OK the basics. Steaks are where we will begin and we will end up there as well.
Let’s first define the term steak. Many folks don’t have a clear understanding of what a steak is. Simply put a “steak” is any piece of meat that is cut across the muscle into a thick slice, It can be boneless of it may have a bone. This piece of meat is intended to be cooked quickly, by grilling or by broiling. Most people associate steaks with beef but you can find other types of meat cut into steaks. But let’s face it, when we talk steaks here in the U.S. we are talking beef steaks.
Steaks are known by many different names for the same cut of meat. I am going to give you some basic steaks, tell you where the particular steak comes from (the cut of meat) and give you some other names you may see for the same piece of meat.
From the Shortloin:
- T-Bone
- Porterhouse
- Tenderloin Steak – also known as Filet Mignon, Fillet Steak, or Chateaubriand
- Top Loin Steak (Boneless) – Also known as Ambassador Steak, Strip Steak, Boneless Club Steak, Kansas City Steak, NY Strip Steak
- Top Loin Steak, Bone-in – Also known as Sirloin Strip Steak, Delmonico Steak, Strip Steak
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From the Rib:
- Rib Steak
- Rib-Eye Steak – Also known as Delmonico Steak, Market Steak, Spencer Steak
From the Plate:
- Skirt Steak – Known also as Fajita Meat, Inside Skirt Steak, Outside Skirt Steak, Philadelphia Steak
- Hanger Steak – Hanging Tenderloin, Butcher’s Steak, Hanging Tender
From the Flank:
- Flank Steak – Known also as Flank Steak Fillet, Jiffy Steak, London Broil
From the Sirloin:
- Sirloin Steak – Also known as Flat-bone steak, Pin-bone steak, Round-bone steak
- Top Sirloin Steak, Boneless – Know too as Sirloin Butt Steak, London Broil
- TriTip Steak
From the Round:
- Round Tip Steak, thin cut – known also as Beef Sirloin Tip, Minute Steak
- Round Steak
- Top Round Steak known also as Top Round London Broil
- Eye of Round Steak
From the Chuck:
- Top Blade Steak (boneless) also known as Blade Steak
- Shoulder Steak (boneless) known too as London Broil
- Chuck Arm Steak
- Chuck Eye Steak (boneless) – also known as Boneless Chuck Fillet, Boneless Chuck
- Chuck 7-Bone Steak also known as Center Chuck Steak
I know this is a bunch to take in but don’t get to hung up on all of these different types and cuts of steaks as you will have your favorite steak and stick with the basics. You know you have your T-Bone, Porterhouse, Club Steak, Boneless Top Loin Steak, Tenderloin Steak (including the Filet Mignon), and Rib Eye Steak and those are really what we have come to know as “steaks.” These will be the ones I am going to focus on in this newsletter.
The T-Bone Steak is cut from the center of the short loin and includes the T-shaped bone. It contains meat from both the top loin and the smaller tenderloin. It is really two steaks in one. To be a T-Bone Steak the tenderloin muscle must be at least ½ inches across.
The Porterhouse Steak is like the T-Bone Steak. It too is cut from the center of the short loin and includes the T-shaped bone. It contains meat from both the top sirloin and the smaller tenderloin. You say this is just like the T-Bone Steak. It is with one major exception, that being to be a Porterhouse Steak the tenderloin muscle must be at least 1 ¼ inches across. This is a bigger T-Bone with a bigger piece of the tenderloin steak.
Both the T-Bone Steak and the Porterhouse Steak are fantastic pieces of meat and are great for the grill. They are probably the most common steaks cooked on the grill.
The Club Steak is the top loin muscle with the bone attached. It is much like the T-Bone Steak without the tenderloin meat you get with the T-Bone or Porterhouse. This is a tender and flavorful cut from the small end of the short loin, next to the rib, but it includes only top loin muscle and no portion of the tenderloin. You may see this cut also called the Delmonico steak.
The Boneless Top Loin steak is known by many names depending on where you are in the U.S. and it includes the following:
- New York strip steak
- New York steak
- Delmonico Steak
- Kansas City strip steak
- Kansas City steak
- Strip steak
- Sirloin Club steak
- Shell steak
Let’s call this the New York strip steak as this is probably the most common name we see. It is the top boneless top loin muscle. It too is equivalent of the Porterhouse or T-bone without the bone or the tenderloin. This is a really good steak. It is very popular, tender, and flavorful.
The Tenderloin steak comes from the wholesale cut of beef known as the short loin. When the short loin is cut into steaks, the tenderloin steaks are what we have. There are two distinct tenderloin steaks The Filet Mignon steak and the Tournedo Steak.
The Filet Mignon steak is a tenderloin steak which is cut from the small end of the tenderloin. It is boneless, of course and is the most expensive cut of meat. It is usually cut 1 inch to 2 inches thick and is usually 1 ½ inches to 2 ½ inches in diameter. It is extremely tender but it lacks the rich flavor or the other steaks which are cooked with the bone attached.
The Tournedo steak is a tenderloin steak cut from the large end of the tenderloin. It is usually cut ¾ inch to 1 inch thick and is usually 2 to 2 ½ inches in diameter. Again, the Tournedo steak is extremely lean, so often you will find these wrapped in bacon to give some fat and flavor when cooking.
Rib-Eye Steaks can be boneless or with a bone in. The Bone-in rib steak is called the Entrecote and the boneless cut is called the Rib-Eye Steak. Both of these steaks come from the rib section of the cow.
The Boneless Rib-Eye Steak comes from the rib-eye muscle that runs from the rib, top loin and top sirloin, just inside the ribs. Therefore, the Rib-Eye Steak is one of the most tender, flavorful and desirable steaks we have all come to love. The Rib-Eye Steak is the boneless cut of beef from the rib section, between the short loin and the chuck. You have a couple of choices on getting your Rib-Eyes. You can buy either a full (10 to 12 pound) or half (6 pound) rib eye roast and cut your own Rib-Eyes from there. You can then choose the thickness of your steaks and can package them in one or two steaks per the package as you wish. You will also save a bunch of money doing this. I see specials all of the time for full rib eye roast for like $4 a pound and they usually will cut and wrap your whole rib eye roast to your own specifications. You should get somewhere between 10 and 12 steaks from the full rib-eye roast and like 5 to 6 steaks from a half rib-eye roast. These steaks will weigh in the neighborhood of 1 pound to 1 1/8 pound each.
The best Rib-eye for grilling to rare or medium-rare is a USDA Prime or Choice grade, cut to between 1 ½ inches and 2 inches thick. Don’t cut them any thinner than 1 ½ inches as they will lose their shape when cooked to medium. When I talk Prime and Choice grades here I am talking about a USDA graded piece of meat. Prime is the highest grade of the eight grades and Choice being the second highest grade. Prime meat will contain a fantastic marble to it and will have a better taste since the marbling is evenly distributed in the meat itself. Choice grade is not bad stuff either. Just a step below the Prime grade. The next and most common grade carried by most meat shops and supermarkets is the Select grade. Again, not bad but when you want the very best go for the Prime graded meat. It cooks a little quicker and it will have a fantastic taste and will stay more moist during cooking.
In my opinion, this is the best steak to grill. But do not overcook these beauties, they should be cooked to rare or medium rare only. Hey and it can be smoked as a whole rib-roast and then cut to the desired thickness you want to serve.
Let me say one thing here, you will see many restaurants in the US advertising prime rib. It is a label to associate the meat as a prime rib instead of a rib-eye. It is more than likely not graded Prime but is just been labeled this over time and we have all come to call the rib-eye roast a prime rib.
OK now the bone-in rib steak known as entrecote. Don’t confuse this with the boneless rib-eye steak. The bone in rib steak is cut from the rib roast. The rib steak has more fat than does the rib-eye and it does have a bone. It is cut a bone-in steak cut from the rib roast.
NOW – Get the grill hot. These steaks can be cooked perfectly using a charcoal grill or a gas grill. Remember, grilling is cooking meat fast directly over a hot fire. Smoking, is the method of cooking meat over indirect heat at low temperatures. Steaks are made for the grill not for the smoker.