tougher cuts tend to have more flavor. Our theory is that the increased flow of blood to a well-used muscle develops its meaty taste (or beefiness, in the case of beef). In any case, tougher cuts benefit from a fullness of flavor that is simply not present in the more tender cuts.

In closing, I believe that in the end, you can start out with the best cut of steak and ruin it with poor cooking. At the same time, you can take a "lesser" cut such as a round or chuck and improve it with proper cooking!