Steak Cuts

How To Buy the Right Cuts of Steak

A fundamental definition of "steak" is a slice of meat cut from an animal. Okay, that may be a little too simplistic. While other meats can be considered "steak" (ham steak, swordfish steak), I'd like to focus on steaks cut from beef.

Let's clarify it a little further…my definition of steak is meat suitable for high heat and dry cooking methods, such as grilling, broiling, or pan-frying. Marinating is fine, but it doesn't make the cut if a steak can only be rendered tender and edible through braising or stewing.

Considering that steak is all cut from the same animal, there are many differences in flavor, tenderness, and price among all the different cuts. However, to my untrained eye, most steak looks the same: red with white fat and sometimes bone.

And to add more confusion, many regional names can call the same cuts.

I will try to cut through all of the confusion and present the various cuts of steak by location on the animal, by name with regional variations, by tenderness/toughness, by flavor profile, and by price point.

Whew! We will both be experts at the end of this!

Where to Start (Be sure to check out my Pinterest Meat Charts)

Starting at the head of the animal and across the top half (to mid-chest), these are the basic cuts of meat.

In extensive strokes, the meat cut from the chuck, brisket, plate, round, and shank will be much tougher than the meat cut from the rib, loin, and flank sections. This is because those cuts are comprised of muscles that work hard.

The harder a muscle is worked when the animal is alive and walking around, the tougher that meat will be. The positive side is that these cuts are generally cheaper and have a greater depth of flavor.

The trick is knowing how to treat each steak so that you will get your money's worth, no matter what you have paid per pound. That's what I'll try to help you understand.

Chuck

When you think of chuck, you probably don't think of steak because chuck is cut from the well-worked shoulder muscles of the cow. As a result, Chuck has a deep and meaty flavor and lots of connective tissue.

During low-temperature, moist cooking (braising), the connective tissue breaks down into gelatin, making cuts from the chuck great for pot roast, stew, and chili.

But, several steaks can be cut from the chuck that are well-suited for cutting up and marinating for kabobs. Chuck steaks suitable for grilling (most must be marinated first): seven-bone steak, shoulder steak, top blade steak.

Rib

Meat from the rib section is generally very flavorful and well-marbled. However, juicy steaks are the name of the game here due to the marbled fat.

Rib steaks do not need to be marinated. It is best to let their authentic beef flavor stand on its own. Therefore, as the name implies, the rib-eye steak is cut from this section.

Rib steaks suitable for grilling: rib eye steaks, rib steaks

Loin

Steaks cut from the loin are some of the most expensive you can buy. The loin contains under-worked muscles, so while very tender, some of these steaks have a very mild flavor.

The famed fillet Mignon, T-bone, and porterhouse steaks are cut from this section. Loin steaks suitable for grilling: Filet mignon, Porterhouse, sirloin steaks, T-bone steaks, top loin, top sirloin, tri-tip

Flank

The lean flank is the home of the perfect-for-fajitas flank steak and the lesser-known hangar steak. Both cuts should be marinated and cut across the grain to make them easier to chew. However, take care not to overcook these steaks, as they will become tough.

Flank steak suitable for grilling (marinate first): flank steak, hanger steak

Not what I would consider steak but beef cuts you want to know.

Round

While very flavorful, even steaks cut from the round must be braised without marinating. Round steaks suitable for grilling (all need to be marinated first): eye round, top round, round tip

Brisket

Very flavorful but extremely tough, brisket shines in the low and slow barbecue for which Texas is so famous. Brisket is not suitable for dry heat cooking methods.

Short Plate

The short plate contains fairly tough meat, but this section has enough fat to keep the meat tender for dry-heat cooking.

Skirt Steak

Found in the short plate. It greatly benefits from a soak in a marinade. Since the muscle fibers are very long, cutting the meat across the grain is essential for maximum tenderness.

Plate steaks

Suitable for grilling (marinate first): skirt steak

Shank

Shank meat is exceptionally flavorful. However, since it contains so much connective tissue, the shank is unsuitable for dry-heat cooking methods: Braising and stewing show off these cuts to the most significant effect.

Now that you know which steaks are cut from where, let's compare them all in terms of cost, flavor, tenderness, and alternate names. Pricing is based on cost/pound from one website and is strictly for comparison purposes.

Let's Get A Little More Specific

That is an exhaustive look at many cuts of steak, including ones you may never have heard of. Now, let's look at some of the characteristics of the more well-known steaks: filet Mignon, Porterhouse, T-bone, skirt steak, and flank steak.

All of these steaks are cut from the "center section" of the animal, the filet, Porterhouse, and T-bone from the back of the animal, and the skirt steak and flank steak from the belly.

Coming from the middle of the animal, these cuts are generally more tender than cuts closer to the head and the legs. That makes them well suited to dry-heat cooking methods.

Filet Mignon

The filet mignon is a steak cut from the tenderloin of the animal. The tenderloin is the long, lean Psoas major muscle that runs along the central spine between the shoulders and the hips.

This is the least-worked muscle in the animal; consequently, the meat is very tender and delicate in flavor.

There are different names for the steaks cut from the different parts of this muscle, depending on the size of the cross cut. For example, a tournedo is cut from the larger end of the Psoas major muscle.

Porterhouse Steak

A Porterhouse is a substantial piece of steak. It comprises a large piece of the tenderloin (at least 1 ¼" in diameter) and a piece of the top loin.

These two pieces are separated from each other by connective tissue and bone. If you were to cut away the bone, you would be left with a filet mignon and a NY strip.

T-Bone Steak

A T-bone steak is almost precisely the same as a Porterhouse. It comprises the same two muscles, but the tenderloin section is much smaller. Also, a T-bone is cut closer to the rump than a Porterhouse so it can be a little tougher.

Skirt Steak

The skirt steak is part of the cow's diaphragm. Since the diaphragm is constantly working so the animal can breathe, this cut can be tough but flavorful.

Since the skirt steak comprises very long muscle fibers, marinating for several hours followed by grilling and cutting across the grain help to keep this meat easier to chew. If you were to cut skirt steak with the grain, it would be extremely chewy and difficult to eat.

Flank Steak

The flank steak is cut from the belly of the cow—on a pig; it would be the meaty part of bacon. Flank steak is flavorful and comprises long muscle fibers like skirt steak.

Flank steak is somewhat leaner than skirt steak, but as it is a reasonably well-worked muscle, it can be tough. It is best to marinate flank steak or to tenderize it by crosscutting. Grill or broil it, and slice across the grain when serving.

Helpful Comparison Chart

SECTION	CUT	AKA	FLAVOR	TENDERNESS
Chuck	Seven Bone	Center Chuck	Rich/Beefy	Tough
Chuck	Chuck Eye	Mock Tender	Rich/Beefy	Most tender part of chuck
Chuck	Shoulder	English	Rich/Beefy	Tough
Chuck	Top Blade	Flat Iron, Book	Rich/Beefy	Fairly tough
Rib	Rib Eye	Delmonico, Market	Good Beef	Fairly tender & marbled
Rib	Rib Steak	Club	Good Beef	Fairly tender & lean
Loin	Filet Mignon	Tenderloin	Delicate Beefy	Very tender, very lean
Loin	Porterhouse	Porterhouse	Delicate Beefy	Tender & lean
Loin	Sirloin	Pin Bone, Flat Bone	Good beefy flavor	Fairly tender to fairly tough
Loin	T-Bone	T-Bone	Delicate in loin, tender in strip	Fairly tender & fairly lean
Loin	Top Loin	NY Strip, Kansas City, Ambassador, Club, Hotel Steak	Beefy & Flavorful	Fairly tender & fairly lean
Loin	Boneless Top Sirloin	--------	Beefy to fairly mild	Fairly tender & lean, quality varies
Loin	Tri-Tip		Beefy & flavorful	Somewhat tough
Round	Eye Round	Minute / Breakfast Steak	Beefy & flavorful	Tough
Round	Top Round	London Broil	Beefy & flavorful	Tough
Round	Round Tip	Ball Tip	Beefy & flavorful	Fairly tough
Short Plate	Skirt	Philly Steak	Beefy & flavorful	Tough
Flank	Flank	Flank	Beefy & flavorful	Tender
Flank	Hanger	Butcher, Hanging Tenderloin	Very beefy & flavorful	Somewhat tough

Steak Cuts

How To Buy the Right Cuts of Steak