Tuesday, September 29, 2009

Choosing The Best Steak To Grill - Jargon Explained

By Mia Kane

The saying goes "rubbish in equals rubbish out". This applies to grilling a great steak. If it's not great to start with then you will have an almost impossible task trying to make it better during the grilling process.

The quality of the meat will decide the taste of the steak. What meat is best for grilling and what should the quality be like? There are so many varieties available in your stores, and price does not necessarily mean best for grilling.

If you have a butcher shop nearby, you should definitely buy your meat there, often it is a lot fresher and you can get some good advice from your butcher who will be a specialist. In any event, here are some tips to help you pick that great steak for grilling on your barbecue or gas grill.

The cut of Steak, what does that mean?

Without going through all the steak cuts, from experience the best for grilling are rib Eye, T bone, Porterhouse, Strips Steak and Sirloin. They have more fat, which is what you need for grilling. Fat gives flavor and keeps the steak moist. Lower fat steaks, like fillet and tenderloin, dry out and can look shrivelled. My favorite for the barbecue is rib eye. But try them all out.

What Is Marbling?

The marbling is the fat in the steak. This is important because it is the marbling that gives the flavor. The marbling should be thin lines, and should be even throughout the steak if possible. Avoid thick marbling, because this will mean that your steak will turn out tough. But nice thin marbling is good.

What Does The Grade Mean?

There are three different grades of beef in the United States: Prime Grade, Choice Grade and Select Grade. Prime the top of the grade and is only a small percentage of beef the beef you will find in the shops. You will mostly see Prime Grade beef in restaurants. Choice and Select are usually the grades that are available in supermarkets or butcher shops. This is the steak you will most likely be grilling with.

So for starters test out a rib-eye, T-bone, Porterhouse and Strip to see which one you like the best on your grill.

About the Author:

No comments: