How to select the most tender steak

The grill is sizzling and aroma tantalizing. You can’t wait to take a bite of that steak just waiting to be set on your plate. The time comes, you bite and pause. That was not as tender as you thought. What happened! Read on for the best tips on selecting the best steak.

First look at the marbling of the beef. Marbling is the flecks, NOT white chunks, of white in the red muscle. The more flecks, the juicier the steak will be.

When grilling or smoking any meat it is also important to have a little fat on the outside to keep the meat from drying out. This is not an inch of fat, but more like ¼ to ½ inch of fat.

The next thing to keep in mind is where the steak cut was from. This gets more into science and anatomy.  The short, you have muscles that are active moving muscles (locomotive) and supportive muscles. The muscles that do less work (supportive), they will be more tender.

Think of your body, your back doesn’t do hard motion work, but keeps you upright. These back muscles are supportive. Something like your upper leg (quads) does a lot of work moving you.

A cow’s body has the same concepts, supportive muscles of the back tend to be the most tender. These include the short rib, ribs, flank, short plate and sirloin areas. Cuts from those areas include ribs, ribeye, T-bone, fillet, sirloin, brisket, flank steak, and skirt steak.

Similarly, parts that move like legs tend to be tougher, and have less marbling. These are typically cut as roast or ground. These areas are the chuck, arm, and round. These can still be fall apart tender but will need to be cooked in liquid and on low heat for a longer period of time.

Now time to grab your next delicious beef steak.

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