Which cuts of meat are the best, and which should you stay away from? While it largely comes down to personal taste, we have some suggestions for which ones you should definitely try and which you're better off avoiding. Here are 6 cuts of meat you should buy and 6 cuts of meat you should avoid.
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00:00Which cuts of meat should you stay away from? While it largely comes down to personal taste,
00:05we have some suggestions for the steaks you're better off skipping.
00:09Here are six cuts of meat you should absolutely never buy.
00:13You don't have to spend a fortune to get a good cut of meat. In fact,
00:16there are plenty of less expensive options that will ensure that you have a delicious steak night.
00:21However, the round steak is not one of them. We don't want to say it's bad,
00:26but we did rate it as the worst option when it came to our ranking of different cuts of steak.
00:31Why? Well, mostly because it's super tough, without any of the tenderness you want.
00:36Round steak comes from the rear rump of the cow, and you can find round steak that comes from the
00:41top, the tip, or the bottom. If you're going to give this cut a shot, try to find a top cut.
00:46It will be slightly more tender than your other options, but that's not really saying a lot.
00:51Generally, the only thing you'd do with this kind of meat is make a roast beef sandwich.
00:56If you slice it very thin, it may not be that bad. But would we serve it up as a main attraction?
01:01Definitely not.
01:02Say the words, I want the roast beef sandwich. Say the words and I'll give you a piece.
01:06It might surprise you that we included filet mignon on our list of meats to avoid.
01:11But hear us out. You may have heard that filet mignon is the best cut to order,
01:15and that's certainly true if all you're looking for is tenderness.
01:18It is an incredibly tender cut of meat, which makes it a real joy to bite into.
01:22But because there's not that much fattiness there, you're not going to get much in the
01:27way of flavor. A truly good steak will have not just the ideal texture, but also the ideal taste.
01:33And here's another thing about filet mignon. It's going to set you back a pretty penny.
01:38This cut of meat is quite expensive,
01:40especially if you order it from a restaurant that knows how to cook it well.
01:44All things considered, there are better options out there that you won't have to pay as much for.
01:49So why wouldn't you try those instead? Filet mignon might have a lot of hype surrounding it,
01:54but you don't have to buy into it. One thing we do love about a good filet mignon, though,
01:59since it's low in fat, it's great for people on diets who are looking for a way to treat themselves.
02:05While there are some valid applications for flank steak,
02:08we definitely think it's one of the cuts you should avoid.
02:11This is especially true if you're looking for the best cut of meat to cook yourself.
02:16That's because flank steak is easy to mess up. And if you do,
02:19you're in for a really tough piece of meat that's going to be difficult to chew through.
02:24Nobody wants that.
02:27No. No. No. No. No. No. Hell no!
02:33Flank steak tastes best when it's prepared medium-rare. After you take it off the heat,
02:38you should cut it thinly against the grain. That makes this tough piece of meat a lot easier to
02:43chew. However, preparing it perfectly takes a lot of practice. If you're not already an expert,
02:49you may want to pass up on it in favor of an easier steak to cook.
02:53One plus about the humble flank steak, though, since you have to cut it so thin for it to be
02:57edible, you can serve it to a lot of people if you have guests over. But that's not so helpful
03:02if you're just cooking for yourself and for your family, which is probably the case most of the
03:07time. Like the filet mignon, tenderloin gets a lot of good press. It's one of the most recognizable
03:14cuts of meat, and there's something about it that just sounds fancy, like it's something that you
03:18should want to order. But is it really the best item on the menu? We'd argue it's not.
03:24While the tenderloin is, as its name suggests, tender, that's about all it has to offer ravenous
03:30meat-eaters. When asked about the most overrated cuts of meat out there, Peter Serpico, executive
03:35chef and owner at Serpico, admitted that for him, it was definitely beef tenderloin. According to him,
03:42It's not that there's anything wrong with it, it's just that it's generally too expensive for
03:46what it is. As an alternative, I always recommend a hanger steak, just as soft but much more
03:52flavorful. And since you can, in fact, find hanger steak at a lot of restaurants now,
03:57it just seems like that's a better choice. Maybe you're getting where we're coming from here,
04:01but in our opinion, it just doesn't make sense to pay more for a cut of meat
04:05simply because there's a lot of hype around it. The flavor is more important.
04:10We're a big fan of the ribeye because of its texture, its price point, and its overall
04:15deliciousness. And you might be familiar with one of the most well-known types of ribeye,
04:20Kobe. This kind of meat only comes from one certain kind of cow, called the Tajima,
04:26which is raised in Hyogo, Japan.
04:28When it comes to beef, this stuff really is the cream of the crop. The cows are super healthy
04:34and pampered, the marbling of the meat is impeccable, and the taste is completely out
04:38of this world. If you ever get a chance to try it, you definitely should. But here's the thing,
04:43just because you order it off a menu doesn't mean you're getting real Kobe beef.
04:48Restaurants often use the term Kobe as a marketing ploy for a lot of meat that's just,
04:54well, not really Kobe. Real Kobe will be expensive, and it will likely be difficult
04:59to find outside of Japan. It's not the kind of thing you're going to come across at a chain
05:03restaurant or even in a gourmet burger. You shouldn't pass up on the real thing,
05:08but you should be very hesitant to buy just anything with the label Kobe slapped on it.
05:13Strip steak is one of the most desirable steak options out there. It comes from the short loin
05:18of the animal, which is the same area that produces the porterhouse and T-bone steaks.
05:23That means you're getting some quality meat when you choose a strip steak.
05:27However, since this cut is from a tasty part of the cow, you're going to pay more for it.
05:32And here's the thing, it's not that tender. It's also lacking the flavor you'd find from
05:37other nearby cuts like a T-bone. That's largely because it's served without the bone,
05:41which helps retain flavor and prevents the meat from overcooking.
05:45Our recommendation? Instead of choosing a strip steak, go with what's known as a club steak or
05:51a shell steak instead. It's the same cut of meat, but it's served with the bone attached.
05:56After all, if you're going to pay more for a cut of meat anyway,
05:58you should make sure it's packing as much flavor as possible, right?