Cooking Steaks

Posted by Tom in Cooking Steaks | 0 comments

Cooking steaks perfectly need not be a difficult task if you firstly understand the meat you are trying to cook to perfection. Beef steaks such as Ribeye, Sirloin (also know as New York Strip Steak) , Fillet (also referred to as Filet Mignon) and Rump steak need to be treated differently primarily due to the differences in the tenderness of the specific cuts.

Lets taake a look in more detail at the diffirent cuts of steaks and order them in tenderness (1 being the most tender).

1. Fillet Steak

2. Sirloin Steak

3. Ribeye Steak

4. Rump Steak

In essence, the variances in tenderness relate directly to the activities of the muscle of the animal whist roaming the fields.

1.The Fillet Steak is located around the spine area of the animal and is protected and not used as a movement muscle therefore, is the most tender muscle. As a consequence, it is also the most expensive grilling steak.

2. Sirloin steak is located along the rear back area of the animal and again is not a muscle which is used promantely which makes this cut of beef the second most tender.

3. Ribeye steak is located further along the back area nearer to the shoulder and whilst encassed by the ribs is comparable in tenderness to Sirloin steak.

4. Rump steak is found towards the rear end of the animal just shy of the rear leg, given it closeness to the leg and movements this produces is considered to the less tender of all steaks.

The above is a guide to the tenderness of steaks but it is worth bearing in mind that the diet, local enviroment and slaughter proccedure all have a direct impact on the quality and tenderness of steak cuts. This is why it is important to know the providence of your beef to ensure that it derives from a reputable source and has been treated well during its lifetime. Your local reputable Butcher in most cases will be aware of where his meat comes from – simlpy ask them aand they will be happy to tell you where their beef derives and any other information about it’s upbringing you desire.

Moving on to the actual cooking of steaks very much depends on the cut of steak, the thickness and how you intend to cook it (grill, oven, BBQ etc). Please take a look at our steak section where you will find many cooking meat articles around the best methods to cook steaks.