Many are interested in the question of how to choose meat for steak. To make the finished dish tasty, you need to follow a number of certain rules when buying. It doesn’t matter if you buy meat in a supermarket or in a specialty gourmet store. The problem is that often people are guided by a few preconceived ideas about how a good steak should look, and ultimately buy the worst product. What you need to know when buying meat?
Check out the types of steaks
You need to have some idea of the type of steak you want to buy. At the very least, you should know how many pieces of meat you need, how you are going to cook them and how much you expect. Today on sale you can find many options. Depending on how you are going to cook and serve meat, you have to make the right choice.
Steaks come in various shapes and sizes. Depending on the part of the carcass with which they were cut, their cost and preparation technique are determined. The most common question is how to choose meat for ribeye steak. He needs a thick piece of meat with a dense bone, obtained from the subscap section of the carcass, starting from the fifth and ending with the 12th rib. In addition to its pleasant taste, the ribeye also has an attractive appearance after cooking. This can be a very good serving for a small dinner party, as this is the easiest to cook.
The thicker pieces of meat obtained from the section of carcass from the 13th rib to the rump allow you to cook New York steak, which can be an integral part of many dishes. This meat is less fatty, but its taste is very rich.
You can find softer cuts, which are great for grilling, if they have a sufficient number of marble veins. If you need to choose meat for steaks for a large company, it is better to purchase a large piece of tenderloin. Just chop it into thin steaks, cook them in the oven and serve with creamy horseradish sauce.
Decide which section of the carcass you need.
How to choose meat for steak? To do this, you should study what parts of the carcass are used for this product, and how to distinguish the primary cuts. This is necessary so that you can ask the seller questions and understand his answers.
As you can imagine, the back of the carcass is denser than the area around the lower back and ribs. Cuts of the back of the carcass are more rigid. This means that they are better for stewing and baking. Softer cuts are obtained from muscles that do not work so hard. This includes the lower back and tenderloin.
In addition, intermediate carcass parts are used , which can be either harsh or soft, depending on where they are cut from. For example, in the ribs section you can find soft fatty pieces that are ideal for grilling, but there are more dense cuts of meat.
Speaking of the back of the cow, it is worth highlighting the fillet separately. How to choose meat from this part? You need to know the difference between the upper and lower tenderloin. The first variety is more tender than the second, but does not have such a flavor. The upper fillet is denser than the lower, and if it is cooked correctly, it may be a less expensive alternative to gourmet steaks from the lower back.
Buy the best meat you can afford
Most of us rarely have the opportunity to buy and try premium beef varieties. This is because only 1-2.5% of all meat sold on the market can be rated so highly. There are many criteria for such an assessment, but for consumers, “marbling” is of primary importance - the fat net that runs throughout the meat. This is a hallmark of beef steak. What meat to choose in this case?
As for the acquisition of non-premium meat, buyers often make a big mistake. Choosing between a completely fat-free piece of beef and soaked in fat lines passing through it, many stop on a leaner steak. In fact, it is fat that allows you to get an incredibly rich, juicy, delicate taste and texture that everyone wants to achieve.
Despite the fact that the premium class is not available to everyone, in a more modest price range you can also make a good choice.
Should I buy packaged pieces?
In markets and in some stores you can see unpacked meat, which is stored simply in the refrigerator section. In specialized places, pieces are usually sold in polystyrene trays covered with cling film. How to choose meat for steak in this case?
The big advantage of buying a product in packaging is that usually in this case there is a label with comprehensive information. If you are not familiar with this section of beef, the variety or the best way to cook a particular steak, you can read about it on the packaging. However, this way you cannot get a piece of meat to look at both sides of it, smell it, check the humidity and make sure that there are no brown spots. It is not possible to determine when the product is on a piece of foam under a layer of plastic wrap. A packaged steak may look great on the side you see, but you won’t be able to determine what’s behind until you make a purchase and open it at home. And then it may be too late.
Quality steaks are expensive, so don't be afraid to ask the seller to check the meat you buy. At the same time, choose a piece with the largest number of marble veins, so that it is tender and tasty. There is nothing worse than hardly chewing hard meat.
Color, smell and texture
If you make a choice in a specialty store where steak beef is sold, you can see cows of various fattening. You will immediately notice a huge difference in color. Grass-fed beef will have a much darker color than a marble “grain” steak. That he has a nice bright look. When the freshly cut surface is exposed to oxygen, the myoglobin in the meat turns bright red.
Such beef will oxidize faster and turn brownish red over time. This is actually not bad. Marble on grain beef should be white or cream. On grass-fed meat, it usually has a yellow color. In any case, there should be no brown spots in the fat or along the edges of the piece.
If the meat you buy has a sour or ammonia smell, it is not fresh. Do not buy it! Fresh steaks should have a slightly fleshy odor, but not harsh. It is impossible to determine how the packaged product smells, but if you notice traces of freshness at home, return the purchase.
It’s difficult to determine the quality of meat by touch until you buy it. It is impossible to feel the packaged piece, and the unpacked majority of sellers will not allow to touch. But if after buying you find that the meat is sticky, it means it is stale.
Choose fresh meat, or inspect the packaging
Not all stores have departments where you can buy unpacked steaks or ask the seller to cut a specific piece. In such situations, you are likely to find ready-made steaks laid out on polystyrene foam trays and wrapped in plastic film. There is nothing wrong with buying such products as long as you pay attention to the details.
If you find that there is excess liquid in the tray, this may mean that the meat has been frozen and then thawed. This is a low-quality product, which is better not to buy. You should also inspect the packaging. If the styrofoam tray is cracked or the plastic film is torn, you do not need to buy it.
Check expiration date
The next thing to do is check the expiration date. Some stores instead indicate the date of receipt or packaging. If you do not understand what these terms mean, be sure to ask the seller. In no case should you buy steaks with an expiring shelf life. In addition, sometimes you can see pieces of meat that look much less fresh but have the same date on the label. This means that the steaks have been repackaged.
Marble Streaks
Regardless of whether you buy grass or grain beef, layers of "marble" - this is a very important quality component. A layer of fat gives the steak both flavor and tenderness. How to choose meat for steak by the presence and distribution of layers? The best marbling is small spots of fat, evenly distributed over a very thin textured protein.
What else needs to be considered?
Above were suggested tips on how to choose meat in the market or in the store for cooking steaks. In addition to the correct purchase, it is also important to be able to cook it correctly. Only in this way you will get a tasty and tender dish.
How to prepare meat for grilling?
T-bon steak, like ribeye, is the best kind of meat for grilling. What needs to be done to make it tender and tasty? First of all, it is important to let the meat warm to room temperature before you start cooking it. This relaxes the pulp and allows it to fry more evenly.
Once you start the grilling process, beware of the biggest trap - overcooking meat. Cook only until a little juice or blood is still released when you gently press. Turn the piece over once and lightly fry on the other side, then remove it from the grill while it is still pink in the middle. Put the steak on a plate where it will continue to cook during the cooling process.
In the classic version, steaks can only be made from beef. But today, under this name they use various types of meat. Such a dish can be called conditionally steak. Lamb may well be suitable for grilling. How to choose meat so that it looks like a steak? Regarding the freshness of the product, the selection criteria are the same as for beef. Try to get pieces of lamb on the bone. So you get tender juicy meat after roasting. This is because bone helps preserve moisture and texture in meat. In addition, grilled steaks from red fish and chicken are well made.
What meat to take for frying?
If you do not have the opportunity to cook meat on the grill, you can do this in an ordinary home pan. For this, beef steak is best suited. Which meat to choose? A boneless piece with layers of fat is best suited. Filet mignon is perfect for such a preparation, since it is the most tender. How to cook it this way? Just sprinkle a slice of salt and pepper and quickly fry each side in a very hot pan. Then add a little oil and fry for several minutes on each side, then put it on the plate for a while. If you use a thicker piece of meat, you can additionally bake it in the oven.
Roast meat
How to choose meat for pork steak? This product is not very suitable for such preparation, since it can not be eaten raw. If you really want a pork steak, opt for an even and not too thick piece. It should be cooked by baking. This can be done on a grid mounted in the center of the oven. The cooking temperature should be 180 degrees. The finished pork steak should have a temperature of at least 55 degrees in the center of the piece. Beef can be cooked in the oven of any degree of roasting.
How to choose pork or beef for baking in the oven? A piece of meat with bone is also more preferable here, especially if you plan to cook a steak on a grill. Tender fillet is also good.