A lot of people have the attitude that even bad pizza is still good, but no one is going to tell you that about steak. While the best steaks make for some of the best meals around, bad steak will just leave you hungry and frustrated that you paid so much for it. Everyone has their favorite cut of steak, but if you want the scoop about every kind, we've got you covered. Some are underrated, and some classics are classics for a reason. Let's take a look at the ranking of every cut of steak, from worst to best.
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00:00The rift in quality between a great steak and a bad steak is perhaps greater than any
00:05other food. Just as the best can make your day, so too can the worst totally ruin it.
00:11These are some of the most famous cuts of steak, ranked from worst to best.
00:15What does steak mean?
00:17Pardon?
00:18What does steak mean?
00:24This is steak.
00:25Some cuts of steak are better than others, sure, but they almost all have their uses,
00:30and there aren't many to totally avoid. Then again, there's the beef round, a large, primal
00:34cut of beef mainly coming from the rear leg and rump. It's made of three parts, the top,
00:40tip, and bottom.
00:41The top round is the most tender part, but that's not saying much. It tends to be extremely
00:46tough and lean. Many people use it for thin, sliced roast beef. As a steak, it's next to
00:53The tip, also known as a sirloin tip, is a lean, boneless cut best for kebabs or stews.
00:59Its connective tissue makes it chewy and gross unless it's braised.
01:04Finally, there's the bottom round, which includes the eye of round, which The Splendid Table
01:08once called, quote,
01:10"...one of the few unredeemable cuts of meat, near tasteless, tougher than John Wick, and
01:15not worth your money."
01:17Skirt steak comes from the plate, which is the muscle inside the chest and below the
01:21ribs. There's an inside and outside skirt, but they're not that different from each other.
01:26You're most likely to come across an inside steak at the grocery store.
01:30Skirt does have a few things going for it. It's genuinely quite flavorful, but like the
01:35round, it's still best cut into thin slices. This is because it's a very tough, muscle-heavy
01:40cut, so overcooking it by the slightest amount is going to make you very unhappy. Try to
01:45keep it rare or medium-rare.
01:47The skirt's long shape makes it unwieldy to prepare in season, and a total nightmare to
01:52fit into all but the largest pans. It's best served in thin slices, but be warned, a novice
01:59cook might be tempted to cut it with the grain, which seems more natural. That's a great way
02:04to completely ruin an already average cut of beef.
02:08The flank steak comes from the underside of the cow, a little further back than the skirt,
02:12behind the plate. It's very similar to skirt steak, too, with flank steak being slightly
02:17less tough. That said, flank steak does still tend to be tougher than many other cuts. You're
02:23generally not going to want to cook flank as a steak unless you intend to serve it as
02:27thin slices, but they do at least marinade nicely. And remember to cut against the grain.
02:33We can't really tell you which to go for if you've got a choice between flank steak or
02:37skirt steak. It probably depends on whether you prize taste over tenderness or vice versa,
02:42but there's really not a whole lot of difference between the two.
02:46The sirloin is generally divided into three smaller cuts, the top sirloin, the bottom
02:51sirloin, and the rear part of the tenderloin. These different parts vary wildly in quality,
02:56tenderness, and flavor. By and large, the bottom sirloin is the worst of the three.
03:01This cut is actually great for roasting, but it's not great for turning into steaks, unless
03:05you slice it and marinate it. Even then, it's going to be chewy, especially compared
03:10to the top sirloin. Certain parts of the bottom sirloin, such as the tri-tip, ball-tip, or
03:15flap steak, are good for kebabs and stews.
03:17"...whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, there's still plenty of meat on that bone. Now you take
03:21this home, throw it in a pot, add some broth, a potato, baby, you got a stew going."
03:26The strip steak is a cut of meat that comes from the short loin, which is located in the
03:30top center of the cow's body, just in front of the sirloin. It's what remains once you
03:35take the tenderloin away from the short loin. Serve them together, and you've got a T-bone
03:39or porterhouse. If you're after a middle ground between tender and tough, this is probably
03:44the steak for you. It's got a little chew to it, without being a nightmare to eat. It's
03:48also great for flavor and moisture, thanks to the marbling.
03:51Sadly, however, this marbling does mean strip steak can be a little on the pricey side,
03:57and it's debatable whether that extra cost is really worth it, especially compared to
04:01some of the other cuts of comparable price. You can sometimes find bone-in strip steaks,
04:05which are otherwise known as shell steaks or club steaks, and these versions pack some
04:09extra flavor. Always worth considering, but again, expect to pay a little more for the
04:14privilege.
04:16The vecillo is a really popular steak in Argentina. It's a primal cut of the flank, but it's quite
04:21different from a flank steak. The vecillo hangs beneath the loin and is bolstered by
04:25the cow's belly, which encases the meat in layers of fat. When butchered, the vecillo
04:31steak has an unusual diamond shape, weighs between four and five pounds, and can feed
04:36a good-sized party of meat lovers. It's always slow-grilled whole, then sliced, and the well-marbled
04:41meat is tender and very flavorful.
04:44The crispy belly fat is almost as cherished as the steak itself. In France, this cut is
04:49called the bavette d'allieu. It's the exact same cut, but as you might expect, cooked
04:55in the French way. It's cut into individual steaks and is either marinated and grilled
05:00or pan-fried in butter, then served with a shallot sauce and French fries. Next time
05:05you're sipping wine in a French bistro and see steak frites on the menu, order it and
05:10enjoy a steak loved on two continents.
05:13The top sirloin comes from the upper portion of the sirloin and is usually presented in
05:17the form of a tender, boneless steak. It may not be the most tender cut of beef, especially
05:22compared to some of the pricier cuts, but it's not too tough, and careful cooking can
05:27keep it from becoming too chewy.
05:28What do you got there, top sirloins?
05:30Yeah, in New York, they're grain-fed.
05:32Three times the omega-3s in grass-fed.
05:34And paid for.
05:35Well, you're gonna want them aged if they're top sirloins.
05:38The great thing here is that top sirloin is hugely flavorful and often marbled nicely.
05:43It's also fairly lean, making it a little healthier than its rival cuts. The best thing
05:47top sirloin has going for it is that it's great value for money. You're unlikely to
05:51have to shell out as much cash as you would for a ribeye or T-bone, for example, but you're
05:55going to get a much better steak than other cheaper options, such as the round or bottom
06:01sirloin. It's also versatile, being as suitable to a stroganoff or a kebab as it is a steak.
06:07A T-bone is cut from the forward section of the short loin and contains both a strip of
06:11top loin and a nice big slab of tenderloin. It's a great combination of the texture and
06:16flavor of those two cuts in one impressively sized chunk of beef. The strip steak has got
06:22all the flavor, and the tenderloin has got an amazing texture. With the T-bone, you get
06:26to experience both at once.
06:28"'T-bone' steak. For lunch? Well, I am just a T-bone kind of guy. Love that T-bone!"
06:38There are two downsides to T-bones, though. One, they're usually crazy expensive, partly
06:44because they combine two prized cuts of beef, and partly because they seem to have become
06:48so popular in high-end restaurants. Second, they lack some of the versatility of tenderloin
06:53alone, which can be used in a number of different ways. But, if you're hankering for a real
06:57steak lover's steak, you can probably do no better.
07:01Also known as butler's steak or boneless top chuck steak, flat iron steak is a relatively
07:07modern cut of beef. According to Kansas City Steaks, flat iron steak comes from the shoulder
07:12region or top blade. The meat is full of rich, juicy marbling and is incredibly tender,
07:18but had long been considered unusable because of a very tough sinew. Omaha Steaks has reported
07:23that researchers at the University of Nebraska and the University of Florida actually conducted
07:29a scientific study to figure out how to best use this piece of meat, ultimately determining
07:35that if you sliced the meat off at either side of that tough sinew, you'd be left with
07:39an intensely flavorful and highly affordable cut.
07:43Many chefs consider the flavor and texture of flat iron steak similar to more popular
07:47and pricey cuts like filet mignon. They're inherently smaller pieces of meat, so you
07:51may not want flat iron for a Sunday feast, but it's great for an affordable weeknight
07:57dinner.
07:58To all but the most discerning eye, the porterhouse steak is pretty much the exact same cut of
08:03steak as the T-bone. The main difference is that the porterhouse is a little thicker and
08:07contains more of the tenderloin. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the
08:12tenderloin filet has to measure at least 1.25 inches from the bone to the edge, or it's
08:18not a porterhouse.
08:19Why does the porterhouse steak come out ahead of the T-bone? Simple, it's bigger. That may
08:24sound ridiculous, but this is steak we're talking about here. Bigger is better. There's
08:29a reason people call it the king of T-bones.
08:33The hanger steak is cut from the short plate, on the underside of the cow, and is a neighbor
08:37to the skirt steak. It's absolutely chock full of flavor, and because the muscle it
08:42comes from does little work, it's incredibly tender, too.
08:46Hanger is also extremely easy to cook and takes much less effort to prepare, compared
08:50to some of the other lesser-known cuts of beef. It's pretty cheap, too, because so few
08:55people seek it out. It was actually once known as butcher's steak because butchers used to
09:00keep it for themselves.
09:01The only problem, really, is that hanger steak can be difficult to get a hold of. Only one
09:06cut of hanger can be taken from each animal, so it's difficult to produce widely. As chef
09:11John Elwood tells MyRecipes.com, for a grocery store to sell 10 hanger steaks, they would
09:17need to buy 10 cows. This would not only take up a disproportionate amount of storage space,
09:23it would also require having to sell thousands of pounds of beef just to secure 10 hanger
09:28steaks.
09:29Now we're in the big leagues. The tenderloin is cut from the short loin of the cow and
09:34contains very little connective tissue. The result is an incredibly tender cut of beef
09:38that's the source of some of the finest steaks in the world. Take filet mignon, for example.
09:43This steak is cut from the end of the tenderloin and is often regarded as some of the best
09:47meat you'll find on a cow. It's tender beyond all belief, and though it lacks little in
09:52flavor compared to its other expensive brethren, it's suitable for all kinds of cooking and
09:57pairs beautifully with bacon.
09:59The young lady wants a filet mignon. You know, little hunk of meat, little pink on the inside."
10:06You might argue that, because a T-bone or porterhouse steak contains tenderloin and
10:10some strip steak on the side, those cuts are superior. But encumbered by its strip companion,
10:15the tenderloin becomes incredibly versatile. For example, tenderloin is the cut of beef
10:20used in the preparation of steak tartare, thanks to its lack of gristle. It can also
10:24be used to make apaccio, a delicious Italian appetizer. Or, you could fry it up with a
10:29little butter and have it as a steak.
10:32The ribeye is, naturally, taken from the rib of the cow and is easily one of the most prized
10:37and sought-after cuts of steak. To gauge the quality of ribeye, take a gander at that marbling.
10:43These cuts are practically covered in it, and the flavor itself is just as impressive.
10:48All that extra fat imbues the steak with an incredible amount of flavor, making for one
10:52of the tastiest cuts. It also helps that they're extremely juicy, wonderfully soft,
10:58and exactly as tender as you could ever want your steak to be.
11:01Unlike tenderloin cuts, you've also got size on your side. A ribeye should easily fill
11:06the belly of even the most ravenous steak lover. And one of the most prized types of
11:11beef in the world is a ribeye cut, Kobe. It's a ribeye cut from the Tajima strain of cattle
11:16raised in Hyogo, Japan. Real Kobe is the perfect encapsulation of all that is right
11:22with the ribeye cut, as tender as it is tasty. Ribeye steak is just the best there is.