Steak
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A steak is a slice from a larger piece of meat, typically beef. Red meat and fish are often cut into steaks. Most steaks are cut perpendicular to the muscle fibres, improving the perceived tenderness of the meat. In the USA, steaks are typically served grilled (barbecued), though they are also often pan-fried or broiled (grilled). Because steaks are cooked quickly, using dry heat, and served whole, the most tender cuts of the animal are usually used for steak. This also means that steaks have a premium price and perception; the idea of eating steak is a signifier of relative wealth.
A restaurant that specializes in steaks is known as a steakhouse. A typical steak dinner consists of a steak, with a starchy side dish, often potatoes, occasionally rice, pasta, or beans. A small serving of cooked vegetables accompanies the meat and side. A well-known accompaniment to steak is a cooked lobster tail, a combination often called surf and turf. Special steak knives are provided along with steak; a steak knife is serrated and sharper than most table knives.
Degree of Cooking
The amount of time a steak is cooked is a personal preference; shorter cooking times produce juicier, more tender meat, where longer cooking times reduce the appearance of juice and also reduce concerns about disease. A vocabulary has evolved to describe the temperature or degree to which one prefers one's steak cooked. The following terms are in order from least cooked to most cooked:
- Raw - uncooked. Except in special dishes, like steak tartare, steak is not eaten or ordered at this stage.
- Blue rare or very rare - Cooked very quickly; the outside is seared, but the inside is warmed more than cooked. The steak will be red on the inside.
- Rare - The outside is grey-brown, and the very middle of the steak is red, with the rest of the inside pink.
- Medium rare - The outside is grey-brown, the middle of the steak is pink, fading to a grey-brown near the surface of the meat. Unless specified otherwise, upscale steakhouses will cook to this level.
- Medium - The very inside is pinkish, fading to grey-brown throughout the rest of the meat. The outside is grey-brown.
- Medium well - The meat is mostly grey-brown with a hint of pink. The juiciness of the steak is reduced when cooked to this level.
- Well done - The meat is grey-brown throughout; the juiciness and tenderness is reduced, and the meat may seem dry and chewy.
A style exists in some parts of North America called "Chicago". A Chicago-style steak is cooked to the desired level and then quickly charred. The diner orders it by asking for the style followed by the doneness (e.g. "Chicago-style rare"). A steak ordered "Pittsburgh" is rare or very rare on the inside and charred on the outside. The term "Pittsburgh" is thought to be derived from "Black and Blue", another way of ordering a charred rare steak (Black, i.e. sooty from coal dust on the outside, Blue, i.e. blue-collar on the inside).
Types of beef steaks
- Filet mignon — A small choice tenderloin.
- Chateaubriand steak — Usually served for two, cut from the center of the tenderloin.
- Flank steak — From the underside. Not as tender as steaks cut from the rib or loin.
- Flat iron steak — from the shoulder blade
- Rib eye steak — A rib steak consisting of only the longissimus muscle. This is the same cut used to make Prime Rib which is typically oven roasted as opposed to grilled as is typical with Rib Eye.
- Round steak — a steak cut from the round, or butt end of the animal, same as rump steak.
- Sirloin steak — A steak cut from the hip. Also tends to be less tough, resulting in a higher price tag.
- Rump steak or Rumsteak (French) — A cut from the rump of the animal. Usually quite tough.
- Skirt steak — A steak made from the diaphragm. Very flavorful, but also rather tough.
- Hanger steak or Onglet (F) — a steak from near the center of the diaphragm. Flavorful, and very tender towards the edges, but sinewy in the middle. Often called the "butcher's tenderloin."
- Strip steak — A cut from the strip loin such as Kansas City or New York strip steak (called "porterhouse steak" in British Commonwealth countries).
- T-bone steak and porterhouse - The tenderloin and strip loin, connected with a T-shaped bone. The two are distinguished by the size of the tenderloin in the cut. T-bones have smaller tenderloin sections, while the Porterhouse, though generally tougher in the strip, will have more tenderloin.
- Chuck steak — A cut from neck to the ribs.
- Swiss steak — Not actually a type of steak but a method of preparing meat, usually beef, by means of rolling or pounding, and then braising it.
- Cube steak — A cut of meat, usually top round, tenderized by a fierce pounding of a mallet.
- Salisbury steak is not a steak, but rather a patty from ground beef made with onions and occasionally mushrooms.
See also
- Carpetbag steak
- Restructured steak - Cheap steak formed by binding together small chunks of low-quality meat using transglutaminase
- Steak tartare
- Cheesesteak
External links
- [selecting steak cuts]
- [pictures and diagrams of beef cuts]
- [Development of value-added beef products]
- [Hormel site; a standard guide for doneness]
- [Understanding USDA Beef Grades]
- [Texas Beef Council; Cooking methods and time tables for many styles of steak]
- [Information regarding eating steak rare (safety, taste, et cetera)]
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