If you are going to end up with a great steak, you have to start with one, but determining what makes a great steak can be pretty difficulty. A trip to your local supermarket or meat market will show you a long row of steaks, but if you don’t know what to look for, you’ll have trouble finding the best one. Fortunately, there are a few things you can look for when you go to buy a steak that will help you end up with one that is delicious.
The first thing you will need to pay attention to is the grade of the meat. Grading is performed by a government agency or third party organization, and is determined by fat marbling and the age of the animal. Remember that the carcass is graded whole, and then the individual cuts are made, so there may be some variance across different cuts. In the US, the major grades are prime, choice, and select. Prime is the best and select is the lowest grade available to most consumers.
Prime is responsible for about two percent of beef production in the US, and you will not find it in most stores, since it is often sold to restaurants or exported. Select and choice are more commonly found on store shelves. You may notice a difference between them if you take the time to try them, however.
Marbling is also something to pay attention to. This has traditionally determined the quality of a steak, since lots of fat means lots of flavor, but lean meat is more tender. Other factors are a big influence as well, however. You may find that grass or partially grass finished beef has more taste than beef, which is, finished with the more traditional grain, but once again, results will vary, and you’ll want to spend some time discovering which you like best.
There are lots of different cuts of meat on the market, and some produce much better steaks. They come from three major sections of the animal – the sirloin, short loin, and rib, and each cooks up differently. Rib meats are less tender and must be cooked longer and more carefully than short loin or tenderloin. Think about this when you are asking questions such as how long does it take to cook a steak in the oven?
The short loin brings us the top loin steak, Porterhouse, T-bone and tenderloin, while the sirloin produces sirloin and top sirloin steaks. You may see round, chuck, and flank meats also labeled as steak, but do not put them on the grill unless you want really tough beef. Try them in stews instead, since the quality is much lower. Pick the best steak to begin with, and then find the best way to cook it, since a good marinade will not make a bad steak any better. A good one will improve even a great steak, however.
There are many recipes for steak tenderizer marinade that you can use to not only add flavor, but to break down the tougher fibers in your steak. This is actually one of the great benefits of using a marinade. To find one that you like, come to EasySteakMarinades.net and cruise through the recipe collection.
