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How to buy a good steak?

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  • 15-06-2019 11:26am
    #1
    kuro68k
    Registered Users Posts: 261 ✭✭


    Assuming I know pretty much nothing about steaks (because I don't) how do I buy a good one?

    Sirloin, rib eye, pound, minute... No idea. And how do I tell which is a good one by looking, how much white fat is okay?


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    #2
    dudara
    Registered Users Posts: 33,519 ✭✭✭✭dudara


    The first thing is your personal preference. I love a good rib-rye, but I am not a massive fan of fillet as it is leaner (and to me less tasty). But lots of people love fillet for its tenderness. There are different things to look for in each type.

    In general, you want to buy good quality, grass-fed steak. Irish steak is predominantly grass-fed, whereas US can be predominantly grain-fed. A good butcher will have good steak from named farmers. Altnatively, the premium ranges from Aldi, Lidl etc are quite good too.


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    #3
    kuro68k
    Registered Users Posts: 261 ✭✭kuro68k


    Thanks. The best I ever had was wagyu in Japan, incredibly tender but also very flavourful.

    When preparing the steak I know you are supposed to let it rest for half an hour. How much of the fat should be cut away?


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    #4
    Gaz
    Registered Users Posts: 1,586 ✭✭✭Gaz


    Don't cut the fat away, it adds flavour as it cooks.
    Personally I prefer ribeye with a decent amount of marbling, let it sit for 20mins to get to room temp then cook it on a skillet, timing will depend on your preference.


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    #5
    dudara
    Registered Users Posts: 33,519 ✭✭✭✭dudara


    Wagyu is a type of beef with fat marbling throughout the steak. This helps make it tender and tasty.

    I personally wouldn’t cut any of the fat away. The fat will melt during cooking and carmlise, adding flavour and keeping the meat juicy. If you want less fat, the you can cut it away while eating, or alternatively buy a cut like fillet that has naturally less fat.


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    #6
    dball
    Registered Users Posts: 1,848 ✭✭✭dball


    This guy explains everything about fat and flavour in this clip. Also worth checking out his wacky experiments using all the different cuts and types of meats
    Very cheesy but worth a look
    https://youtu.be/O-5cjlff5g4


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    #7
    killanena
    Registered Users Posts: 1,122 ✭✭✭killanena


    I love steak for how simplistic it is. Personal favourite is a fillet but I wouldn't say no to any good quality cut from a butcher.

    Let it reach room temp so it cooks evenly, salt and black pepper rubbed in on both sides, heat the pan with either a drop of oil or butter (and garlic), once the pan is sizzling hot throw on the steak.

    Only flip it once but before you flip it grab a pair of tongs and hold the fatty side against the pan to further caramelized it and lock in the juices. With a table spoon just tilt the pan and gather all those juices and throw it back over the steak which helps cook and favourite it further.

    I personally cook mine medium. Well done in my opinion ruins the flavour and texture of a good quality steak but each to their own :)


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    #8
    drunkmonkey
    Registered Users Posts: 28,119 ✭✭✭✭drunkmonkey


    You could start by going to lidl today and getting yourself a cowboy steak or tomahawk before there all gone.
    Cowboy is probably a good place to start.


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    #9
    grassroot1
    Registered Users Posts: 1,524 ✭✭✭grassroot1


    kuro68k wrote:
    Thanks. The best I ever had was wagyu in Japan, incredibly tender but also very flavourful.


    You can get wagyu cattle in Ireland so presumably way beef. However the traditional breeds Angus Hereford or shorthorn all have marbeling.
    Try and find a butcher killing there own cattle inquire about farmer breed and rearing methods.
    Buying better meat with good providence will cost little more.


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    #10
    RasTa
    Closed Accounts Posts: 15,116 ✭✭✭✭RasTa


    Don't buy round or minute steaks if you're looking for your traditional steak dinner. Aldi or Lidl steaks are a good start imo.

    FXB's do some nice ones and Higgins do the best imo. Depends what your budget is.


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    #11
    robindch
    Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 24,399 Mod ✭✭✭✭robindch


    kuro68k wrote: »
    Assuming I know pretty much nothing about steaks (because I don't) how do I buy a good one?
    Best get the cooking sorted out first as no amount of excellence will survive a slaughter in the kitchen.

    If you've not cooked a steak properly before - and most people do it the wrong way for years - it's actually very easy.

    0. But a regular piece of fillet steak in Tesco. Should cost you between five and ten euro and be about an inch thick
    1. Dry the steak both sides with a clean teatowel.
    2. Grab a nonstick frying pan, put it on the cooker and heat up the pan until it's fully heated - probably takes a minute or two.
    3. With the lid off the pan, fry the steak on one side for one minute. No need to put in any oil or anything.
    4. Turn the steak over and fry it on the other side for one minute.
    5. Take the pan off the heat, put a lid on the pan (or a plate over the meat if you don't have a lid)
    6. Leave the pan sit that way for between five and ten minutes (a heavier pan means less time, a lighter pan means more time).
    7. Slice the steak with a carving knife, plate it up and eat it.

    Tips - if there's lots of juice in the pan, keep this away from the steak while it's frying as that'll reduce the temperature and basically boil the meat instead of frying it. It's not possible to "lock in juices" and salt and pepper are optional and many cooks leave them out as steaks taste fine without them - experiment with both and see what works for you.

    The above will give you a lovely rare steak. If you prefer medium steak, then perhaps two minutes per side, but I wouldn't recommend it. If you prefer well-done steak, then I wouldn't bother getting fillet and just get sirloin or something cheaper as with well-done, you probably won't be able to tell the difference between the better cut and the cheaper cut.

    Note that the red stuff that comes out of a rare steak isn't blood which most people find really off-putting, but stuff called myoglobin.


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    #12
    drunkmonkey
    Registered Users Posts: 28,119 ✭✭✭✭drunkmonkey


    robindch wrote: »
    Best get the cooking sorted out first as no amount of excellence will survive a slaughter in the kitchen.

    If you've not cooked a steak properly before - and most people do it the wrong way for years - it's actually very easy.

    0. But a regular piece of fillet steak in Tesco. Should cost you between five and ten euro.
    1. Dry the steak both sides with a clean teatowel.
    2. Grab a nonstick frying pan, put it on the cooker and heat up the pan until it's fully heated - probably takes a minute or two.
    3. With the lid off the pan, fry the steak on one side for one minute. No need to put in any oil or anything.
    4. Turn the steak over and fry it on the other side for one minute.
    5. Take the pan off the heat, put a lid on the pan (or a plate over the meat if you don't have a lid)
    6. Leave the pan sit that way for between five and ten minutes (a heavier pan means less time, a lighter pan means more time).
    7. Slice the steak with a carving knife, plate it up and eat it.

    The above will give you a lovely rare steak. If you prefer medium steak, then perhaps two minutes per side, but I wouldn't recommend it. If you prefer well-done steak, then I wouldn't bother getting fillet and just get sirloin or something cheaper as with well-done, you probably won't be able to tell the difference between the better cut and the cheaper cut.

    Note that the red stuff that comes out of a rare steak isn't blood which most people find really off-putting, but stuff called myoglobin.

    You better hope nobody in the steak thread reads that, you forgot lashings of salt for starters.

    https://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2057501295&page=16


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    #13
    dudara
    Registered Users Posts: 33,519 ✭✭✭✭dudara


    drunkmonkey wrote: »
    You could start by going to lidl today and getting yourself a cowboy steak or tomahawk before there all gone.
    Cowboy is probably a good place to start.

    I wouldn’t recommend that an amateur starts with a cowboy or tomahawk. Cooking bone-in steak is a different skill to cooking a non-bone-in steak.

    But if you do fancy a cowboy or tomahawk, then the BBQ is best for cooking these bad boys.


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    #14
    robindch
    Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 24,399 Mod ✭✭✭✭robindch


    drunkmonkey wrote: »
    You better hope nobody in the steak thread reads that, you forgot lashings of salt for starters.
    See the edited post - salt and pepper are optional, despite people's strongly-held passions concerning them. Steaks works fine without them, though some people just like lots of salt and if a cook's going to use it, then crunchy rock salt gives a better texture against the softness of the fillet. For the same reason, freshly cracked pepper (ie, large lumpy bits) is better than finely-ground pepper, especially stuff that's been sitting around for a while as it does lose its flavour over time.


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    #15
    dudara
    Registered Users Posts: 33,519 ✭✭✭✭dudara


    Salt that has been cooked into steak at a high heat forms a lovely crust. It’s as much about that as it is about the salt flavour.


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    #16
    kuro68k
    Registered Users Posts: 261 ✭✭kuro68k


    Thanks for all the advice! I have passed the cooking stuff on to my wife - not because I'm a misogynist, but because she won't let me near the kitchen unsupervised.

    So not much love for sirloin then? When I was living in the UK it seemed to be the most popular kind.

    I'm going to try the "cowboy".


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    #17
    RasTa
    Closed Accounts Posts: 15,116 ✭✭✭✭RasTa


    Don't bother with the cowboy. It's just a bone in rib eye.

    Start with a sirloin, striploin or rib-eye.

    Also salt is a must.


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    #18
    Hoboo
    Registered Users Posts: 3,524 ✭✭✭Hoboo


    robindch wrote: »
    Best get the cooking sorted out first as no amount of excellence will survive a slaughter in the kitchen.

    If you've not cooked a steak properly before - and most people do it the wrong way for years - it's actually very easy.

    0. But a regular piece of fillet steak in Tesco. Should cost you between five and ten euro and be about an inch thick
    1. Dry the steak both sides with a clean teatowel.
    2. Grab a nonstick frying pan, put it on the cooker and heat up the pan until it's fully heated - probably takes a minute or two.
    3. With the lid off the pan, fry the steak on one side for one minute. No need to put in any oil or anything.
    4. Turn the steak over and fry it on the other side for one minute.
    5. Take the pan off the heat, put a lid on the pan (or a plate over the meat if you don't have a lid)
    6. Leave the pan sit that way for between five and ten minutes (a heavier pan means less time, a lighter pan means more time).
    7. Slice the steak with a carving knife, plate it up and eat it.

    Tips - if there's lots of juice in the pan, keep this away from the steak while it's frying as that'll reduce the temperature and basically boil the meat instead of frying it. It's not possible to "lock in juices" and salt and pepper are optional and many cooks leave them out as steaks taste fine without them - experiment with both and see what works for you.

    The above will give you a lovely rare steak. If you prefer medium steak, then perhaps two minutes per side, but I wouldn't recommend it. If you prefer well-done steak, then I wouldn't bother getting fillet and just get sirloin or something cheaper as with well-done, you probably won't be able to tell the difference between the better cut and the cheaper cut.

    Note that the red stuff that comes out of a rare steak isn't blood which most people find really off-putting, but stuff called myoglobin.

    If there's loads of juice in the pan your pan isnt hot enough, should be next to no juice. It should be locked in, no idea what you're talking about.

    No chef would skip seasoning a steak, plenty of course salt rubbed in too for good measure. Also stops it from sticking.


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    #19
    RasTa
    Closed Accounts Posts: 15,116 ✭✭✭✭RasTa


    robindch wrote: »
    Best get the cooking sorted out first as no amount of excellence will survive a slaughter in the kitchen.

    If you've not cooked a steak properly before - and most people do it the wrong way for years - it's actually very easy.

    0. But a regular piece of fillet steak in Tesco. Should cost you between five and ten euro and be about an inch thick
    1. Dry the steak both sides with a clean teatowel.
    2. Grab a nonstick frying pan, put it on the cooker and heat up the pan until it's fully heated - probably takes a minute or two.
    3. With the lid off the pan, fry the steak on one side for one minute. No need to put in any oil or anything.
    4. Turn the steak over and fry it on the other side for one minute.
    5. Take the pan off the heat, put a lid on the pan (or a plate over the meat if you don't have a lid)
    6. Leave the pan sit that way for between five and ten minutes (a heavier pan means less time, a lighter pan means more time).
    7. Slice the steak with a carving knife, plate it up and eat it.

    Tips - if there's lots of juice in the pan, keep this away from the steak while it's frying as that'll reduce the temperature and basically boil the meat instead of frying it. It's not possible to "lock in juices" and salt and pepper are optional and many cooks leave them out as steaks taste fine without them - experiment with both and see what works for you.

    The above will give you a lovely rare steak. If you prefer medium steak, then perhaps two minutes per side, but I wouldn't recommend it. If you prefer well-done steak, then I wouldn't bother getting fillet and just get sirloin or something cheaper as with well-done, you probably won't be able to tell the difference between the better cut and the cheaper cut.

    Note that the red stuff that comes out of a rare steak isn't blood which most people find really off-putting, but stuff called myoglobin.

    Ignore most of this advice too. A rare fillet steak with no salt and a non stick pan! My god.


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    #20
    Marcusm
    Registered Users Posts: 10,215 ✭✭✭✭Marcusm


    kuro68k wrote: »
    Thanks for all the advice! I have passed the cooking stuff on to my wife - not because I'm a misogynist, but because she won't let me near the kitchen unsupervised.

    So not much love for sirloin then? When I was living in the UK it seemed to be the most popular kind.

    I'm going to try the "cowboy".

    Sirloin in the U.K. would generally be called striploin here. It’s probably the best place to starts as it’s neither too fatty nor too lean. Wagyu is a very specialist type of beef although Wagyu itself just means Japanese cow. Apart from limited periods when the Japanese allowed live cow exports, the bloodlines of wagyu or Kobe beef cattle have limited influence from the original. As a result, you’ll likely never experience true wagyu outside Kspan except at highly specialised restaurants.


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    #21
    drunkmonkey
    Registered Users Posts: 28,119 ✭✭✭✭drunkmonkey


    Yea go with the cowboy it's simple, salt and pepper bit of oil, pan on medium to high (8) out of 10. Put on some more salt when you've enough on (not saxa, milled preferably). Cook to your liking it'll go dark brown very quick on the outside. Sear it, then flip once or twice just to seal the protein while frying. I had for one tea you can't go wrong. There's loads of fat in the so it's a be nice and juicy. Enjoy!


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    #22
    kuro68k
    Registered Users Posts: 261 ✭✭kuro68k


    I see the chefs you YouTube always add loads of salt, and I'm slightly allergic too it, but damn it does make all the difference...


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    #23
    rubadub
    Registered Users Posts: 32,373 ✭✭✭✭rubadub


    kuro68k wrote: »
    So not much love for sirloin then? When I was living in the UK it seemed to be the most popular kind..
    Could be popular simply since it is usually the cheapest steak that people would consider suitable for frying as a typical steak (i.e. most would not recommend frying round steak).

    I use sirloin in stir fries. In my tesco they usually sell steak off half price at the butchers counter when it closes around 5.30pm

    I see sirloin in tesco for 9.75/kg at the moment and that is not an offer.


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    #24
    AulWan
    Closed Accounts Posts: 1,653 ✭✭✭AulWan


    I usually buy striploin, but I'll happily buy sirloin if it looks nice. I look for steak with even thickness and a nice bit of fat.

    I usually buy steak in Aldi, and you can get it for as cheap as €5.29 for 2 pieces of striploin (400g pack) which is ridiculously cheap and at first I was skeptical thinking if its this cheap it won't be good, but it really is if you take the time to prep/cook/ let it rest properly.

    If you're experimenting with cooking steak and it doesn't come out quite how you like it the first few times, well, it didn't cost a bomb. :)


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    #25
    JohnnyFlash
    Registered Users Posts: 7,055 ✭✭✭JohnnyFlash


    Dry aged for at least 28 days. Rib-eye. Bring to room temperature. More salt than you think should be on it. Get the pan very hot. Oil the steak. 3 minutes each side until medium. Stand for about 10 minutes. Serve with a bearnaise sauce.


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    #26
    Dizzyblonde
    Moderators, Category Moderators, Politics Moderators, Recreation & Hobbies Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators, Regional East Moderators Posts: 12,108 CMod ✭✭✭✭Dizzyblonde


    As far as I'm concerned you can't beat an Aldi ribeye, sold in twos in a black and gold pack. They're consistently good, full of flavour and really tender :)


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    #27
    Osborne
    Registered Users Posts: 310 ✭✭Osborne


    rubadub wrote: »
    Could be popular simply since it is usually the cheapest steak that people would consider suitable for frying as a typical steak (i.e. most would not recommend frying round steak).

    I use sirloin in stir fries. In my tesco they usually sell steak off half price at the butchers counter when it closes around 5.30pm

    I see sirloin in tesco for 9.75/kg at the moment and that is not an offer.

    Nah, as Marcusm says, Striploin is sold as Sirloin in the UK.


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    #28
    odyssey06
    Registered Users Posts: 28,155 ✭✭✭✭odyssey06


    Note that if you see "rib steak" at meat counters \ butchers don't confuse it with rib-eye, I think it's one for casseroles \ slow cooking - prefer it to round steak in those dishes.

    "To follow knowledge like a sinking star..." (Tennyson's Ulysses)



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    #29
    rubadub
    Registered Users Posts: 32,373 ✭✭✭✭rubadub


    Osborne wrote: »
    Nah, as Marcusm says, Striploin is sold as Sirloin in the UK.

    right, I see no striploin on the tesco uk site, they have rump steak which is not on the Irish one.

    The craft butchers site has a guide on meat

    https://www.craftbutchers.ie/buyingmeat/
    Striploin can be confusing. If you ask for a sirloin in a restaurant you will get striploin. If you ask for sirloin in a butcher's shop you will get rump. In the United States and Canada it is also known as striploin, shell steak, Delmonico, Kansas City strip or New York strip steak. Cut from the strip loin part of the sirloin, the strip steak consists of a muscle that does little work, and so it is particularly tender, though not as tender as the nearby ribeye or Fillet (fat content of the strip is somewhere between these two cuts). Unlike the nearby Fillet , the strip loin is a sizeable muscle, allowing it to be cut into larger portions.

    When still attached to the bone, and with a piece of the fillet also included, the strip steak becomes a T-bone steak or a Porterhouse steak, the difference being in that the Porterhouse has a larger portion of fillet included.

    Sirloin in Ireland comes from the Rump. There can be confusion (see above) whether bought in a restaurant or a butcher's shop.


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    #30
    pwurple
    Closed Accounts Posts: 12,449 ✭✭✭✭pwurple


    kuro68k wrote: »
    Assuming I know pretty much nothing about steaks (because I don't) how do I buy a good one?

    Sirloin, rib eye, pound, minute... No idea. And how do I tell which is a good one by looking, how much white fat is okay?

    Step 1: Find your local butcher. A real butcher, not a pre-packed meat factory front shop place.

    Step 2: Speak to your butcher. They are the meat experts with years of training, experience and the products you want to buy. They will pass on that knowledge to you if you just ask.

    Step 3: Follow the instructions your butcher gives you.


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    #31
    robindch
    Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 24,399 Mod ✭✭✭✭robindch


    Hoboo wrote: »
    If there's loads of juice in the pan your pan isnt hot enough, should be next to no juice. It should be locked in, no idea what you're talking about.
    Not sure if you had time to read the other posts before replying to mine, but I was replying indirectly to killanena's wildly inaccurate post which instructed the unhappy cook what to do when meat juices - which should not be present during the searing phase - started sloshing around the pan. If there's juice there, then something's wrong. Badly wrong. Keep the juice away from the meat anyway.

    Plus the use of the truly silly phrase "lock in the juices" as though searing a steak might cause the Maillard reaction to produce, not non-enzymatic-level browning within the protein substrate of the meat, but instead, a condom surrounding the meat.
    RasTa wrote: »
    Ignore most of this advice too. A rare fillet steak with no salt and a non stick pan! My god.
    Not sure if you had time to read my post before rushing headlong to the keyboard to reply to it - salt is optional and you can cook a perfectly good steak without using it. And many people do and many people don't. It's a matter of taste. Personally, as above, I avoid salt as the steak tastes fine without it and I don't like including ingredients which are prominently bad for my guests' health, as I would like them to be able to return sometime in the future without congestive heart failure or other blood-pressure related diseases.

    If you've gone to the trouble of buying and maintaining professional-grade carbon-steel skillets, then by all means, ditch the nonstick suggestion above and use the skillet instead, but adjust the sear-time and stand-time to suit.

    Most people haven't gone to the considerable expense of carbon-steel skillets and get by just fine with a regular non-stick frying pan - for which the above, precise, instructions are perfectly adequate. And, I can't help but notice, which precise instructions are completely absent from everybody else's post.


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