From the rock bottom bottom round to the tip-top tri-tip, here are the cuts of steak ranked
worst to best!
We'll start with the good attributes of eye of round: According to Beef.
It's What's For Dinner this cut is super cheap and not very fatty.
As the butchers from Brooklyn meat shop, The Meat Hook note, the uniform shape of the eye
of round means that it cooks super evenly.
Its lack of bones also makes it easy and convenient to eat.
That's about it for the good stuff.
Eye of round comes from a cow's hind leg, known as the round.
The Meat Hook butchers say that leg cuts tend to have a strong beefy flavor, but the eye
of round is bland compared to the other muscles in the leg.
Furthermore, since the muscles in this portion of the leg get a lot of exercise, they tend
to be on the tougher side.
According to MasterClass, eye of round is the toughest piece of meat in the whole round section.
You can slow cook it to make it more tender, but that doesn't make up for its blandness.
You can also cook it medium rare like a steak, but you'll have to be okay with spending a
long time chewing on it.
"Seriously, though, has anybody ever eaten one?"
"Oh, no, no, not in my lifetime, no."
Bottom round, like eye of round, comes from a cow's leg, according to MasterClass.
Specifically, it's sourced from the outer edge of a cow's hind leg.
You can slow cook it or braise it to make it tender, but it's also possible to cook
it like a steak.
If you want to go that route, you shouldn't cook it to any temperature higher than medium
rare to preserve what little tenderness is present in this cut of beef.
If you try to cook this well done, you might as well chew on a car tire.
Yuck!
Slicing it as thin as possible can also make it easier to eat this tough cut.
If you really want to try to make bottom round tender, you can follow Viva Flavor's advice
and beat it with a meat mallet and then soak it in a marinade for a long time.
However, that's a lot of effort to put in to make this cut of beef palatable to eat
as a steak, especially since there are better options out there.
The petite sirloin, as its name suggests, comes from the sirloin primal, according to Beef.
It's What's For Dinner.
The sirloin is the rear part of the cow's torso, behind the loin section.
Many desirable cuts of steak come from the sirloin, but the petite sirloin isn't one of them.
It is quite cheap, but you may find that it's not worth it, even for the modest price.
Because petite sirloin steaks are cut from the bottom of the sirloin primal they are
lean and fairly tough, according to Food Fire Friends.
This cut runs on the smaller side, generally measuring at around 6 to 8 ounces.
It has a strong beefy flavor and is good for marinating, but unless you braise it, it's
going to be a little bit chewy.
When you're choosing a steak, you generally want something that can be grilled or seared
quickly, and petite sirloin isn't great for that, though it is certainly edible when grilled.
Cube steak can refer to any number of cheap, tough, lean cuts of beef that have been mechanically
tenderized, according to Your Meat Guide.
It's often made with various cuts of round, which tends to be pretty tough when cooked
without tenderizing.
It's possible to make cube steak at home by slicing thin pieces of round and hammering
them with a meat mallet, but you can also buy pre-prepared cube steak at most supermarkets.
And you can cook cube steak in many different ways, but one of the most popular is to bread
it and fry it to make chicken fried steak.
One thing to keep in mind when preparing cube steaks is that you should always cook them well done.
"You boys are hungry, we got steaks burnin' right over here."
Mechanical tenderizing can potentially contaminate the interior of a piece of beef with bacteria,
making it unsafe to eat rare or medium, according to USA Today.
Pre-tenderized cube steaks can be used to cook some tasty dishes, but ultimately, they're
still just undesirable pieces of mystery beef with a bunch of holes poked in them.
Even for dishes like chicken fried steak, you're probably better off purchasing the
specific cut you want and tenderizing it yourself.
Technically, London broil isn't a specific cut of meat, according to TasteAtlas.
Rather, it's a technique for making a tough cut of steak tender by marinating it, cooking
it briefly, and slicing it thin.
The technique was initially applied to flank steak.
However, you may have noticed that your local grocer carries a cut of beef labeled as London
broil that doesn't look anything like flank steak.
What gives?
According to Food Fire Friends, top round steak is often sold as London broil.
If you're going to eat steaks cut from the round primal, top round is the way to go.
Even better, it's a little more tender than the other parts of the leg.
It's nowhere near as tender as expensive cuts like filet mignon or ribeye, but it's not
nearly as tough as eye of round.
As with other lean cuts of beef, it's imperative not to overcook top round/London broil.
Cook this steak rare/medium rare: Taking it off the fire or heat at the right moment will
ensure tenderness.
And slicing it against the grain after cooking will also make it feel more tender.
With top round, it's hard to go wrong with a classic London broil recipe, which follows
the rules above and also uses an acidic marinade to help break down the meat a little bit.
Tri-tip comes from the bottom sirloin, close to the petite sirloin.
However, it's nicer to eat than its sirloin neighbor.
Chef David Guas described it to Thrillist as:
"The least-expensive, best taste of beef you can purchase."
Tri-tip is named after its distinctive triangular shape.
It was formerly used mostly for ground beef, but it's wonderful when cooked up whole and
served as a steak.
The best way to cook it is by using sort of a hybrid method that is between the low-and-slow
method you'd use for brisket and the high-heat sear typical of steak cookery.
Tri-tip tastes wonderful when smoked until it reaches the proper internal temperature
and then seared to create a crust on the outside.
Unlike brisket, tri-tip is generally served medium rare, just like more typical steak cuts.
Like most cuts of steak, you want to avoid overcooking it.
Its odd shape also makes it difficult to slice properly, though it can be done.
The grain of the meat changes direction halfway through.
If you fail to adjust your cutting angle and accidentally slice with the grain instead
of against it, even perfectly-cooked tri-tip will end up tough and chewy.
Flank steak comes from a cow's abdominal section.
It's quite lean and has an unfair reputation for being tough.
The texture of a piece of flank steak has everything to do with the skill of the person
cooking it.
It can be tough if it's mishandled, but it comes out wonderfully tender when prepared
the correct way, according to the Kansas City Steak Company.
Flank has a robust, beefy flavor, so it's an excellent cut of steak to eat if it's cooked
with care.
There are two ways to cook a flank steak to make it tender.
The first is to sear it or grill it quickly, cooking it to no more than medium – medium
rare or rare is even better.
After cooking, slice it against the grain to ensure a tender mouthfeel.
Flank steak loves marinades, so it's never a bad idea to give it a bath before cooking.
"You like steak?”
“I do."
Interestingly, even though well done grilled flank steak is a bad idea, braising or pressure
cooking starts to break down the cut's tough muscle fibers, making it soft and succulent.
So remember: When cooking flank, either do it for a really short time or a really long time.
Anything in the middle will lead to sorrow.
Among all the cuts, the chuck region is the cow's shoulder, in front of the ribs.
The rib area is where fatty, tender, expensive cuts like the ribeye come from.
The muscles in the chuck section get more exercise than those in the rib section, so
they tend to be leaner and tougher.
However, they have an intense, rich flavor that makes them some of the tastiest pieces
of the whole cow.
Since chuck is a little bit tough, it's often used for braising or other slow-cooked preparations.
It's ideal for pot roast recipes, for example.
However, certain parts of the chuck can be cut into steaks that are tender enough to grill.
According to MyRecipes, the chuck steaks cut from the top blade region can be especially
tender if cooked properly.
ChefSteps has a technique that can turn any piece of chuck, even a tougher slice, into
a melt-in-your-mouth grilled steak.
To do it, you vacuum-seal your chuck steak and then cook it sous-vide at a low temperature
for a very long time.
The gentle heat breaks down the steak's connective tissue and softens it much like braising it
would, but leaves the meat a pink medium-rare.
Then, all you need to do is take the steak out of the bag, dry it off, and give it a
quick sear on a hot grill.
Denver steak is a very specific cut of chuck.
Since it comes from the shoulder, it's affordable, but it looks and tastes like steaks from more
expensive parts of the animal.
And, according to Crowd Cow, the Denver steak is shockingly tender.
The marbling in the beef enhances the meat's texture and flavor, giving you a juicy, super-beefy bite.
Many of the affordable cuts of steak are quite lean, and they don't have much marbling.
They may taste great, but they lack the rich quality of pricier cuts.
The Denver steak's marbling makes it eat like a premium cut.
If you close your eyes, you could convince yourself you're eating a New York strip.
The only issue with Denver steak is that it's little-known and kind of hard to find.
You may have to visit a specialty butcher or shop online in order to get your hands
on this cut.
If you do find it, you should snap it up because it's uniquely delicious.
This is another cut that might be a little tricky to find in the average grocery store,
but if you do come across it, you are in for a treat.
Picanha is the most popular cut of beef served at Brazilian steakhouses.
It comes from the rump of the cow which is the top of the cow's rear end, close to the sirloin.
You may find it in American stores labeled as "rump cap" or "sirloin cap," but to get
your hands on one, there's a good chance you'll have to talk to a butcher.
Although most of the muscles from a cow's hindquarters are relatively tough because
they carry a lot of weight, the rump cap isn't a hardworking muscle, so it's quite tender.
Picanha is pretty cheap, but it's wonderfully beefy, tender, and juicy.
The meat itself is usually relatively lean, but it's crowned with a thick fat cap that
melts as the meat cooks, lubricating everything with delicious beef fat.
Picanha starts out as a roast-sized cut, and it's usually carved into thick steaks and
then skewered so it can be grilled churrasco-style.
You can also grill it on a conventional grill or roast or pan-sear it like any other cut of steak.
Any way you cook it, this cut is heavy on delicious beef flavor, so it should be seasoned
simply so that its inherent taste isn't covered up.
Would it surprise you to learn that the second-most tender muscle – behind filet mignon – on
a cow is a relatively affordable chunk of chuck?
The flat iron steak rivals the tenderloin in texture, and it comes from the top blade
region of the chuck primal.
While most of the chuck is well-exercised and rather tough, the top blade is melt-in-your-mouth soft.
According to Cattlemen's Steakhouse, since flat iron steaks come from the chuck, they're
not terribly expensive.
The flat iron combines the bold, beefy flavor of chuck with the soft mouthfeel of more expensive cuts.
"I'm going with the steak sandwich."
"Two steak sandwiches on rolls, please."
"Two steak sandwiches on rolls."
A good flat iron is so tender that you should be able to cut it with a fork.
Omaha Steaks notes that flat irons also have marbling that is comparable to a New York strip.
It's just about the ideal steak-eating experience.