Beefsteak

For other uses, see Beefsteak (disambiguation).

A beefsteak is a flat cut of beef, usually cut perpendicular to the muscle fibers. Beefsteaks are usually grilled, pan-fried, or broiled. The more tender cuts from the loin and rib are cooked quickly, using dry heat, and served whole. Less tender cuts from the chuck or round are cooked with moist heat or are mechanically tenderized (cf. cube steak).

Regional variations

Australia

In Australia, beefsteak is referred to as just 'steak' and can be purchased uncooked in supermarkets, butchers and some smallgood shops. It is sold cooked as a meal in almost every pub, bistro or restaurant specialising in modern Australian food, and is ranked based on the quality and the cut. Most venues will usually have between 5 and 7 different cuts of steak on their own menu and serve it medium rare by default. A steak is normally accompanied by a choice of sauces and a choice of either chips (thick french fries) or jacket potato. A complementary choice of side salad or steamed vegetables is also commonly offered.

Balkan region

In the Balkan region, steak is often rubbed with mustard and pepper, and marinated in vinegar and vegetable oil for up to a week. It is then fried in butter, and a slice of toast is then used to soak up the pan drippings. The steak is served on the toast and topped with optional fried egg and a sprig of parsley.

France

In France, steak is usually served with French fries or 'pommes frites' as they are referred to in French. The combination is known as 'steak-frites.' Vegetables are not normally served with steak in this manner, but a green salad may follow or (more commonly) be served at the same time. This is also the case in Argentina.

Italy

In Italy, steak was not widely eaten until after World War II because the relatively rugged countryside does not readily accommodate the space and resource demands of large herds of cattle. Some areas of Piedmont and Tuscany, however, were renowned for the quality of their beef. Bistecca alla Fiorentina is a well-known specialty of Florence; it is typically served with just a salad. From the 1960s onward, economic gains allowed more Italians to afford a red meat diet.

United Kingdom

In the United Kingdom, steak is typically served with chips (french fries), fried mushrooms and a fried tomato. Other vegetables such as peas or a green salad can also be served. English mustard and ketchup are condiments sometimes used. The country has a long history of beef eating and was once known for its beef and beef cooking methods, earning the English the mildly offensive nickname, "Les Rosbif" from the French.[1][2]

United States

In the United States, a restaurant that specializes in beefsteaks is known as a steakhouse, and typical steak dinner consists of a steak, optionally topped with sautéed onions and mushrooms, with a starchy side dish; usually baked or mashed potatoes, or thick cut french fries known as steak fries. Chili, rice, pasta, or beans are also common sides. A side salad or a small serving of cooked vegetables often accompanies the meat and side, with corn on the cob, green beans, creamed spinach, asparagus, tomatoes, mushrooms, peas, and onion rings being popular. A well-known accompaniment to steak is shrimp or a cooked lobster tail, a combination often called "surf and turf" or "reef and beef" and "pier and steer". Rounding out an American steak dinner is some sort of bread, usually a dinner roll.

Special steak knives are provided, which are usually serrated, though straight blades also work; they also often have wooden handles. Prepared condiments known as steak sauces are generally on the table in steakhouses. Tenderized round or sirloin steaks, breaded, and pan-fried or deep-fried, are called chicken fried or country fried steaks, respectively. Thinly sliced ribeye or other tender cuts, cooked on a hot griddle and shredded slightly, and served on Italian style rolls are called Philly steaks, named after Philadelphia, the city in which they became famous.

Special beef designations

USDA beef grades

Degree of cooking

A roasted beef Steak cut into slices
Main article: Doneness

The amount of time a steak is cooked is based upon personal preference; shorter cooking times retain more juice, whereas longer steak cooking times result in drier, tougher meat but reduce concerns about disease. A vocabulary has evolved to describe the degree to which a steak is cooked. The following terms are in order from least cooked to most cooked:

Degrees of Cooking in Various Languages
English French German
raw cru roh
blue rare, very rare bleu blau, Englisch
rare saignant blutig
medium rare — —
medium à point, anglais medium, rosa
medium well-done demi-anglais halbrosa
well-done bien cuit durch(gebraten)

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 rare" is rare or very rare on the inside and charred on the outside. In Pittsburgh, this style is referred to as "black and blue" (black or "sooty" on the outside, and blue rare on the inside).[3]

Types of beefsteaks

American cuts of beef
Filet Mignon wrapped in bacon
A beef round top round steak in a pan
A rump steak cooked to medium rare
A sirloin steak
Cooked skirt steaks
A T-bone steak being cooked on a grill
A ribeye steak meal with fries and tater tots
7-bone roast or 7-bone steak
From the chuck section of the steer or heifer and it includes a cross cut of the shoulder blade. The bone is shaped like a "7", which gives the steak its name.
Blade steak
Comes from the chuck section of a steer or heifer. The steaks are cross-cut from the top blade subprimal, also known as Infraspinatus. They have a line of tough connective tissue down the middle, creating a tough steak best suited to braising.
Chateaubriand steak
Usually served for two, center cut from the large end of the tenderloin. Sometimes it's extra thick top sirloin.
Chuck steak
A cut from neck to the ribs, it's s cut of beef that is part of the sub primal cut. The typical chuck steak is a rectangular cut, about 1" thick and containing parts of the shoulder bones, and is often known as a "7-bone steak".
Club Steak
A steak cut from the front part of the short loin, the part nearest the rib, just in front of the T-bone steak. It differs from the T-bone in that it lacks any of the tenderloin muscle.[4]
Cube steak
A cut of meat, usually top round, tenderized by fierce pounding with a mallet or mechanical blades.
Filet Mignon
A cut from the small end of the tenderloin, or psoas major, the most tender and usually the most expensive cut by weight. The word is French for dainty fillet. In French this cut can also be called filet de bœuf, which translates in English to beef fillet. When found on a menu in France, filet mignon generally refers to pork rather than beef.
Flank steak
From the underside, the abdomen muscles of the cow. A relatively long and flat cut, flank steak is used in a variety of dishes including London broil and as an alternative to the traditional skirt steak in fajitas. Not as tender as steaks cut from the rib or loin.
Flap steak comes from a bottom sirloin butt cut of beef, and is generally a very thin steak.[5]
Flat iron steak
A cut from under the shoulder blade. It is the American name for the cut known as 'butlers' steak' in the U.K. and 'oyster blade steak' in Australia and New Zealand. It is cut with the grain, from the shoulder of the animal, producing a cut that is flavorful, but is a bit tougher because it's not cross-grain.
Hanger steak or (French) onglet
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 or hanging tender.
Plate steak
(also known as the short plate) is from the front belly of the cow, just below the rib cut. The short plate produces types of steak such as the skirt steak and the hanger steak. It is typically a cheap, tough and fatty meat.
Popeseye steak
Thinly-sliced rump steak, originating in Scotland and available in the United Kingdom.
Ranch steak 
A chuck steak usually cut no thicker than one inch, 10 ounces or less, and trimmed of all excess fat.
Ranch steak
is from the chuck cut of a cow, namely the shoulder. Technically it is called a "boneless chuck shoulder center cut steak", but supermarkets usually use the shorter and more memorable term: "Ranch steak".
Rib steak
is a beef steak sliced from the rib primal of a beef animal, with rib bone attached. In the United States, the term rib eye steak is used for a rib steak with the bone removed; however in some areas, and outside the U.S., the terms are often used interchangeably.
Rib eye steak, also known as Scotch fillet, and Entrecôte
A rib steak consisting of the longissimus muscle and the spinalis or cap. This comes from the primal rib used to make prime rib which is typically oven roasted as opposed to grilled as is typical with rib eye. Also known as a Spencer Steak.
Round steak, rump steak, or (French) rumsteak
A cut from the rump of the animal. A true grilling steak with good flavor though it can be tough if not cooked properly. The round is divided into cuts including the eye (of) round, bottom round, and top round, with or without the "round" bone (femur), and may include the knuckle (sirloin tip), depending on how the round is separated from the loin.
Rump steak
refers to a steak from the top half of an American-cut round steak primal or a steak from the top half of an American-cut round steak primal.
Sirloin steak
A steak cut from the hip, near the cow's rear. Also tends to be less tough, resulting in a higher price.
Outside skirt steak
A steak made from the diaphragm. Very flavorful, but also rather tough. It is a part of the plate (situated at the cow's abdomen), the steak is long, thick and tender. Skirt steaks are not to be confused with flank steaks because they are near the sirloin and shank. Skirt steaks are used in many international cuisines: Mexican cuisine use this steak for fajitas and arrachera. In the United Kingdom it is often used as filling for Cornish pasties as well as vegetables such as carrot and potato. In Chinese cuisine it is used for stir-fries, in Spanish cuisine the steak is made for churrasco and Italian cuisine use skirt steak for making bolognese sauce as well as with tomatoes.
Inside skirt steak
A steak from the flank or bottom sirloin similar in appearance but more tender than the outside.
Standing rib roast, also referred to as prime rib, is a cut of beef from the primal rib, one of the nine primal cuts of beef. While the entire rib section comprises ribs six through 12, a standing rib roast may contain anywhere from two to seven ribs.
Strip steak, also known as New York strip
A high-quality steak cut from the short loin or strip loin, a muscle that is relatively low in connective tissue and does little work, and so it is particularly tender.[6] It is referred to using different names in various countries. When still attached to the bone, and with a piece of the tenderloin also included, the strip steak is a T-bone steak.
Swiss steak
Refers to the meat having gone through a process called swissing, which refers to fabric or other materials being pounded or run through rollers in order to soften it. Swiss steak is typically made from relatively tough cuts of meat, such as the round, which have been pounded with a tenderizing hammer, or run through a set of bladed rollers to produce so-called "cube steak".
T-bone steak and porterhouse
A cut from the tenderloin and strip loin, connected with a T-shaped bone (lumbar vertebra). The two are distinguished by the size of the tenderloin in the cut. T-bones have smaller tenderloin sections, while the Porterhouse – though generally smaller in the strip – will have more tenderloin. T-bone and Porterhouse steaks are among the most expensive steaks on a menu because of the large individual portion size.
Tri-tip steak/roast
Also known as a Triangle Steak, due to its shape, it's a boneless cut from the bottom sirloin butt.

Several other foods are called "steak" without actually being steaks:

Beef tips or steak tips
Small cuts of high or medium quality beef left over from preparing or trimming steaks, grilled and served in a manner similar to the cuts they were taken from. Common as a "budget conscious" option for those who want to eat steak but cannot afford (or cannot consume) a whole steak.
Salisbury steak
Not a steak, but rather a burger from ground beef made with onions, usually bread crumbs, and occasionally mushrooms. Also known as "Hamburger Steak" or "Minute Steak" (due to its shorter cooking time). It is the least expensive "cut" of steak, usually because it is made of lower grade meat.
Steak tartare or tartar steak
Finely chopped raw fillet of beef, onion, parsley, capers, a hot sauce (usually Worcestershire) and raw egg.

See also

References

  1. ↑ Laurenson, John. "Could France learn to love British beef?". BBC. Retrieved 5 October 2012.
  2. ↑ "Why do the French call the British 'the roast beefs'?". BBC. Retrieved 5 October 2012.
  3. ↑ Randal W. Oulton. "Pittsburgh Rare". Practicallyedible.com. Archived from the original on 1 May 2012. Retrieved 13 December 2011.
  4. ↑ http://culinaryarts.about.com/od/glossary/g/Club-Steak.htm
  5. ↑ Green, Aliza (2005). Field Guide to Meat: How to Identify, Select, and Prepare Virtually Every Meat, Poultry, and Game Cut. Quirk Books. p. 320. ISBN 978-1-59474-017-6.
  6. ↑ Herbst, Sharon. "New York Steak". Epicurious. Barron's Educational Services. Retrieved 28 November 2011.

External links

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