How to cook meat steak. What part of beef is steak made from?

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A tasty and juicy steak comes from the right meat. Not all meat is suitable for steak. It happens that we choose a beautiful piece, fry it, and get the taste of rubber. If you want the perfect steak on your plate, don't skimp on the meat.

Filet mignon

For such a steak it is best to choose middle part clippings. It differs from other parts in that it practically does not take part in the work of the entire animal’s body, and therefore is not subject to stress. Before frying, all veins and sinews are removed from the meat. Filet mignon meat does not tolerate beating with a kitchen hammer; it is best if you beat the meat with the handle of a knife or the edge of your own palms.

T-bone

Steak got its name from the presence of a bone in it. As a rule, such steaks are sold in stores ready-cut. The carcass is chopped in such a way that the meat remains on the bone.

Ribeye (marble steak)

Ribeye is a classic American steak. Ribeye is made from meat from an animal that has been fed either grass or grain. The taste of the steak and its quality depend on this factor. Grass-fed meat will be more expensive. The content of fatty streaks in meat is called marbling. The best steak contains a large number of thin strips of fat.

Steak meat

Beef for quick frying should be selected from the sirloin, pieces from the thigh or roast beef, fillet or thigh. Ingredients such as wine and lemon juice will make the meat soft by softening the fibers during preliminary marinating.

It is better to take lamb from the neck, thigh, loin and leg. The older the lamb, the tougher the steak. If the ram has not been castrated, then the steak will have a specific smell. The smell is muffled by various marinades and spices.

Pork should be taken from the shoulder blades, thighs and neck. The meat from these parts of the carcass is quickly fried and is quite juicy. It is preferable that the pork is not only fresh, but also not frozen.

Meat quality

The taste, smell and juiciness of the steak depend on the quality of the meat. Be sure to choose meat with layers of fat. Don't let the presence of fat scare you. After frying, it can be removed, but it will give the meat juiciness and tenderness. The color of the fat should be white; if the animal was old, then its fat will be yellow.

Muscle fibers determine the toughness of a steak; the thicker the muscle fibers on the meat, the tougher the steak will be. The steak meat itself should not be cut against these fibers.

The color of the meat indicates its freshness. If you choose beef, then the meat should be dark red, if pork, then pink, fresh lamb meat has a light red color. The paler the meat in color, the more it cooks and decreases in size.

Adviсe

At the end of the article we would like to give you a few useful tips on cooking steak.

Do not test the meat for doneness with a fork; juice comes out through the punctures, which is responsible for the softness and juiciness of the steak. If you still need to know whether the meat is ready, it is better to make a small cut in the middle of the steak. Salt the meat not before frying, but after it; the same rule applies to pepper, because... spices lead to the release of excess juice and burning of meat. Best choose sea salt, it gives the steak a special taste.

Photo: www.lamangrill.com
whatscookingamerica.net

Many chefs advise buying beef at the market, because in supermarkets it is impossible to open the vacuum packaging to ensure the freshness of the product. However, not everything is so simple! Enterprising traders can easily fool even an experienced cook.

The insidious plans of sellers or which meat to choose

Sometimes we realize that a product is unfit for consumption only during cooking. Often an unpleasant odor or smell of spoiled kefir appears (when the animal was fed expired dairy products). The beef immediately shrivels and releases a large amount of water, which is clearly not like meat juice. As a result, the pieces are not fried, but boiled, regardless of whether the cooking technology was followed or not.

Such a product is dangerous to eat, and even more so to use for steaks, especially bottom-rare (blue, medium, medium re). Kitchen experts recommend not to regret the money spent, but to immediately throw away the unusable piece. How can you understand before purchasing that raw materials are of dubious quality?

A few signs of spoiled meat:

when pressed, the hole does not straighten, liquid appears in it;
meat that is unnaturally pale pink, bright red or dark red;
unpleasant smell, not like meat;
layers of yellow, gray or brown fat;
the surface of the product is sticky, too wet or dry;
there is a slight smell of ammonia;
the meat juice in the tray where the goods lie is suspiciously cloudy;
the texture of the piece is loose or too dense, not elastic;
when pressed with a finger, a hole does not appear, the meat is springy, like a well-inflated ball;
the piece practically disintegrates in your hands, the fibers are clearly visible.

If you see only one sign of poor quality raw materials, walk away, without responding to the entreaties of “complacent” sellers.

If appearance The product is good, still don’t rush to buy. It is advisable to inspect the counter: how neatly the meat is laid out, the cleanliness of the tables and trays where it is stored. If there are towels and knives nearby, it is advisable to pay attention to their condition. The presence of a sink is necessary, because a person must wash his hands before handling beef, even if he has disposable gloves. Often, a seller’s honesty is indicated by his appearance. A soiled apron, a dirty collar of the jacket and sleeves, especially in the elbow area, speaks of the butcher’s attitude towards the products and customers.

How to find the perfect meat for a juicy steak?

Chefs advise to inspect it more carefully, even after making sure of its freshness. Any pieces are suitable for stewing, baking and boiling. For more gourmet dishes, Mignon or Ribeye, you should take a more serious approach to purchasing. Before going to the market, you can grab a couple of disposable gloves. Feel free to look at the product from all sides, touch it with your hands, smell it.

Attention!

If you are refused quite harshly or suspiciously evasive of answers, it is better to move to another tray.

However, it is difficult to find good beef without knowing what it should taste like.

What should you look for on the shelves?

An even cut is a guarantee of a delicious dish! If the flesh resembles a “ladder”, the piece may cook unevenly and lose more moisture than necessary. ABOUT taste qualities not worth remembering, since it was 100% stored in freezer and sliced half-thawed.

Natural color of meat without light or dark differences. Pass by an overly beautiful piece with a suspiciously bright shade. Perhaps it was specially soaked in a tinted liquid to disguise some of the flaws. Experience shows that pale beef, which resembles pork, cooks more.

The flesh is moderately elastic; when pressed, a small hole appears, but after a minute it disappears. Sellers can stuff the cut salt solutions, not always clean water, dyes, gelling agents that retain moisture between the fibers. The product becomes denser and heavier: a kilogram of meat can easily be sold at twice the price without adjusting the scales. However, such raw materials will not produce a tasty steak, not to mention the health of consumers.

Fresh meat is another trick of sellers. The product remains tender only for the first three hours after slaughter, until it is completely cooled. Once the fibers shrink, the flesh becomes tougher, making it unsuitable for cooking steaks. It must be allowed to ripen under certain conditions for 28 days or kept in the refrigerator at a low temperature for at least several days.

A piece that is too thin is only suitable for preparing azu, beef stroganoff and krucheniki.

The optimal thickness of raw steak varies from 3 to 5 cm.

Depending on the type of cut, the weight of one serving can sometimes be more than a kilogram. Only from such a piece can one prepare tasty dish desired doneness!

When purchasing, pay attention to the muscle fibers of the tenderloin, Fish, Striploin (only a whole cut, not a piece). They should be parallel to the surface of the table, and not diagonally. Otherwise, there is no doubt that this product was cut out from another part of the carcass. Moreover, any meat must be cut exactly across the grain. The quality, cooking time, and texture of the steak depend on such a minor nuance.

If properly prepared beef for steak is thrown into a hot frying pan, the temperature will be evenly distributed over the entire area of the piece. This means that the meat product will be properly fried, softened well, and juicy.

It is advisable to choose meat with thin, dense, elastic fibers. If they are too thick and rough, the dish will turn out tough.

How not to buy ordinary meat at the price of elite beef

There have been cases when sellers offered the flesh of ordinary calves under the guise of purebred bulls (Angus, Hereford). Often, cheap cuts of meat, taken from the shoulder or leg, were skillfully cut and presented as Tenderloin or Ribeye. Of course, it is impossible to cook a good steak from such beef. It will turn out too tough, without a pronounced specific aroma, and not the roast that you wanted.

Search for elite meat in shopping aisles

Availability of whole cuts. You should not purchase shapeless meat of unknown origin. You must know exactly from which part of the carcass it was removed and placed on the table. Each cut has its own characteristics of cleaning, frying and serving methods. Taking into account the type of beef, chefs select garnishes and sauces to create an exquisite flavor composition.

Marbling. Experts recommend choosing meat with fatty patches that look like thin threads. They should pass through the entire product, creating an original pattern and resembling marble stains. During frying, the “web” melts, slightly delaying the release of moisture from the piece. The steak comes out incredibly juicy, and the fat turns into aromatic juice.

The degree of marbling determines how well the steaks are cooked! The more snow-white layers, the longer the pieces need to be cooked (medium, medium vel, vel dan).

The quality of meat depends on the supplier. Good restaurants receive goods from Australia, New Zealand or Argentina. The seller monitors transportation and storage conditions, cooling the cuts to 1 degree. The natural taste of beef is preserved. Can be found a good product and our production, but the quality is far from ideal. The flavor and texture of the pulp directly depends on the breed of bulls, the characteristics of the feed, growing conditions and other factors.

Attention!

Good meat cannot be cheap, do not believe the tales of polite sellers!

Raising purebred bulls is a colossal effort for farmers and a significant financial investment.

What determines the price of marbled beef?

Elite meat is impressively expensive, but it is possible to purchase a good product at an attractive price. Do not think that a slightly discounted product will be of poor quality. There are many factors that a farmer must consider before selling.

Animal age- one of important nuances, which few people ask about when buying meat. The older the bull, the tougher and darker the product will be, no matter what part of the carcass it was taken from.

Growing conditions. The terrain, content, diet along with walks and other nuances are taken into account. Experienced farmers are confident that the quality of raw materials depends on the characteristics of the animals’ day. The bulls are first kept in a stall, then taken out to a clearing, and massaged at a certain period. Their life activities can be scheduled minute by minute! The quantity and thickness of fat fibers in cuts depends on this. In expensive beef they should be thin and in large quantities.

Dry aged meat always more expensive than wet. It all depends on the weight loss during gestation. In the first case, beef loses up to 40% of its juices, which is why the dishes are obtained with a more concentrated and rich taste.

Type of cut. The most prized are Tenderloin, Striploin, and Ribeye (considered prime-class meat). This cut makes excellent steaks, soft and juicy. Pieces taken from the ham, neck and shoulder parts will be much cheaper. Their flesh consists of thick and coarse fibers, because these muscles participated in the life of the animal.

The cost of meat is also affected by mammal diet. It is impossible to say what should be fed to an animal to produce the best elite meat. Regardless of their diet, each cut has its own unique taste and aroma. However, experts believe that ribeye turns out tastier if the bull has been pampered with grain crops. To make a great Minion, it is advisable to feed it with good grass. In any case, food should be balanced and of high quality, without harmful substances. Some farmers add natural yeast beer, diluted red wine, and sake to the diet.

Three types of fattening and characteristics of the pulp:

Herbal. The meat will be slightly tough and dark. The dish will have a more delicate taste and delicate texture. You can buy an excellent product from manufacturers from Argentina, New Zealand, and Brazil.
Grain. An incredibly soft steak will have a bright, rich aroma and a pronounced meaty aftertaste. The goods come to our country from Australia, the USA, and partly from New Zealand.
Combined. Some farmers feed grass first and then grains. The meat tastes exquisite, quite marbled and soft.

Where can you buy luxurious beef for steaks?

Good pulp can be bought in a supermarket, online store or at the market, but you should still not look into some places:

Spontaneous bazaars. The meat does not undergo the necessary laboratory tests. When raising animals, sellers do not always invite veterinarians and provide appropriate vaccinations. Often, owners themselves do not know what microorganisms are in their product.

Small shops, where customer traffic is minimal. Of course, it is basically impossible to cook a steak from the meat that is there. And, most likely, the goods will be stale.

Freezers in any supermarket. When defrosting, meat loses a significant part of its juices, even in the refrigerator during slow thawing. Ice crystals break the fibers in the middle of the piece, which also affects the quality of the dish. In critical situations, to prevent the product from spoiling, it is necessary to use shock freezing: when the cut turns into ice (-30 degrees) in a short period of time.

Ribeye, Striploin, Tenderloin are easy to purchase in specialized online stores. Restaurants and steakhouses cooperate with some of them, which speaks volumes about the company’s reputation and the quality of the meat product. On virtual counters you can choose a portioned piece or a whole layer of any aging (wet or dry). It's easy to find prime class products here. Elite meat is noticeably different from other raw materials: it has an amazing flavor palette, a pronounced meaty aftertaste, an exquisite aroma and an incredibly delicate texture.

In the markets they often buy chilled beef: regular tenderloin or locally produced marbled meat. It is difficult to find imported cuts from Angus or Hereford bulls there.

Knowing which cut of beef to choose for a steak, preparing a magnificent meat masterpiece will not be difficult, and you will also be able to guess the desired degree of doneness. Juicy, aromatic meat with a golden crust will give you a lot of pleasure without leaving home.

Useful video

Selecting beef tenderloin for steaks and preparing a delicious dish.

I won’t be mistaken if I say that every man, in addition to scrambled eggs and fried potatoes must be able to cook. At least that's the legend. I didn't know how until recently. However, even now, if I show my steak to a knowledgeable person, he will most likely take a photo of it and post it on his Instagram with the hashtags #lol, #whatisthis, #hethinksthissteak.

Despite the fact that my experience in cooking steaks is still limited, I try to study everything new diligently, and therefore I started with the theory - how to choose the right meat for steak.

Types of steaks

None of the types of steaks have a Russian translation. In addition, if in the presence knowledgeable person If you order a pork or chicken steak, you will most likely be looked at condescendingly. It is believed that steak is made only from beef.

Depending on which cut is used, there are several (up to ten) types of steaks:

Ribeye- subscapular part of the carcass. Contains a lot of fat, so the meat turns out juicy.
Club steak- used as a tenderloin dorsal part carcasses. The steak has a small bone.
Filet mignon-considered the most tender meat, it is not cooked with blood.
Chateaubriand- the same filet mignon, but laid out lengthwise on a plate.
Tornedos- small pieces of tenderloin from which medallions are made.
Skirt steak- beef flank meat. It is considered quite hard, but tasty.
Porterhouse steak-separated by a T-shaped bone, contains a large amount of fat, which makes the meat juicy.
Roundrumb steak- a round piece of tenderloin from the hip.
Striploin steak- tenderloin that looks more like a sirloin strip than a steak.

How to choose

Despite the variety, each steak is suitable for different situations. Ribeye, for example, is considered the most unpretentious in cooking and at the same time very tasty. Tenderloin has a large amount of fat. Striploin steak is a softer cut than ribeye and is the steak most often served in steakhouses. Filet mignon is the most tender, almost “buttery” meat, but does not have such a rich taste due to the small amount of fat.

Randy Irion, Marketing Director National Association beef cattle breeders, gave some tips on how to choose and cook the right steak:

Buy thick pieces at least 2 centimeters thick.
Don't avoid fatty cuts: Fat gives the steak flavor, makes it juicy, and maintains its shape while grilling.
If you want to cook the perfect steak, you'll have to buy a thermometer. The required temperature for rare steak is 51 °C.
Do not pay attention to the labels “organic”, “non-GMO”, “natural product”.
Ideally, you should buy meat from butcher shop, not in the supermarket.
If the meat gives off a slight ammonia smell, it is not fresh.
When you get home, feel the steak. If your fingers stick to the meat, it means it is close to being lost.
Ribeye is the best choice if you don't want to spend a lot of time choosing. According to Irion, almost any butcher or cook will tell you that ribeye is their favorite type of steak. It is not the most delicate, but has the most intense taste.

Home » Weight loss » Product composition » Juicy and tasty steak - what meat is it made from and how is it prepared

Which part of beef makes the most delicious and juicy steak? Rules for choosing meat and frying steaks - how does the American way of cooking differ from the European one?

What is steak?

Steak is a thick cut of quality beef, cut across the muscle fibers and fried at high temperature in a frying pan or grill. Steak meat can be either drier (filet mignon) or streaked with fat (marble steak). Steak with a rib bone is called ribeye.

Despite the fact that a classic steak is whole beef meat, fried over a fire for a short time, there are numerous recipes for oven-baked steaks, pork steaks and even salmon steaks. Technically, even a steak made from ground beef is considered a steak. beef steak).

What meat is steak made from?

Suitable for steaks are meat from those parts of the carcass whose muscles are not involved in motor activity- primarily the chest, sides and back. Since no more than 10% of a steer's carcass can ultimately be used, this is one of the main reasons for the high cost of quality beef for steak.

The finished steak gets its name depending on what part of the carcass it was prepared from. IN various countries Both the carcass cutting scheme and preferences for the choice of meat and roasting method differ. However, nowhere are steaks prepared from fresh beef - the meat is always stored for 15-20 days.

How to cook steak?

American steak is a large and thick piece of meat with noble streaks of fat (marbled beef).

In Europe, smaller and thinner sirloin steaks are preferred.

Steak is not just a piece of beef meat fried in a pan. Regular beef from the nearest butcher shop (especially steamed beef) is definitely not suitable for a good steak - with it you will only get a large piece of stewed meat. own juice meat.

Buy the right meat.
Preference should be given to either domestic meat for steaks in vacuum packaging or imported frozen meat.

Frozen meat must first be thawed before cooking - leave it in the main chamber of the refrigerator for several hours.
Cut the meat into thick pieces. The steak meat is washed, then cut into fairly thick slices - 2.5 cm for fatty marbled meat, or 4-5 cm for almost dry beef fillet mignon. Before cooking, the meat should rest at room temperature at least 30-45 minutes.
Prepare gas and frying pan. European thin sirloin steaks are best grilled on olive oil, non-stick frying pans and on a gas stove, and thicker and fattier American or Australian ones - in special ribbed frying pans or on the grill. In this case, a minimum of oil is required.
Don't spoil the meat! Under no circumstances should you wash the meat immediately before frying - it should be as dry as possible. Before grilling the steak, add a little on both sides. rock salt, black pepper or a pinch of aromatic herbs, but be moderate and do not overdo it with spices.
When grilling, keep the crust on the steak.. For education golden brown crust, retaining all the juices inside, it is important to fry the steak at high temperature. Do not place several pieces on the frying pan at the same time - this will lower the temperature and the meat will inevitably begin to stew in its own juices.
Be sure to time yourself. As with boiling soft-boiled eggs, the best results are obtained by timing the cooking time. Frying time depends on the thickness of the piece of meat and its type - starting from 1.5-2 minutes for filet mignon, ending with 6-7 minutes for each side of well-done marbled beef well done.
Let the steak rest before serving.. Before the steak is almost done, it is removed from the heat and placed on a plate for 5-7 minutes. Heat redistributes internal juices on the surface of the steak, as a result of which the meat is more evenly soaked and becomes more tasty and juicy.

Grass-fed or grain-fed?

For a proper and tasty steak, the meat of young bulls of special Angus breeds is best suited ( Angus) and Hereford ( Hereford) age 1-1.5 years. Depending on the animal’s type of nutrition, the meat has more fat inclusions (grain-fed wheat and corn) or less (grass-fed).

In the USA and Australia, preference is given to “marbled” grain-fed meat - delicate fatty layers are formed inside the muscle fibers, so the steak after cooking is juicy and tender. However, in Europe and South Africa prefer drier grass-fed meat.

Steak doneness

In accordance with American system Classifications of doneness classes divide into six degrees of steak readiness - very rare(almost raw meat), rare(meat with blood), medium rare(medium rare steak) medium(medium rare), medium well(almost cooked) well done(done).

For the thick, fatty steaks preferred by Americans, the optimal degree of doneness is from medium rare before medium well, and for thinner European steaks with low fat content (for example, classic filet mignon), light roasting is more suitable - from rare before medium.

To cook a steak, you need, first of all, high-quality beef meat and a good frying pan. At the same time, depending on your tastes (whether you prefer thin steaks of grass-fed meat or fattier marbled beef), not only the cooking time will depend, but also the required equipment.

Steak meat

Today we will tell you what kind of meat steak is made from and reveal a few secrets that will help you choose the best meat for steak, because the key to success in preparing any dish is undoubtedly the correct and high-quality raw materials.

What meat is steak made from?

IN classic version Beef is used for steak, but it is also possible to prepare dishes from pork, lamb and poultry. Pork steaks are best prepared from the shoulder, thigh and neck parts of the carcass, but for lamb steaks you can use only the neck and thigh. Poultry steaks are prepared from thighs and drumsticks.

Let us dwell in more detail on the choice of raw materials for beef steaks, since they are the most popular and incredibly tasty.

How to choose meat for beef steak?

To make a dish perfect, as a rule, the best parts are taken as the basis. beef carcass, and depending on what kind of meat is used for the dish, the steak gets its specific name. Let's list the main types of steaks that chefs most often prepare in restaurants.

Having decided on the choice of meat for steak and purchasing it at the market or in a store, be sure to pay attention to its freshness and color. The darker the product, the older the animal was and the tougher the dish will be. When you press a finger on a meat product, a mark should remain for some time and disappear gradually. If the meat springs back, the steak will be tough. A print that does not disappear at all indicates that the raw meat is not fresh. And one more important point. Fat layers must certainly be white, and not yellow or cream. Such shades of adipose tissue can only be characteristic of lamb meat.

Types of steaks

Today on sale, especially in markets or at the market, you can find steaks from any meat. However, it is very problematic for a beginner to decide on the choice of product without knowing some simple nuances. In order not to make a mistake in such a situation, we will tell you what types of steaks exist and how to choose them correctly.

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There are several dozen recipes for pilaf, which differ in the choice of meat or vegetable composition. However, experts say that the most correct pilaf- crumbly. Therefore, we will tell you how not to get confused in the wide range of rice and choose the right raw materials for a specific recipe.

Which wine is best for mulled wine?

Mulled wine is perfect winter drink. Its spicy taste and aroma perfectly warms in cold weather. Traditionally it is prepared on an alcohol basis and many have doubts about good choice suitable wine. Next, we will look at this task in detail and present two basic recipes for mulled wine.

What side dish goes with fish?

Having prepared fish for lunch, a completely natural question arises about the appropriate side dish for it. We propose to deal with this problem by offering several interesting and affordable options for an excellent addition to fried or baked fish.

Ribeye steak(rib-eye, ribeye - from English rib - rib, eye - eye).

The steak is cut directly next to the rib and the cut somewhat resembles an eye, hence the name. Ribeye's may vary slightly depending on the factors listed below.

Typical ribeye steaks made from high-quality beef have an almost oval shape:

The appearance of rib-eye steaks may vary slightly depending on what part of the muscle they are cut from. Closer to the front of the carcass and closer to the back of the carcass, respectively:

Marbled beef ribeye steak:

Quite often ribeye steak is left on the bone., emphasizing its origin and name:

Cooked ribeye steak has a characteristic appearance with clearly visible fatty streaks:

How to choose the right steak meat

Filet mignon, porterhouse, ribeye - reading these words, you understand that making a good steak is not an easy task. Below we will tell you how to choose meat for steak in the store, what types it comes in and what are the advantages of each of them.

I won’t be mistaken if I say that every man, in addition to scrambled eggs and fried potatoes, should be able to cook a steak. At least that's the legend. I didn't know how until recently. However, even now, if I show my steak to a knowledgeable person, he will most likely take a photo of it and post it on his Instagram with the hashtags #lol, #whatisthis, #hethinksthissteak.

Despite the fact that my experience in cooking steaks is still limited, I try to study everything new diligently, and therefore I started with the theory - how to choose the right meat for steak.

Types of steaks

None of the types of steaks have a Russian translation. In addition, if you order a pork or chicken steak in the presence of a knowledgeable person, you will most likely be looked at condescendingly.

It is believed that steak is made only from beef.

Depending on what part of the carcass is used for cutting, there are several (up to ten) types of steaks:

Ribeye- subscapular part of the carcass. Contains a lot of fat, so the meat turns out juicy.
Club steak- the back part of the carcass is used as a tenderloin. The steak has a small bone.
Filet mignon-considered the most tender meat, it is not cooked with blood.
Chateaubriand- the same filet mignon, but laid out lengthwise on a plate.
Tornedos- small pieces of tenderloin from which medallions are made.
Skirt steak- beef flank meat. It is considered quite hard, but tasty.
Porterhouse steak-separated by a T-shaped bone, contains a large amount of fat, which makes the meat juicy.
Roundrumb steak- a round piece of tenderloin from the hip.
Striploin steak- tenderloin that looks more like a sirloin strip than a steak.

How to choose

Randy Irion, marketing director for the National Cattlemen's Beef Association, has some tips for selecting and cooking the right steak:

Buy thick pieces at least 2 centimeters thick.
Don't avoid fatty cuts: Fat gives the steak flavor, makes it juicy, and maintains its shape while grilling.
If you want to cook the perfect steak, you'll have to buy a thermometer. The required temperature for rare steak is 51 °C.
Do not pay attention to the labels “organic”, “non-GMO”, “natural product”.
Ideally, you should buy your meat from a butcher shop rather than a supermarket.
If the meat gives off a slight ammonia smell, it is not fresh.
When you get home, feel the steak. If your fingers stick to the meat, it means it is close to being lost.
Ribeye is the best choice if you don't want to spend a lot of time choosing. According to Irion, almost any butcher or cook will tell you that ribeye is their favorite type of steak. It is not the most delicate, but has the most intense taste.

Steak is a thick cut of quality beef meat, cut across the muscle fibers and fried at high temperature in a frying pan or grill. Steak meat can be either drier (filet mignon) or streaked with fat (marble steak). Steak with a rib bone is called ribeye.

Although the classic steak is whole beef meat roasted over a fire for a short time, there are numerous recipes for oven-baked steaks, pork steaks and even salmon steaks. Technically, even a steak made from ground beef is considered a steak. beef steak).

What meat is steak made from?

For steaks, meat from those parts of the carcass whose muscles are not involved in motor activity is suitable - primarily the chest, sides and back. Since no more than 10% of a steer's carcass can ultimately be used, this is one of the main reasons for the high cost of quality beef for steak.

The finished steak gets its name depending on what part of the carcass it was prepared from. In different countries, both the carcass cutting scheme and preferences for the choice of meat and roasting method differ. However, nowhere are steaks prepared from fresh beef - the meat is always stored for 15-20 days.

How to cook steak?

American steak is a large and thick piece of meat with noble streaks of fat (marbled beef). In Europe, smaller and thinner sirloin steaks are preferred.

Buy the right meat. Preference should be given to either domestic meat for steaks in vacuum packaging or imported frozen meat. Frozen meat must first be thawed before cooking - leave it in the main chamber of the refrigerator for several hours.
Cut the meat into thick pieces. The steak meat is washed, then cut into fairly thick slices - 2.5 cm for fatty marbled meat, or 4-5 cm for almost dry beef fillet mignon. Before cooking, the meat should rest at room temperature for at least 30-45 minutes.
Prepare gas and frying pan. European thin sirloin steaks are best fried in non-stick frying pans and on a gas stove, while thicker and fattier American or Australian steaks are best fried in special ribbed frying pans or on the grill. In this case, a minimum of oil is required.
Don't spoil the meat! Under no circumstances should you wash the meat immediately before frying - it should be as dry as possible. Before frying the steak, add a little rock salt, black pepper or a pinch of aromatic herbs on both sides, but be careful not to overdo it with spices.
When grilling, keep the crust on the steak.. To form a golden brown crust that retains all the juices inside, it is important to fry the steak at high temperature. Do not place several pieces on the frying pan at the same time - this will lower the temperature and the meat will inevitably begin to stew in its own juices.
Be sure to time yourself. As with boiling soft-boiled eggs, the best results are obtained by timing the cooking time. Frying time depends on the thickness of the piece of meat and its type - ranging from 1.5-2 minutes for filet mignon, ending with 6-7 minutes for each side of well-done marbled beef well done.
Let the steak rest before serving.. Before the steak is almost done, it is removed from the heat and placed on a plate for 5-7 minutes. The high temperature on the surface of the steak redistributes the internal juices, as a result of which the meat is more evenly soaked and becomes more tasty and juicy.

Grass-fed or grain-fed?

In the USA and Australia, preference is given to “marbled” grain-fed meat - delicate layers of fat are formed inside the muscle fibers, so the steak after cooking is juicy and tender. However, in Europe and South Africa, drier grass-fed meats are preferred.

Steak doneness

In accordance with the American system of classifying doneness classes, steaks are divided into six degrees of doneness - very rare(almost raw meat), rare(meat with blood), medium rare(medium rare steak) medium(medium rare), medium well(almost cooked) well done(done).