How to Select the Most Tender Cut of Beef and Cook it to the Right Temperature?

When cooking beef it is critical to select the right cut based on what style of cooking you are going to apply to achieve the most tender, flavorful dish you can cook. Let me start this by saying no matter what cut you select one thing is true in all cuts, the more marbling the better. Marbling is intramuscular fat and what happens in the cooking process is this fat melts, adds flavor, and creates a space between the layers of muscle tissue which helps the beef stay tender and juicy. Let’s take a look at two different cuts and see what we mean.

On the left I have a beef chuck steak and on the right the famous T-bone. As you can plainly see, the chuck has at least 3 times the marbling in the meat as the T-bone. What does this mean? Believe it or not, it means this particular chuck steak is going to be more tender than the T-bone when cooked. When you are at the market and looking for meat, a watchful eye looking for marbling will get the most bang for the buck. Beef can be expensive so let’s learn to pick the right steak or roast from the start.

Once we have our steak selected, I am going to cook the chuck steak for this recipe, we then need to begin the preparation of preparing the steak for grilling.

1. Take the steak out of the refrigerator and allow it to come up to room temperature. This will not affect the safety of the meat, it gets the steak ready to be cooked.
2. Once the steak has reached room temperature it is time to season it. The simpler the seasoning the better, I am using kosher salt, pepper blend, and Worcestershire sauce. Nothing else is needed. The natural flavor of the steak will come through and be spectacular.

Once we have our steak seasoned, it is time to head to the grill and cook the steak. Starting your steak at the right temperature is as critical as selecting a great steak to cook. You want the grill hot, preferably at least 400⁰F or 204⁰C. This caramelizes the outside of the steak locking in the juices.

Once you have the steak on your grill and you turn it to create grill marks, you can test your temperature and see where it is at currently using your ChefsTemp Final Touch X10.

Cook the steak until it reaches between 135⁰F and 145⁰F or 57.2⁰C and 67.7⁰C. This is your pull temperature and is important to having a tender juicy steak. Once you pull it, let it rest at least 5 minutes before serving. This is critical to having the overall great experience of enjoying beef at its finest.

Recipe:

• 1 pound steak
• Kosher salt to taste
• Pepper blend to taste
• 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
• 1 large baking potato
• 1 tablespoon plus on teaspoon butter
• 3 tablespoons of sour cream or crema
• Some chopped chives
• 1 cup of whole kernel corn

Preparation: Steak

Season your steak on both sides, with kosher salt, black pepper and Worcestershire sauce, let it sit for 15 minutes. While it is sitting, light your grill and let it get up to temperature. Place your steak in the center of grill and let it cook to make hash marks, halfway through you will turn the steak 90⁰ and let it continue to cook, then turn the steak over, and turn down the grill to medium. Let the steak cook until it reaches the doneness desired and pull it from the grill.

Preparation: Baked Potato

Preheat your oven to 425⁰F or 218.3⁰C. While your oven is heating up, wash your potato, put a light coat of vegetable oil on it, and season with kosher salt. Once the oven is hot, put your potato in the oven and cook for one hour. Halfway through the baking process for your potato, start your grill and prepare to cook your steak. Once the potato is done, remove it from the oven and let it rest along with your steak while you make the corn.

Preparation: Corn

Corn, butter, and a little water, we are going to steam the corn and get it hot. Corn can be eaten hot or cold. Once it is hot, season with salt and pepper.

Plating up:

Once your corn is hot and seasoned, place the steak on your plate, put your baked potato on the plate, slice it lengthwise and put in your butter, sour cream or crema, and garnish with pepper and chives. Then add your corn to the plate. This is a very easy plate to prepare but will have your tastebuds in ecstasy.

Even though the Chuck steak isn’t usually selected for grilling, it is usually braised, and the chuck roast is used for old fashioned pot roast, if you know how to recognize good marbling, a well marbled chuck steak can compete with any other steak for tenderness and flavor. It will taste as good as a ribeye, T-Bone, porterhouse, or even a filet mignon. Marbling is everything when it comes to a good steak.

As always make sure you cook it to your desired doneness. One thing about highly marbled steaks, because of the amount of marbling, they can be cooked to any desired doneness without getting dried out, losing flavor, and being a great dining experience. It is all in choosing the right cut to cook according to your desires.

Beef is a great item to grill, smoke, or roast, and the flavor is exceptional. Selecting the right steak all starts with knowing what to look for.

In conclusion, let’s recap:

Steaks are great to grill items, but to have a great experience, you need to select the right steak based on marbling, season it well, cook it to the right degree of doneness, and enjoy the steak as it was meant to be eaten.