Beef buying basics: The T-bone

I haven’t done a beef buying basics post in a while and, since it happens to be one of my favorite subjects, I knew it was time. I decided I’d pick a specific cut and focus on it — what it is, how to cook it, anything else you should know. If you like this type of post, be sure to let me know and I’ll write more like it… featuring different cuts, of course.

Tonight, I feature the T-bone, a delicious cut that just happened to be on sale at my favorite local beef source this evening.

Here’s what a T-bone looks like, pre-grilling, seasoned with only coarse sea salt and coarse pepper. (See all that marbling? Yum!)

As you can see, the T-bone is actually made up of 2 separate cuts of beef. The longer, more narrow piece of meat is the strip steak (also known as New York strip, top loin, Kansas City steak or club streak), while the round piece is the tenderloin (also known as the filet or filet mignon).  Both of these cuts meet the government’s guidelines for lean, so when you purchase a T-bone, you’re actually getting 2 great lean steaks in 1!

Now, you might be thinking, That looks a lot like a Porterhouse. Well, you’re right! They do look similar, because they are. The Porterhouse is also made up of the strip steak and tenderloin. The only difference is the Porterhouse has a larger tenderloin. To be exact, according to beefitswhatsfordinner.com,  the tenderloin on a T-bone is no less than ½-inch in diameter, while the tenderloin on a Porterhouse is between ½-inch and 1 ¼-inch in diameter.

I like T-bones for several reasons:

1.)    They are lean, yet tender and flavorful.

2.)    Can’t decide between a tenderloin or a strip (2 of my favorite cuts)? You get the best of both worlds with a T-bone.

3.)    There are always leftovers. I can usually get about 3 meals off of a T-bone.

4.)    They are easy to prepare. They don’t need a special marinade or rub to be tender and delicious. In fact, I just seasoned these with salt and pepper and threw them on a hot grill for about 8 minutes per side and they were perfect.

5.)    While I love a good filet, I rarely cook them because it’s just not enough meat for the Mr.’s big appetite. But if I make T-bones, I get some buttery deliciousness from the small tenderloin while he gets a big steak.

Here’s what they looked like fresh off the grill:

Did you like this post? Would you like to hear more about other great cuts of beef?

WebLove: Busting the "pink slime" myth

I’ve been planning to write a post on lean finely textured beef — that stuff the sensationalists over at ABC News like to refer to as “pink slime”— for the last couple of days. But, by the time I got a chance to sit down at my computer and do so, I discovered a post from a fellow blogger that was so good I decided to share as WebLove instead of reinventing the wheel.

So, be sure to check out this great post by California rancher Jeff Fowle.

And, if you’re still hungry for information, why not check out one of these sites?

Pink Slime is a Myth

Food Insight: Your Nutrition and Food Safety Resource

Meat MythCrushers

The bottom line? All beef is safe, nutritious and delicious. Still have questions or concerns? Post them below or send me an email to makeminebeef@gmail.com. If I don’t know the answer, I’ll find someone who does!

Beef buying basics: The right cut for the job

Want to know one of the easiest ways to make sure you have a great eating experience every time you cook beef? Choose the right cut for the job.

While it’s hard to go wrong with any of the most tender cuts (like the tenderloin, strip, T-bone, Porterhouse, ribeye, sirloin or flat iron), that doesn’t mean you always need to select one of those cuts to enjoy tender beef. Less tender (and often more economical) cuts like flank or skirt steak or those cuts containing the words “round” or “chuck” will become tender when prepared properly — either by cooking with moist heat or by marinating before cooking with dry heat.

Need more help? Here’s a helpful chart (click to enlarge) from my friends at the Texas Beef Council. For more information, stop by their Cook it Right page here.

Beef buying basics: What’s in a name?

There haven’t always been so many labels to read and flashy signs to admire in your grocer’s meat case. As recently as the mid-1970s in fact, there was no such thing as a brand of beef. It was all just beef, and you made your decision based on quality grades and pricing.

But that all changed in 1978 with the inception of the first branded beef program — Certified Angus Beef. Since then, the popularity of branded beef has skyrocketed and today there are more than 70 branded programs certified by the USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service. To see a list of all of these programs, or to compare criteria between them, click here.

But what exactly is branded beef?

First, a little background: When cattle started changing in the 1960s and 1970s due to a large number of breeds being introduced into U.S. herds, there was good news and bad news.

The good news? Cattlemen were able to breed bigger, more efficient cattle while improving muscle and leanness.

The bad news? Sometimes even amongst 2 steaks of the same quality grade you could get 2 totally different eating experiences.

So companies decided to start branding beef and marketing it as such. By setting specific criteria and only allowing qualifying cattle or products to be part of a brand, the idea was a consumer would have a better chance of having the same eating experience time after time.

Brands can be based on a breed or breed type, the live animal’s physical appearance, carcass quality, the way the animal was raised, or a combination of many criteria.

As a consumer, you’ve got to decide what is important to you in order to purchase the best beef for your family. If you’re interested in purchasing a branded beef product, I encourage you to do some research (which, of course, should include plenty of taste-testing). There’s a wealth of information online, and there’s nothing like going to the sources — your local butcher or cattle producer!

The most important thing to remember when buying beef, though, is simple: No matter what label you choose, you can feel confident you’re getting a safe, wholesome and nutritious product.

Beef buying basics: The most bang for your buck

There’s no doubt beef is the protein most associated with special occasions or fancy white tablecloth meals. (Have you ever heard of anyone celebrating a big promotion with a chicken breast? Me either.) But beef doesn’t have to be reserved as a once-in-awhile treat — there are plenty of ways to enjoy it several times per week and still stick to your shopping budget.

Here are a few ways I cook a lot of beef each week without having to scrimp on, say, detergent (I can’t help it — my mom raised me on Tide and it's a hard habit to break):

Watch the specials.  This is especially key when buying your higher-end steaks. Since I like to buy thicker, Choice or better steaks, they usually end up being my weekly splurge. But by keeping an eye on specials in the grocer's ads and in-store (and being open to different cuts), sometimes I can get some really good deals on the highest quality beef.

Stock up when there’s a deal. The beauty of beef is it freezes nicely for a good 6 months. If there’s a good price on one of our favorite cuts, I will buy several steaks at a time and freeze what we’re not planning on cooking that week.

The flat iron. Have you ever had a flat iron steak? This relatively new cut is the second-most tender cut of beef (behind the tenderloin) and generally much less expensive.

Don’t be afraid of the thrift. Ever seen those packages of beef marked “thrift” or similar because they’re nearing their sell-by date? They may look a little different, but they’re still perfectly good as long as you plan on cooking or freezing them soon. I’ve gotten some great deals on beef that’s been looked over!

Cook once, eat twice. By cooking a little extra, you can have 2 meals (or more) off the same meat. Extra steak makes a great sandwich, salad or quesadilla ingredient and extra taco meat can mean crispy tacos for dinner, soft tacos or nachos for the next day’s lunch.

Ground beef. It’s not only affordable, but it’s super versatile! I regularly use ground beef to make hamburgers, tacos, empanadas, lasagna and a host of other meals.

And, while I’m on the subject, I’d be remiss if I didn’t recommend a great blog on this very topic. Beef on a Budget has some great recipes for affordable and delicious beef meals. Be sure to check it out for more inspiration!

WebLove: Not all fat is bad

Lots of consumers are looking for lean protein sources these days, and with 29 cuts that meet the government’s definition of lean, beef is a delicious option! But, sometimes, in the search for lean beef, consumers miss out on the best eating experience because they think all fats are created equal and pass up the Choice or Prime beef for fear it's hard on the waistline. 

That’s simply not so, and my friends over at the Black Ink blog do a great job of busting that myth today in this post.

In related news, the Mr. and I enjoyed a great example of some well-marbled (but still lean) strip steaks tonight.  I served them with twice-baked potatoes and had enough of my steak leftover to make a strip steak sandwich for lunch tomorrow. Yum! Our dinner looked like this, except not sideways (Blogger is being a little contrary tonight, but you get the idea):

Beef buying basics: Quality grades

I had every intention of cooking a delicious beef meal tonight, snapping pics as I cooked and blogging about it afterwards. Really, I did.

But, plans changed and I needed to take care of some errands this evening and it just didn’t pan out. For the record, the Mr. and I did enjoy some delicious Arby’s roast beef sandwiches (his was a giant, mine a junior) and curly fries while we were out. Pretty tasty for a fast food meal.

Part of the reason I didn’t have time to cook, though, was something just as bloggable — buying meat. See, this weekend the small town we live in hosts a pretty large cook-off and my husband (and many of his friends and family members) participate. I’m also throwing my hat in the ring this year, but only as a contestant in the homemade salsa competition.

I’ll leave the meat smoking to the guys while I provide moral support, take photographs, provide the dessert and — of course — serve as a taste-tester for the steaks, brisket, pork spare ribs, chicken and goat they cook.

As we were waiting for the butcher to cut us (15) 1-inch thick ribeyes for the weekend, it occurred to me that a little lesson in beef buying basics would make a good series of blog topics. After all, while everyone loves a good steak, not everyone knows what to buy to get the desired result.

Tonight, we’ll start with the most basic in meat case lingo: quality grades. Not surprisingly, a quality grade is exactly what it sounds like — a grade given to beef based on its (you guessed it) quality. This grade is determined by a U.S. Department of Agriculture inspector and based on amount of marbling (fat within the lean), firmness, color and texture of the beef, and the maturity of the animal. These factors indicate how tender, juicy and flavorful the beef is expected to be.

While there are 8 grades of beef in the U.S., only 3 are likely to show up in your supermarket or on the menu at a restaurant. They are Prime, Choice and Select.

A prime steak has the most marbling. Most prime steaks are sold to white tablecloth restaurants, but they do show up in some specialty markets and higher-end grocery stores.

A choice steak has a little less marbling. Choice steaks are widely available in both restaurants and grocers.

A select steak has the least amount of marbling. While this does make it a leaner choice, it’s often going to be less flavorful and juicy.

But how do you know which of these quality grades you’re buying? Most often, a quick scan of the label or grocery store signage will help you determine whether you’re looking at a prime, choice or select steak. Generally, if a quality grade is not listed on the label, the steak is select. After all, if it’s a higher quality grade, your butcher or grocer wants you to know.

Where it can get trickier is with branded beef. I’ll talk more about branded beef (like Certified Angus Beef, Rancher’s Reserve and Nolan Ryan’s Beef) later, but if you’re unsure where a branded product ranks from a quality grade standpoint, ask the nice man or woman behind the meat counter, or do a little research online.

It’s also important to note that all beef sold in the U.S. is inspected (and is required by law to pass inspection), ensuring its wholesomeness. You can feel confident no matter which cut or which quality grade you choose, you’re getting a safe, nutritious product.

Have more questions about beef buying? See a Beef Lover’s Guide to Shopping or Buying Beef Q&A, both brought to you by the Beef Checkoff, or stay tuned for future Make Mine Beef posts on the subject.