Types of steak
For those who know us quite well, you will know that we absolutely adore steak!
Growing up we started to have an early appreciation for steak from around our teenage years. This is all thanks to our parents who regularly treated us to lots of fine dining experiences, which allowed us the opportunity to taste some of the most divine types of steaks from different cuisines.
We also tend to get a lot of questions from friends and family about what state to buy, how to cook it and how best to consume steak.
So…
We thought it would make sense to do a blog discussing the different types of steaks with the hope that that it inspires you too cook it at home for yourself.
Besides, steak is one of the simplest and most delicious meals you can have – Whether it’s a quick meal during the week or you’re preparing food for a date, you can never go wrong with steak.
Plus, there are so many different things you can eat with it which is what adds to its beauty!
Types of steak
Filet Mignon
This cut also known as the fillet steak is an incredibly soft and tender cut. It is a favourite amongst many including top steak houses too.
The fillet steak is made up of very soft muscle with almost no fat thus creating a soft steak which is delicate and buttery in flavour.
Whilst it is a very soft piece of steak and easy to eat, the downside to this cut is it lacks a lot of flavour in comparison to other types of steak cuts which might be less enticing to meat eaters who love a juicy and flavoursome steak.
Given the low-fat content, the fillet steak does not require to be over cooked otherwise it can get quite chewy and loose its flavour.
Simple Yummies Tip! For optimum enjoyment, it is best to cook the steak on a hot griddle pan to rare or medium rare
Rib Eye
Ohhh the rib eye…
Where do we even begin!
This is probably one of the nicest cuts due to its mixture of meat too fat content.
The perfect marbling between the meat and the crispy fatty side means that once it’s cooked its juices melt within the meat creating such an amazing flavour.
Sounds delicious doesn’t it?
When buying a rib eye, make sure you ask for one that has lots of marbling evenly spread out throughout the steak.
This is because as you cook the steak all the fatty content in the middle of the meat will begin to melt thus creating the best flavour for your steak.
Simple Yummies Tip! The rib eye is best cooked at medium however for those who prefer a well-cooked steak, this is the best steak for you. Just add some salt, pepper, garlic and Rosemary and you’re good to go!
Sirloin
With all the different types of steak available for us this cut of steak makes the the perfect steak for a mid-week dinner.
It is more inexpensive cut and in comparison to some of the other types of steak is doesn’t have the strongest beefy flavour but can certainly be dressed up well and cooked to perfect perfection with a few little tricks.
The sirloin steak can be quite tricky too perfect as overcooking it will create a really chewy and tough steak that becomes unpleasant to eat.
Simple Yummies Tip! We recommend you sous vide the steak to medium before you sear the perfect finish.
This will allow the steak to cook gently at a consistent temperature thus tenderising the meat without overcooking the steak and ensuring it’s still delicious!
New York strip
If you’ve never heard of a New York strip before, write this cut down and make sure you try it ASAP!
The New York strip comes from the upper part of the sirloin of a cow.
It has a good mixture of meat to fat and is tender and full of flavour. When you talk about of types of steak that would be perfect for a barbecue this cut is definitely one of them.
Simple Yummies Tip! Similar to the rib eye, this steak is best served medium rare and doesn’t require too much additional flavours other than the classic salt and pepper mix.
Porterhouse
If you are ever in a restaurant and are absolutely famished, remember to order the porterhouse steak.
Out of all the types of steaks available this is a huge cut of steak. It is also known as the King steak in some areas as it has two steaks combined all into one.
The porterhouse steak is made out of the New York strip and the fillet steak – if you’ve already forgotten what those are, scroll up and re-read them and you’ll see why this is called a King steak!
It’s the best of both worlds!!!
The porterhouse steak has been known to be confused with the T-bone steak, which is somewhat the same, however the porterhouse steak is thicker.
It’s unlikely that one person can finish this steak on their own so it would require sharing.
Rump
The rump steak is also known as the butt steak, compared some of the other types of steak is one of the cheaper types of steak. Due to the location of the meat, the muscle tends to be quite overworked and becomes a tough steak to eat – understandably.
The rump steak is quite a versatile cut which can be used for both grilling and braising.
Unlike some of the other types types of steak the rump steak will require a lot of marination and will need to sit in the marination for quite a while before cooking.
Simple Yummies Tip! We recommend you marinate the meat for about three to four hours minimum or overnight if possible, for best results.
If cooking on a hot griddle pan, ensure the meat rests after cooking for at least 15 to 20 minutes to ensure the juices are absorbed back into the meat.
Tomahawk
Everything about the tomahawk steak looks beautiful, juicy and delicious.
Seriously? who wouldn’t want this steak?
The tomahawk steak is essentially a thick cut of the rib-eye steak on a bone – but it doesn’t just end there.
The tomahawk is amazing just on its own however, cooking the steak with the bone attached creates so much more flavour to the meat.
Like the porterhouse steak this is a sharing steak that could easily feed about two to three people.
Simple Yummies Tip! The cooking advice for the tomahawk is exactly the same as the rib eye – The key is to watch out that the meat cooks to the right temperature before eating as it is slightly thicker and may take longer.
Skirt
Before you ask, the skirt steak is not a garment!
It is a thin layer of meat that is taken off the section of the belly and can be quite tough to eat due to the large amount of tissues that can be found in this area.
If cooked correctly however it can be absolutely delicious!
Simple Yummies Tip! For the best results, marinate your skirt steak in lemon, salt, pepper, and garlic for up to an hour before cooking on the grill.
This steak is best served at medium and it is advised to cut the steak against the grain to avoid making this steak chewy.
Flank
The flank steak is a very similar cut to a skirt steak – the key difference to a flank steak is it comes from the rear part of the beef belly and tends to be slightly thicker than a skirt steak and also tends to be slightly more tender than a skirt steak.
Simple Yummies Tip! As with the skirt steak, use a flavourful marinade and ensure you leave the meat to soak up the marination for at least an hour before cooking.
Flat Iron
The flat iron comes from the shoulder blade of the cow and is a very tender cut of steak. It’s a great steak for eating with salad and holds similar characteristics to a filet steak.
Simple Yummies Tip! As with the fillet steak, cook the flat iron steak at high heat on a hot griddle pan and best served rare or medium rare.
Where to buy steak?
To ensure that you’re getting the best quality steak and the to choose from a variety of types of steak, it’s really important to source your meat from good butchers.
Local butchers or a specialist meat suppliers that we use regularly to supply us with various types of steak are Field and Flower, Ginger Pig and Dunwood Butchers.
Investing in quality meat is definitely something we don’t regret because it truly it that one thing that could make the difference between an good meal and an exceptional meal to remember!
If you visit your local butchers most the time they should be able to provide you with all or if not most of the different types of steak cuts mentioned above.
What makes a steak so expensive?
Have you ever been shopping for steak and ever wondered why the price varies so much for the different types of steak you’re buying? There are two main reasons why this may be.
The first reason is it could be that you are buying a steak of a good quality– for example a 60-day dry age steak is likely to be much more expensive than a 30-day dry age steak.
This is because dry ageing has been known to intensify the flavour of meat thus making it more expensive.
The second reason why you might find steak is expensive is because of the cut of the different types of steak – there are some cuts of the steak which are quite expensive as they are known to be the most flavoursome and juiciest part of the steak.
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Please check out our delicious Medium Rare Steak recipe!
