beef steaks

[LondonTiger]

trying to bulk up, and eat like the yanks.. Paractially every diet book I read mentions beef steaks, but over here it seems to be quite hard to gt hold of.

The cheapest grocer I've found near me sells beef cuts.. not steaks, I haven't really had steaks apart from the few times at restaurants.. so I'm not really educated on which cuts of meats are best and what makes the best steaks.

Can you help me out.. Also the grocer is likely going to have large pieces like leg, ribs, shoulder etc.. Which part should I get?

Thanks

[Makeshift Chef]

Here's a good place to start: http://www.epicurious.com/articlesguides/howtocook/dishes/steak. Lot's of good information there.

[Rorschach]

Hard to get hold of? Where have you been looking? Any butcher or supermarket will have plenty of beef steaks for sale.
Rump steak's good, depending on the cow, and I don't think I've had a bad sirloin or ribeye.
Butchers generally sell better meat than supermarkets, and are willing to haggle if you buy in bulk (I buy £100+ at a time, and get 10% off).

[Scrofula]

Recently, I've been liking flat iron steaks. Cheaper than the more traditional steak cuts, but still tender enough to cook without marinating.

More ideas (http://www.thenibble.com/reviews/main/meats/beef/best-value-steak-cuts.asp).

[jjohal]

Flank steak is pretty cheap, marinade it and it's pretty damn tasty. The general rule with beef is the further from the hoof and the horn the more tender and expensive the meat is going to be.

For taste I'll second that ribeye suggestion, for value for money I think sirloin is decent. If I'm going to marinade like I said, I buy flank steak. If you're buying ribeye get it with the bone on, providing you aren't getting screwed on weight. I wouldn't bother buying filet, I don't think it has enough flavor to be worth the money.

Decent instructions for cooking steak are all over the internet. Make sure you let the meat rest; I get sad when I think about how many steaks I destroyed before I clued onto that.

[strongdaniel]

trying to bulk up, and eat like the yanks.. Paractially every diet book I read mentions beef steaks, but over here it seems to be quite hard to gt hold of.

The cheapest grocer I've found near me sells beef cuts.. not steaks, I haven't really had steaks apart from the few times at restaurants.. so I'm not really educated on which cuts of meats are best and what makes the best steaks.

Can you help me out.. Also the grocer is likely going to have large pieces like leg, ribs, shoulder etc.. Which part should I get?

Thanks

I didn't know it was so hard to get beef in London. Is said state of affairs attributable to mad cow fears?

[Joe D.]

I buy ground chuck for $2 a pound. I'm cheap like that.

[Patrick]

The great irony is that London Broil is my favorite. Great price, great taste, little fuss in the kitchen. Go forth and broil, Tiger.

[MazdaMatt]

Top sirloin when I'm cheap. Strip loin when i'm having guests. Filet when I'm feeling sassy.

Personally, I find marinade offensive. If you marinade, you should go appologize to a cow. I also find well-done to be offensive and if you do this to your steaks you should go appologize to a cow. (I know I'm a bit of a zealot).

Since we're talking STEAKS, specifically, and not just beef...

The general rule is that the marbling of the steak is the key. Marbling is the little specs of fat throughout the flesh. Ideally you want plenty of marbling (the smaller and more plentiful the marbling the better) without so much huge chunks of fat. Huge chunk on the outter edge is okay, though. Be sure to nick the outter-edge fat every inch or so or else your steak will curl up.

Resting IS required. Cook it, then put it on a plate with foil over it - don't wrap it, just cover it.

Seasoning is a whole topic on its own. Personally, black pepper and olive oil before it hits the grill. I do love a few steak seasonings, though. Good steak does not require sauce.

[knkavo]

trying to bulk up, and eat like the yanks.. Paractially every diet book I read mentions beef steaks, but over here it seems to be quite hard to gt hold of.

Obviously things have changed drastically since I was in London two months ago...

[LondonTiger]

my local butcher doesn't have steaks, he had pieces of cows, normally legs, he said he can cut the cow into steak pieces.

Assuming that the thigh will be cut horizontally (from the leg being upright), is that a good cut of meat? is it easy to cook? is it tasty?

[brianb]

I think you should find another butcher.

You also might find this helpful.

http://www.howto-cooksteak.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/retail_beef_cuts1.jpg

[Ian Kovtunovich]

I think you should find another butcher.

You also might find this helpful.

[the best image ever]

I wonder if they provide prints of that suitable for framing?

[Dastardly]

my local butcher doesn't have steaks, he had pieces of cows, normally legs, he said he can cut the cow into steak pieces.

Assuming that the thigh will be cut horizontally (from the leg being upright), is that a good cut of meat? is it easy to cook? is it tasty?

Your going to a pakistani/bengali butcher im guessing?

These guys know very little about beef. They are mostly used to selling mutton & chicken.

A good butcher will have every cut of beef layed out, all the stuff on that chart there. If they dont you just ask for the part you need and they will prepare it for you. They know which bits are good for stewing/broiling and which bits are good for steak.

These pakistani butchers dont even know the names of the cuts.

Good butchers will also hang the meat for a while after getting delivery of the carcass, which improves the flavour. This is important when buying big pieces of expensive meat like steaks. Otherwise you are just wasting your money.

A good butcher will know what breeds the beef is and where it came from. Theyll probably sell a couple specialty types like welsh black or angus.

Are you a muslim? If so I suggest getting yourself to a Kosher butcher instead, the jews are more experienced with the beef and have much higher slaughter & hygiene rules than British Halal stuff.

[Bleve]

Top sirloin when I'm cheap. Strip loin when i'm having guests. Filet when I'm feeling sassy.

Personally, I find marinade offensive. If you marinade, you should go appologize to a cow. I also find well-done to be offensive and if you do this to your steaks you should go appologize to a cow. (I know I'm a bit of a zealot).

Since we're talking STEAKS, specifically, and not just beef...

The general rule is that the marbling of the steak is the key. Marbling is the little specs of fat throughout the flesh. Ideally you want plenty of marbling (the smaller and more plentiful the marbling the better) without so much huge chunks of fat. Huge chunk on the outter edge is okay, though. Be sure to nick the outter-edge fat every inch or so or else your steak will curl up.

Resting IS required. Cook it, then put it on a plate with foil over it - don't wrap it, just cover it.

Seasoning is a whole topic on its own. Personally, black pepper and olive oil before it hits the grill. I do love a few steak seasonings, though. Good steak does not require sauce.

This.

[Rorschach]

One thing to mention is that american and british steak names differ in places, so you may confuse a butcher.

[cervicornis]

Seasoning is a whole topic on its own. Personally, black pepper and olive oil before it hits the grill. I do love a few steak seasonings, though. Good steak does not require sauce.

Don't forget salt, which is arguably more important than either of the above.

Bring your steak to room temp while you heat your grill nice and hot, rub with olive oil, cracked black pepper, and a liberal amount of kosher salt. That's all there is too it. Brush that bad boy with some melted butter just before consuming, if you really want to treat yourself.

[cervicornis]

Speaking of steak, my local Costco has USDA PRIME bone-in ribeyes for $7.99/lb right now. Awesome.

[brianb]

How do you guys like your steaks?

I try to get mine medium-rare.

http://img18.imageshack.us/img18/5933/degrees.jpg

[TChase76]

Did someone say steak? I just grilled up some grass fed ribeyes.

[ColoWayno]

Medium Rare.

[MazdaMatt]

According to your awesome chart, medium rare, but most restaurants call that rare.

As for the salt comment - I love to rub salt into the fat. It makes it shrivvel up and grill up crispy-ish. delicious. However, I'm generally not much of a salt eater, so I usually wouldn't salt the flesh. But I understand that I am an oddball on that note and yes, if you're going to salt it, use kosher for the little "hits" of flavour that it gives you.

[Campbell]

You dont need to be a steak expert or go to a super butcher. ASDA does a range of "Extra Special" 28 day matured rib eye/rump/fillet steaks.

They cost between 4 and 6 pounds each (depending on size). I found a 7 pound one once but it was so big i nearly died eating it.

[Campbell]

and i agree with Matt. Medium rare by your chart but i usually ask for rare and get it like that (or even more cooked). The one exception was in france where i asked for rare and got almost blue.

[Sami]

RARE.

I'm having a hard time finding any steaks over 16oz here in the UK. I found one Tex-Mex place in London that had them (the place was pretty American there), but they closed down.

I haven't tried many Central London places as it's just too expensive. Big steaks are just not common here. :(

[Dastardly]

Yeah, but British Beef is more likely to be grass fed isnt it?

[jonesjitter]

I like beef tenderloin. I bought 3 kg's today from the local butcher. Here he is cutting up my meat and packing it in neat 300 g portions:

http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc3/hs612.snc3/32227_125883567451474_100000894940788_142793_11461 19_n.jpg

http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash1/hs552.ash1/32227_125883640784800_100000894940788_142794_49945 41_n.jpg

[Sami]

Is it?

[Campbell]

Is it?

Feedlots are pretty rare here. Most cattle walk about in fields except in the winter when they eat grass that was cut in the summer.

We have a steakhouse in Derry that serves 24oz sirloins

[Sami]

*drives to Derry*