Which steak?

[Clitheroekid]

As a confirmed and enthusiastic carnivore I do love a good steak. However, I've always noticed that there is a sort of hierarchy of steaks, which seems to start with fillet at the top, then either ribeye or sirloin, and rump - appropriately - at the bottom.

However, I had a rump steak on Friday night, and it was one of the best steaks I've ever eaten, anywhere. Admittedly it came from my wonderful local butcher, Roy Porter - http://royporter.moonfruit.com/our-products/4557359909 (the Byrnes of butchers for those who know my local wine shop) - which gave it a substantial head start, but in terms of both flavour and texture it was near perfect.

And I accompanied it with something I didn't even know existed, a bottle of Malbec from Marlborough in New Zealand, which someone brought back with them as a gift. In my ignorance I'd only ever heard of white wines from there, but I must say I was very impressed with it - Fromm is the name, though I've never seen it on sale here.

But it's not the first time I've had a rump steak that was more flavoursome than any of the others. In particular, I rarely (in every sense of the word) eat fillet steak at all these days, as it seems to be all about texture rather than flavour. I recall having a hugely expensive `treat' of Kobe beef fillet on one occasion and although astonishingly tender - a consistency almost like blancmange - it had hardly any flavour at all, and was a great disappointment.

I assume rump is cheaper because it tends to be less tender than sirloin or ribeye, and I accept that the steak I had was probably the exception. But it certainly opened my eyes to the potential of rump steak, and I'll definitely be going back for more.

What sort of steak do other carnivorous Lemons go for? And what's your favourite accompaniment / drink with it? I must admit that for me the best accompaniment is just really good chips, and although I don't mind the odd peppered steak I generally prefer it without any sauce at all.

I'm feeling hungry now!

[redsturgeon]

My preference is for a ribeye but they generally cut them too thin for my liking ( I'm afraid we do not have a local butcher here so it is supermarket 28 day aged stuff). After that it would be sirloin then rump then fillet which I'd agree tends to be less flavoursome.

Same as you, I prefer my steak with no sauce but some Dijon or English mustard on the side, chips and peas with fried mushrooms and tomatoes sometimes. In the summer I might just have the steak barbecued with a mixed salad and some french bread.

To drink it is either a full bodied red wine, perhaps a New World Shiraz or sometimes a Belgian Trappist beer.

John

[tea42]

Aldi Specially Selected 30 day aged Fillet Steak @£5.29 griddled at 3 minutes a side. McCains oven Home Chips, Peas. White Onions Chestnut Mushrooms and garlic fried. A nice glass of Carmenere, Shiraz or Malbec. A Saturday night treat if we are at home.

[bionichamster]

Ribeye all the way for me, and although I've had good stakes of all the other commonly found types I'd say that ribeye's are more consistently good.

Best ones I've ever had were from a big rib of beef I bought in the butchers shop at Tebay services on the M6 (best services in the UK by an order of magnitude), it was reduced to clear and I cut it into four big steaks each nearly an inch thick when I got home. Each steak ended up costing about six quid but were 50% bigger than an equivalent supermarket one of similar price, but the big difference was in taste, absolutely fantastic, next time I'm passing I'll buy another, even if it isn't reduced!

BH

[TonyB]

Ribeye for me with a simple pan sauce and chips. I must have had some bad experience with rump when I was younger as I almost shudder when passing them in the supermarket aisle You can get a nice tasting maillard crust on a fillet and I will occasionally choose that for a change.

TonyB

[redsturgeon]

How are we all cooking our steaks?

I use a ribbed surface cast iron skillet heated to a high temperature and three minutes a side gives a perfect medium rare for me. I like to bring the steak to room temperature for an hour or so before cooking (if I remember). In the summer, if the weather is good, I use my Weber barbecue, since cooking a steak outdoors with the sun shining and a drinking cold beer is one of life pleasures as much as eating the steak.

John

[AleisterCrowley]

I've got a v good Le Creuset cast iron skillet (heavily reduced in sale...)
Sirloin or ribeye, 3.5 minutes a side for a thickish steak

[JMN2]

2 for £7 Morrisons sirloin is very good. Either pepper cream sauce or home made flavoured butter. I like it when the frites soak up the sauce and become soggy. I make my own spice mix for the chips, smoked paprika etc.

[Clitheroekid]

three minutes a side gives a perfect medium rare for me.

I'm surprised at the preference for 3 minutes + a side, which I would expect to produce a steak I'd describe as well done, though I suppose it depends to some extent how thick the steak is.

I'd normally go for one about ¾" thick. I usually rub it with some olive oil and pepper then cook it in a very hot cast iron frying pan but not usually for more than 1½ minutes either side. This seals the outside of the steak, and leaves the inside fairly rare. I must admit to liking my meat rarer than most people - it'd be described as`saignant' in France.

I've also found that a ribeye is best cooked on a rather lower heat, so as to give the fat time to melt properly and be taken up by the meat.

I accept that because of its texture rump steak doesn't often lend itself to such light cooking, the one the other night being the exception.

As a personal thing I like to put a dot of butter on the cooked steak, and then rub it with a garlic clove - delicious!

And now I'm hungry again!

[baldchap]

I tend to look for breed first (UK only) then the cut depending upon how I am cooking. I prefer rib-eye, but thick enough to be a joint, not thin like a steak (as per redsturgeon).

I love a good marbled cut, which my wife avoids as 'too fatty', but of course we all know which one tastes best.

[Rhyd6]

OH loves ribeye and we're lucky enough to have an excellent local butcher who is also a farmer so he is able to give the provenance of all his meat. OH likes his steak blue so restricts himself to eating a steak when I'm elsewhere, about 1 to 11/2 mins per side using an extremely hot cast iron pan. I'm not enamoured of "lumps" of meat much preferring thin slices so if I do want a steak I go for fillet, Clive, our butcher, cuts a couple of thin slices for me usually with comments about need a good sharp razor to get it thin enough.
Although a good cast iron pan can be expensive they're worth it, the pan we use is one made by my great grandfather who was a blacksmith and edge toolmaker, it was given to my grandmother on the occasion of her wedding in 1891. It's had several new wooden handles but the pan itself is as good as new, it's never washed just heated and wiped.

R6

[tea42]

Over the years we moved from Sirloins to Ribeyes and then on to the Aldi Specially Selected aged Fillets. Partly due to avoiding animal fat but Aldi Steaks are so flavoursome there's no contest. Local butchers Fillets were 50 -70% more expensive and very variable in quality, sometimes good sometimes awful. Other supermarket Fillets are usually 25 - 40% more expensive but often not as good as Aldi. The steaks are 15 to 17 mm thick and if seared and griddled for 3 minutes a side after a light turn of the salt and pepper mills gives you a nice juicy very tasty steak with little or no fat. Cooking on a ribbed griddle pan rather than under a grill gives a nice seared crust to enjoy. I have been seeking a couple of old flat irons to put on top but they are fairly rare nowadays.

[johnstevens77]

We have two preferences, bavette/skirt cooked rare on a griddle and 30 day aged plus rib eye with plenty of marbling/fat. All steaks have to rest a few minutes after cooking. Sauces; as they are with dijon mustard, bordelaise if we can find the beef marrow, madagascar pepper sauce or bearnaise when our tarragon is in season.

Note: Bavette must be cooked rare, rested and sliced across the grain, especially good with shallot and white wine sauce.

john

[Cornytiv34]

We are picky about our meat but we find that our Morrison's meat counter, where the meat is cut by an experienced butcher on site, is very good for quality and value. The have some more unusual cuts such as "Denver" and "Flatiron" steaks which are extremely good. We also find they have good (packed by producer) Scottish Venison steaks which we also enjoy.

Corny

[Slarti]

Depends on where I'm eating.

If at home then rump every time from my local butcher where they have excellent aged steak. Other cuts just don't have enough flavour.

If in a restaurant I would go for something that they find harder to get wrong, like fillet. If I have steak at all, as they usually mess it up.


Slarti

[TonyB]

Cooking method depends on steak,thickness and available time . Given enough planning time, for thick (1 1/2"+) ribeyes, I will sous vide first, then a little smoke, then a hot pan or BBQ. For thinner steaks I tend to pan fry.

TonyB

[Skotch]

We have two preferences, bavette/skirt cooked rare on a griddle and 30 day aged plus rib eye with plenty of marbling/fat. All steaks have to rest a few minutes after cooking. Sauces; as they are with dijon mustard, bordelaise if we can find the beef marrow, madagascar pepper sauce or bearnaise when our tarragon is in season.

Bavette here as well - a couple of minutes (at the most) each side and rest - aet with simple salad and French fries - really thin cut - yum

[johnstevens77]

Bavette here as well - a couple of minutes (at the most) each side and rest - aet with simple salad and French fries - really thin cut - yum

Yum indeed, bavette has a unique, almost gamey flavour, very different to the run of the mill upmarket steaks. Used to be cheap as chips but as with so many things in the nose to tail eating fashion it has become more expensive.

john

[bungeejumper]

The steaks are 15 to 17 mm thick and if seared and griddled for 3 minutes a side after a light turn of the salt and pepper mills gives you a nice juicy very tasty steak with little or no fat.

Each to his own, but I very much look for a bit of fat on a steak - not a great lump along one edge, but a decent amount of marbling throughout. The fat is what carries the flavour and helps to avoid any dryness. It's a large part of what makes ribeye so good.

And I almost never eat a steak that's within its use-by date. Keeping it a week beyond that (and maybe even two?) is likely to result in a much nicer steak, particularly if it's "only" rump. I keep a sharp eye out for the reduced-price steaks doing their last official day in the supermarkets, and if the fat marbling is all right, then there's a good chance that it'll turn out to be a bargain acquisition.

I am no expert, and usually just grill steaks for three minutes a side under a hot grill. But with 'lesser' steaks, rubbing them first with olive oil and ground black pepper, andthen letting them stand for 15 minutes, seems to go a long way toward getting the best out of them. Keeps them moist.

BJ

[JMN2]

What. Bungeejumper. Said.

About letting the steak rest I go along with Anthony Bourdain's advice: leave it, don't touch it, don't cover it, don't wrap it in foil. Leave it alone.

One of the best steaks I ever had was in his steakhouse in NY, hanger steak and frites. Don't remember the sauce.