Steak is the ‘connoisseur’s meat’. Like knowing which wine to order with your fish, there’s an element of pride in knowing which steak cut you like and how to prepare or order it. On West Coast Foods’ online store you can buy four different steak cuts: fillet, sirloin, rib-eye and t-bone. Here’s a quick tutorial in what’s what when it comes to beef cuts:
Fillet
Fillet steak is known for being the leanest and most tender of all steak cuts. The cut’s leanness means it does not need to age as there is very little fat to break down. Because there is so little fat, you can add richer sauces to the meat – but it also means you need to be careful not to dry out the meat by overcooking it.
Sirloin
The Sirloin Steak has always been a very popular cut. It comes from the upper middle of the cow, making it very tender, and well-marbled with fat. When choosing a sirloin, the rule is ‘the leaner the better’. Fattier steaks tend to have a lot of gristle. If you’re watching your waistline, you can trim the fat off without spoiling the steak.
Rib-eye
This cut comes from a cow’s rib section. It’s a very rich flavoured cut and very tender. The fat in the meat makes it a great choice for roasting. The best way is to cook it with the bone and leave it for a good time to rest after cooking. Choose a nice, thick-cut with good marbling, and opt for medium when cooking. At least 21 days aged is key. Try a lighter sauce and side as it is a fattier cut.
T-bone
A T-bone is a big steak with sirloin on one side and fillet on the other – the ‘best of both worlds’! But it’s not easy to cook perfectly. Each side takes a different length of time to cook, so if you do it right, the fillet will be rare, and the sirloin will be medium.
Rump
Considered the ‘every day’ steak, rump is a cheaper cut. Coming (as the name suggests) from the rear of the cow. It’s a little tougher cut, as it’s from part of the animal which does a lot of work, but it has a lot of flavour.
