According to the data, an average American consumes around 55 pounds of beef per year. And this amount has risen in recent years. The total consumption of beef in the U.S during 2019 was around 27.3 billion pounds.
Beef steaks are the most common type of consumed beef in America and worldwide. The above-discussed stats are enough to believe that the average festivity day of an American person is incomplete without the saucy and spicy beef steaks.
As a grilled-meat lover, you’re going to explore a lot of useful information in this blog article. It is a common thought that beef and steak are interchangeable terms. However, many people ask if beef is a steak? Or is it a steak beef? Well, we will answer this question in this article. We will answer If beef a steak and discuss beef and steak separately. We’re going to tell you some different types of steaks you can try next time.
So let’s get into it.
What Is Beef?
Beef is a term used for the meat of big cattle. Most specifically, the meat from a cow is called beef. The global consumption of beef meat stands at third, falling behind pork and chicken. There are different beliefs about eating beef in different religions.
Islam is a religion where beef is the primary source of big cattle meat. On the other hand, Hinduism is against slaughtering cows and eating beef. It is because Hindus consider the cow as a sacred animal that is worshipped. On the other hand, in the Christian world, beef is eaten along with other forms of meats like pork, chicken, fish, etc.
What Is Steak?
When the word steak or beefsteak is spoken, it refers to a specific cut of beef. Therefore, it can be said that all steaks are beef, but all cuts of beef are not steak. Although steak is a term specifically used for the portion of beef slice from muscle fibers. However, salmon, chicken, and pork cut portions are also referred to as steaks in many cases.
Is Beef A Steak?
When the question about if beef a steak is asked, the answer is technical.
Why?
Because steak is only a part of the beef and not the whole beef. Therefore, we will answer it as No, beef is not steak. Instead, steak is a part of the beef obtained from animal grain. However, steak can be a term used from cuts obtained from other animals.
So next time, you don’t have to get confused about the argument of the difference between beef and steak.
How Is Steak Prepared?
Now we know a lot about steak. A beefsteak can be made with different variations, sauces, flavors, and seasonings discussed later in this article. Let’s have a sneak peek into the process of making a steak from beef’s meat.
The ingredients you will need to make a delicious beefsteak are as follows:
- 4 beef steaks of thickness around ¾ inches
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon of black pepper
Here is what you’ve to do for making a spicy, tender, and juicy beefsteak.
- Since we’re making the grilled beef steak, it requires us to prepare the stove or gas grill to provide direct heat to steaks. You can heat your manual stove or gas grill by following the following estimated timings:
Coal Stove: 40 minutes
Gas Grill: 10 minutes
- The grilled beefsteak is very easy to make, and there are no rigorous ingredients included. All you have to do is cut any fat on the outer sides of steaks. Don’t put cuts on the meat as it won’t give the meat’s juicy flavor.
- Your gas grill or coal stove would’ve reached the required heat level. Place the steaks on the grill, and let the meat cook. Choose the cooking timing according to the steak you’ve chosen. We will discuss the cooking time for each type in the next section.
- Once you believe that the steak is ready, check the internal temperature of the meat using a digital thermometer. The thickest part of the steak should have a temperature of around 145oF.
- Sprinkle the salt and pepper. You can also squeeze the lemon juice onto your steak for additional flavor. It’s ready to be served.
Where Does Beef Steak Come From?
Well, we already discussed that steak is a word used for meat cuts from different animals. However, we’re more concerned about beef steaks. So let’s discuss where does the beef steaks actually come from the meat of a cow.
A steak can be cut from different parts of the meat. Based on which part of the cow’s meat is used for steak, the following parts of beef are commonly cooked and consumed as steaks:
Rib
The rib is the most commonly used beef meat cut for making steaks. The beef rib steak is popularly known as ribeye. Choosing rib for steaks has its own charm as the meat is thick and even throughout. Therefore, the rib steak is most juicy and rich in flavor. It won’t be wrong to say that rib steak is the king of steaks and grilled beef. If you’re going to make rib steak, it requires around 6 to 8 minutes of grilling.
Loin
Loin cut is the beefsteak from the area around the cow’s spine. Making a choice of loin steak gives you tender meat as the spine area of the cow doesn’t get much exercise. Therefore, muscle development is less defined in this area.
The texture of tenderloin is buttery, and the flavor is mild, but the tenderness of meat makes it worth eating. The tenderloin is made from meat cut from psoas major muscle that is most tender among all.
Another loin steak, sirloin, is a cut from the loin part of the cow, but the tenderness is not similar to tenderloin. However, the flavor side of this steak stands higher than the former one. Loin steak, in general, requires around 13-15 minutes for grilling.
Another part of the loin cut used for steaks is the porterhouse, a bone-in steak. It is a cut containing top loin as well as tender-loin. The porterhouse is actually a powerhouse of flavor and tenderness that makes it a most-craved steak. The porterhouse requires around 10-12 minutes of grilling.
Chuck
Usually, most part of the chuck primal in the cow is converted into grounded beef due to its rich flavor and tenderness. But, there is still a scope of making chuck steaks, including chuck roll, chuck eye, clod top blade, and teres major. The flavor of these steaks is not comparable to the buttery feel of tenderloin, but its tenderness with minimal fat makes the deal worth it.
Round
Round steaks from the beef are commonly categorized as eye, top, and bottom. The top of the round is commonly used in preparing the London broil. However, the eye of the round is popularly used for making beef steaks. The bottom of the round is used for making corned beef.
Flank
Lastly, flank steaks are meat cuts from the area around the belly. You must be vigilant and careful while dealing with flank steaks because if not cooked properly, the meat might remain tough. So you need to make sure that everything is done right to get the exotic taste of flank steaks.
Different Types Of Steaks
We’ve probably discussed everything about types of steaks from different parts of the cow’s body. However, there are several variations in steaks around the globe. Now, we will talk about the geographical variations in steaks and how we can categorize the steak types.
Italy
After World War II, Italy became familiar with steaks, and it was not widely eaten in Italy before that. It is common to serve Bistecca Alla Fiorentina, a type of beefsteak with salads.
Australia
In Australia, it is a norm to serve beefsteaks with a lot of sauces, chips, or mashed potatoes. Australians like to keep the degree of cooking from blue(quickly cooked beef with inside barely cooked but seared outside) to well-done(around 163 degrees Fahrenheit temperature to turn the meat into grey-brown.
United States
The United States is a place where beefsteak is consumed and adored. There are steakhouses, restaurants specializing in beef steaks. Usually, the steak is cooked to the highest grades of cooking and served with sauteed onions or mushrooms. You can also have steak with mashed potatoes, rice, pasta, beans, etc.
Mexico
Sirloin strips are commonly used for making beefsteaks in Mexico. The spices added to the steak are kept simple: salt and pepper.
Indonesia
There are a lot of Dutch-inspired beef steaks cooked and served in different regions of Indonesia. The most popular beefsteak dishes are selat solo and bistik jawa.
United Kingdom
Serving beefsteak with medium-thick fried potatoes is also a norm in the United Kingdom. Besides, mushrooms, onions, tomatoes, etc., are fried to accompany the juicy steak on the plate.
Final Words
We have discussed almost everything about beef steak, beef, and steak. Now you know how to differentiate beef and steak, get a grilled steak, and different types & cuts of beef steaks worldwide.