There’s No Such Thing As A Bad Steak

Before I began my beef cooking education, whenever I thought of Steak it was always a big, fat, juicy rib eye grilled medium rare over charcoal with my favorite basting sauce.

But I have learned that the beef critter has lotsa' steaks and they're not all rib eyes!

Some are not even suitable for the grill!

Beef Ribeye Steak

New York Strip Steak
A simple definition of the word is an individual serving portion cut from a larger section.

Now in my mind that means beef. But it doesn't have to be. It can be pork or even fish.

However, on this website, whenever I refer to steak I mean BEEF and only BEEF .

The Tender Steaks

The cuts that are best for grilling come from the rib, short loin and sirloin primal cuts of the animal. These sections contain the least used muscles of the steer and therefore are naturally tender.

The Rib Primal

My favorite, the rib eye, comes from the rib section.

The rib is the primal cut right behind the chuck and right before the short loin. So cuts closer to the short loin will be the tenderest.

The Short Loin Primal

The short loin contains the tenderest cuts of all. Depending on how the primal is cut for retail it can be filet, club, t-bone or porterhouse.

On a recent visit with my cousin we had a surf and turf dinner. Naturally I had a rib eye but my cousin had a filet, which I had to taste.

It just might replace the rib eye as my favorite. I've got one in the fridge right now that I'm gonna' grill up tonight.

The Sirloin Primal

The sirloin comes right after the loin and right before the round primal. So just like the rib the cuts closer to the loin will be the most tender.

There's a famous story about this sections name.

Seems a king was so impressed with a cut he was served from this section that he decided to Knight it. Hence the name: Sir Loin.

But it's just not true. The name is actually from French. Sir in French means "under" so the name actually refers to the section under the loin.

It's still a great section though and my brothers' favorite "the sirloin" comes from here. He likes to grill a huge thick one and then cut it into serving portions.

The Not So Tender

Any cut from the other primals is not going to be as tender as those from the rib, short loin and sirloin.

I'm not saying they are bad you understand. Just not as tender. In fact, with the proper cooking method, some say these steaks are more flavorful.

There are a lot of cuts from the chuck primal such as chuck, blade and shoulder steaks.

This is also true of the round primal with cuts from the top round, bottom round and eye of round.

In addition to the chuck and round primal we also get skirt steak from the short plate primal and flank steak from the flank primal.

Not Really "Steaks"

What's in a name? Well it's a matter of perception I suppose. Naming something steak that's not really a steak seems to put it on a higher plateau.

A couple that fit into this category or hamburger steak and Salisbury steak. Both are great dishes but not really steaks by definition.

There's also other dishes that have adopted the name but really refer to the preparation method rather than the cut of meat.

Chicken fried steak is in that category along with Swiss steak. Even though both are really steak it can be any cut.

A little education is a great thing and I've learned a lot about steaks with my beef education. I'll certainly continue to learn more.

There's an underlying thing that I have learned about all steaks however: