Kansas City Steak

Lets Talk Steak
By Debbie Beaston

As I was jotting down notes for this article, I thought I would discuss everything I knew about different cuts of Beef. However, I realized that my intensions were a bit on the lofty side. There are so many cuts of beef that are considered steak; my article could easily turn into a novel. Therefore, I’ve decided to pick the most common cuts of meat.

First let’s go over some basic information on the quality of the beef we eat.

Cuts that come from the less-used muscles along the upper and mid section of the animal (the rib and loin sections) are always more tender than the cuts that are from the muscles used more often such as the shoulder, flank, and leg. Also, because the more tender cuts make up a smaller portion of the animal, they are always in more demand and therefore more expensive.

The USDA (United States Department of Agriculture) grades beef with based on a distinct measure of quality, which includes eight different grades. They are Prime (available at hotels, fine restaurants and high-end markets), Choice (available at most butchers and grocers), Select (uniform in quality, but leaner than the higher grades), Standard (sold as ungraded or “brand name”), Commercial (this grade and lower are used to make ground beef, frankfurters and other processed foods), Utility, Cutter, and Canner. Choice is a very good grade and it is about the lowest grade you want to consider investing your time and money into for a serious cut of beef.