I love steak. Beefy, fatty, salty… my mouth is watering just thinking about this list. These aren’t necessarily the most popular cuts of meat, the most economical, the most expensive, or anything else. Just my top 10 cuts of beef. In the future I will give out some of that other information but for now you just get to hear about what I like.
1. New York Strip – Great combination of beef flavor, fat, marbleing, and it is generally a fairly affordable cut of meat. It cooks great on the grill and cooks great on a cast iron skillet inside.
2. Porterhouse – A nice NY Strip on one side, a delicate piece of tenderloin on the other. Cut from the rear end of the short loin this cut is usually sliced nice and thick and there is something awesome about eating meat off a bone.
3. Brisket – This can be a hard cut of meat to cook but when you get it right it is a thing of beauty. Whether it is a nice smoked brisket or a corned beef or ground up into a burger mixture it is an awesome piece of meat. As far as BBQ brisket I prefer the point cut which has quite a bit more fat. Much easier to keep moist.
4. Skirt Steak – This cut takes marinades very well, cooks very quickly, and is great for tacos or stir frys. Or just cook it and eat it like any other steak.
5. Flank Steak – Flank and skirt can be used somewhat interchangeably but the skirt steak has a bit beefier flavor and is a bit more tender than a flank. My favorite flank preparation is Bulgogi (a Korean dish).
6. Chuck Roast – Sear it, throw it in a pot with some broth, add some potatoes, carrots, some onion soup mix and you have an awesome pot roast. It is also a good addition to a burger grind since it brings a lot of flavor and fat to the party. I prefer the 7 bone chuck since the bones impart a nice flavor.
7. Sirloin- There are a lot of different cuts called “sirloin” but that is for another post. I like sirloin because it is inexpensive and very versatile. You can cook it in a skillet, marinade it, cut it up for stirfry, slice it thin for cheesesteaks… lots of options here.
8. Ribeye – You might be surprised to see this so low. I always end up convincing myself to get a ribeye when I go to a nice steakhouse but almost always regret it. There are just too many big pockets of fat and if you don’t get the fat cooked properly it can be hard to eat. One great feature about a ribeye however, is that it is very hard to screw up. It is one of the few steaks you can cook to medium or medium well and it will still be juicy.
9. Oxtail – I have only had this a couple times at some Caribbean restaurants but I have really enjoyed it.
10. Top Round – This cut is the most popular steak to make into cube steak which is the most popular cut to make into chicken fried steak. That alone puts this cut on the list. But it is also cheap and if you slice it nice and thin you can make some dang good cheesesteaks out of it as well.
Honorable mention – heart, flat iron, short rib
