Meat School

Since I work in the Meat Department, I get all kinds of questions on what kind of meat people should use for different applications. So I thought I would share a couple things with everyone. I will keep sharing more over time, but since we are approaching summer, I will start with grilling. I get asked all the time what steaks are the best for grilling. My answer is always the same. It depends on your preference. My number 1 absolute favorite steak is a Ribeye Delmonico. It's a boneless Rib Steak that has lots of marbling and packed with tons of flavor and juiciness!

Ribeye Delmonico

The best steaks for grilling are Rib Steaks, Strip Steaks, T-Bones, Porterhouse, Filet, and Top Sirloin. If you are watching your calories and fat, and you desire a lean steak, go with either a Filet or Top Sirloin. Both will stay tender even though they are lean. If you went with an Eye of Round or Round Steak, you would be eating shoe leather.

People often wonder what the difference is between T-Bones and Porterhouse. My answer.. Basically nothing. Both cuts are cut from the same sub-primal., the loin. They both are made up of a Strip Steak and a Filet, seperated by a T-Shaped bone. The difference between the two cuts is that as the butcher cuts steaks off, the Filet side gets bigger and the Strip side gets smaller. So Porterhouse has a big Filet, small Strip. The T-Bone has a small to almost no Filet, and a much bigger Strip.

T-Bone, notice the small Filet on the left side of the steak.

Porterhouse, Notice the larger Filet on the bottom of the steak. 

This is just barely scratching the surface of meat. Butchery is a fascinating subject and there is so much to know. If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to ask! 

Next lesson, grading beef.