Steak 101

The ever popular Wikipedia defines steak as a cut of meat, usually beef, cut perpendicular to the muscle fibres. The act of cutting the meat perpendicular to the muscle fibres is to improve the perceived tenderness of the meat. The name steak apparently is derived from the Old Norse word “steik” which means roast, if I understood it correctly.

There are many types of steak, each coming from different parts of the cow;

Tenderloin - found in the middle of the back between the sirloin and the rib. The most tender because the muscle making up the tenderloin is hardly used. It is also the most expensive. When the tenderloin is cut into pieces, we get fillet mignon steaks.

Rib-Eye – is a cut from the beef rib. Meat from the rib section is tender and fattier than other cuts of beef making it one of the juiciest, flavourful, popular and expensive steak cuts. Also called Scotch Fillet and Spencer Steak.

T-Bone – cut from the short loin and has a T-shaped bone in the steak, hence the name. The bone separates the smaller tenderloin section from the larger portion of the top loin.

Porterhouse – also contains a T-shaped bone but comes from the thick end of the short loin. Has bigger tenderloin portion compared to the T-Bone and hence is more tender than the T-Bone.

Sirloin – comes from the hip, near the rump. Sirloin steaks are tougher than cuts from the loin or the rib.

Strip Loin – cut from the strip loin, a muscle that is relatively low in connective tissue, making it very tender.

Top Loin – it is basically Porterhouse or T-bone steaks but minus the tenderloin portion, and the bone.

Chuck – a cut from the neck to the ribs

There are many ways of cooking steak;

Raw – uncooked, the way tigers eat their meat.

Very rare – cooked very quickly leaving the inside barely cooked although the outsides have some evidence of contact with fire.

Rare – cooked slightly longer than very rare, the insides are slightly warm but still bloody.

Medium rare – centre will be fully red and warm.

Medium – cooked half-way.

Medium well - the way I like my steaks.

Well done – fully cooked.

Overcook – for fans of burnt toast.

Not all steaks are steaks though.

A Salisbury steak is not a steak but a burger made from ground beef.
Tartar steak is a finely chopped raw fillet of beef.