Choosing the Right Steak | Lifestyle

by KCKudra

If you want to end up eating a great steak, there is no other way to do it than by starting with one that is already great. Unfortunately, it can be rather difficult to determine whether or not a steak at the market is of high quality. There are plenty to choose from, but if you don't know what you're looking for, finding the best one will be pretty tricky. Here are a few things to look for when you go steak shopping that'll help you get a better result.

Step one is paying attention to what grade the meat is. Generally, grading is done by a third party organization, or an agency like the USDA, and is determined by how old the animal is and how well marbled the fat is. The carcass is graded on its own, so there is a certain amount of variation between the cuts when you get them. Major US grades are prime, choice, and select, among consumers, with prime being the highest quality and select the lowest quality.

Other grades exist, but they are sold mostly to commercial users. It can be pretty hard to find prime beef, so most of us will be eating choice steaks. Try some choice and some select steaks and see if you can taste the difference between the two grades.

Marbling helps determine the quality of a steak from a traditional point of view, since higher marbling means more taste, while less fat means a more tender steak. However, this is not the only factor that influences taste. Whether the cattle have been grass or grain finished can have a big effect, since grass adds more taste, though the marbling is often less attractive.

There are multiple different cuts of meat out there, and some of them make better steaks than others. There are three main sections for steak - the rib, short loin, and tenderloin. They are going to cook up differently, depending on what area of the animal they come from. The rib, for instance, is the least tender, and you will need to cook it longer and with more attention to tenderizing than you would when deciding how to cook a New York strip steak.

The short loin is the area responsible for producing the tenderloin, top loin, Porterhouse and T-bones we are all familiar with, and sirloin produces the top sirloin and sirloin steaks. Chuck, round steak and flank steak all come from the areas with those names, but they're not likely to be as high quality as meat found elsewhere, and are often tough. Choose the best steak to start with, and then look for the best method of cooking. You will be a lot happier with the results, since no marinade can fix a bad steak. However, a good marinade can make a good steak even better.

DISCLAIMER: This article is provided as information only and is not to be taken as financial advice.

There are many sirloin steak cooking methods, but which one will give you the results you are hoping for? Read up on these methods at EasySteakMarinades.net for great cooking tips, helpful charts and delicious marinade recipes to try that will have your family begging for more. You may find sirloin on your menu more frequently!