Steak

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A steak served with a pat of butter and mushrooms

A steak is a slice from a larger piece of meat, typically beef. Red meat and fish are often cut into steaks. Most steaks are cut perpendicular to the muscle fibres, improving the perceived tenderness of the meat. In North America, steaks are typically served grilled, though they are also often pan-fried or broiled. Because steaks are cooked quickly, using dry heat, and served whole, the most tender cuts of the animal are usually used for steak. This also means that steaks have a premium price and perception; the idea of eating steak is a signifier of relative wealth.

A restaurant that specializes in steaks is known as a steakhouse. In the United States, a typical steak dinner consists of a steak, with a starchy side dish, often potatoes, occasionally rice, pasta, or beans. A small serving of cooked vegetables accompanies the meat and side, with tomato, mushrooms, peas and onion rings being popular. A well-known accompaniment to steak is prawns or a cooked lobster tail, a combination often called surf and turf. Special steak knives are provided along with steak; a steak knife is sharper than most table knives and can be serrated as well.

In France, steak is usually served with French fried potatoes, and the combination is known as 'steak-frites'. Vegetables are not normally served with steak; a green salad may follow.

In Italy, steak is not widely eaten, but bistecca alla fiorentina is a well-known specialty of Florence; it is typically served with just a salad or Tuscan beans.

1 Degree of cooking
2 Types of beef steaks
3 Other meats
4 Fish steaks
5 See also
6 External links

[edit] Degree of cooking

A T-bone steak on the grill

Main article: Temperature (meat)

The amount of time a steak is cooked is a personal preference; shorter steak cooking times retain more juice and flavor, whereas longer steak cooking times result in drier, tougher meat but reduce concerns about disease. A vocabulary has evolved to describe the temperature or degree to which one prefers one's steak cooked. The following terms are in order from least cooked to most cooked:

Raw - uncooked. Except in special dishes, like steak tartare, steak is not eaten or ordered at this stage.
Blue rare or very rare - Cooked very quickly; the outside is seared, but the inside is usually cool and not warm and definitely not cooked. The steak will be red on the inside.
Rare - The outside is grey-brown, and the middle of the steak is mostly red and warm, with the edge of the inside pink.
Rare plus - The outside is grey-brown, and the middle of the steak is mostly red and warm, with some pink. Often ordered by those that prefer medium rare and don't mind rare but worry about overcooking towards medium.
Medium rare - The outside is grey-brown, the very middle of the steak may still be red, fading through pink to a grey-brown near the surface of the meat. Unless specified otherwise, upscale steakhouses will generally cook to this level.
Medium - The very inside is pink, fading to grey-brown throughout the rest of the meat. The outside is grey-brown.
Medium well - The meat is mostly grey-brown with a hint of pink. The juiciness of the steak is reduced when cooked to this level.
Well done - The meat is grey-brown throughout; the juiciness and tenderness is reduced, and the meat may seem dry and chewy. Ordering a steak to this doneness is considered a bit of a faux pas in most upscale steakhouses as it goes beyond necessary safety standards and leaves the meat quite dry, although some people prefer it this way for more than just heath reasons.

Most people tend to order their steaks somewhere between medium rare and medium well.

A style exists in some parts of North America called "Chicago". A Chicago-style steak is cooked to the desired level and then quickly charred. The diner orders it by asking for the style followed by the doneness (e.g. "Chicago-style rare"). A steak ordered "Pittsburgh rare" is rare or very rare on the inside and charred on the outside. The term "Pittsburgh" is thought to be derived from "Black and Blue", another way of ordering a charred rare steak (Black, i.e. sooty from coal dust on the outside, Blue-rare on the inside).

[edit] Types of beef steaks

Steaks on the grill

Chateaubriand steak — Usually served for two, cut from the center of the tenderloin.
Chuck steak — A cut from neck to the ribs.
Cube steak — A cut of meat, usually top round, tenderized by a fierce pounding of a mallet.
Filet mignon — A small choice tenderloin.
Flank steak — From the underside. Not as tender as steaks cut from the rib or loin.
Flat iron steak — A cut from the shoulder blade.
Hanger steak or (French) onglet — a steak from near the center of the diaphragm. Flavorful, and very tender towards the edges, but sinewy in the middle. Often called the "butcher's tenderloin."
Rib eye steak — A rib steak consisting of only the longissimus muscle. This is the same cut used to make prime rib which is typically oven roasted as opposed to grilled as is typical with rib eye.
Rump steak, round steak or (French) rumsteak — A cut from the rump of the animal. Usually quite tough.
Sirloin steak — A steak cut from the hip. Also tends to be less tough, resulting in a higher price tag.
Skirt steak — A steak made from the diaphragm. Very flavourful, but also rather tough.
T-bone steak and strip steak or porterhouse - The tenderloin and strip loin, connected with a T-shaped bone. The two are distinguished by the size of the tenderloin in the cut. T-bones have smaller tenderloin sections, while the Porterhouse, though generally tougher in the strip, will have more tenderloin.

Several other foods are called "steak" without actually being steaks:

Salisbury steak — Not a steak, but rather a patty from ground beef made with onions and occasionally mushrooms. Also known as "Hamburger Steak" in the Chinese language.
Swiss steak — Not actually a type of steak but a method of preparing meat, usually beef, by means of rolling or pounding, and then braising it.
Steak tartare or tartar steak - Finely chopped fillet of beef, onion, parsley, and capers.

[edit] Other meats

Occasionally, other meats are called 'steak'. For example, lamb leg can be cut into steaks across the bone.

[edit] Fish steaks

A fish steak is a portion of cut perpendicular to the backbone, as opposed to a fillet, which is cut parallel to it. For the steak to hold together during cooking, the flesh must be rather firm; fish that are often cut into steaks include salmon, swordfish, halibut, turbot, tuna, and mahi mahi. The larger fish make boneless steaks; smaller fish (such as salmon) make steaks which include skin, meat, a section of backbone, and rib bones. Smaller fish such as mackerel are sometimes cut into similar portions for curing, but these are usually not called 'steaks'.

Fish steaks are usually grilled, baked, or pan-fried (with or without being breaded or battered).