Cooking any cut of steak needs tedious handling of high heat for that beefy flavor and desired doneness, making a good steak meal harder to achieve. However, did you know that you can do better by learning the difference between steak cuts? Let our team introduce you to the finest meat cuts for grilling to elevate your kitchen experience.
If there’s one steak that’ll instantly impress your guests, that’ll be the rib-eye steaks. These tender cuts are often well-marbled and juicy, making it everyone’s favorite meal in a luxurious restaurant.
For cooking ribeye steaks on a hot grill, our resident chefs suggest shopping for beef with stripy marbling. Typically, these rib section meats come in a bone-in or boneless cut, so it’s best to have the butcher cut the beef anywhere not thicker than 2 inches.
Beef cuts like these cook better in high heat, but we recommend letting the rib steak rest on the cooler side of the grill when the cooking is about to conclude.
Although porterhouse steaks are often mistaken as T-bone meats, these two steaks have different cuts. Upon closer look, Porterhouse is composed of a tenderloin slice on one side and a Ribeye portion on the other.
If you’re an avid foodie, you’d know that this meal costs a fortune in premium steakhouses. However, you can choose to cook this at home at lower costs.
Sirloin is a great steak if you’re looking for a leaner slice of meat than ribeye. It’s widely known for its extremely flavorful taste. And while no one can question its intense beef flavor, our team advises you to keep an eye on it consistently, or you’ll ruin its taste.
You should remember that it doesn’t have much fat and can be overcooked easily. Because of that, it’s wise to ask the butcher to cut it in thick individual steaks.
As meat from the primal loin section, there’s no denying that T-bone cuts are the best steak for grilling. Its marbling surface that indicates high calories enhances the beef flavor and makes it tender.
However, these aren’t the best steaks for grill beginners as it’s divided into two tricky meat parts. On its left is the striploin, more known as the New York strip or the Kansas City steak (not to be confused with Kansas City Steak delivery!), while the tenderloin part is located on the right side of the bone.
Some newbie grillers may confuse a skirt steak with a flank steak or London broil. However, skirts are from the meat’s diaphragm section. If you’ve ever tasted it, you’d know that it’s thinner and more flavorful than a flank steak.
This type of beef is best cooked in medium-rare, or else the meat will be too tough. If you want it tender, our cuisine experts recommend slicing it against its grain.
If you want a tender cut of beef, tenderloin steaks are definitely on the top list. It’s located in the short loin, so expect this part to be susceptible to dryness as it doesn’t have much fat content. On the brighter side, tenderloins rarely come out of the grill with a tough texture.
Another expensive meat cut you’ll encounter when shopping for beef is filet mignon. One of the traits that makes it so popular is its tenderness rather than its flavor. When cooked in the right heat temp, filet mignon has the tendency to melt in your mouth. Since it has a relatively low fat content and soft muscles, our chefs recommend serving it Rare. More tips on grilling filet mignon here.
The well-marbled surface of flat steaks makes it highly suitable grill meat. On top of that, it delivers slightly similar tenderness as filet mignon. Serving it is pretty quick and easy. Besides the fact that it cooks easily on high temps, you can simply season it with good old salt and pepper before deciding to cook it.
Buying steaks while on a tight budget isn’t all that impossible because of this meat. It’s located below the sirloin cap and taken from the lower hip bone. And while many foodies may argue that it’s not as tender as the others on the list, our team could guarantee that it’s flavorful enough to please your tastebuds.
You may not know it, but beef meats aren’t equal in quality. In fact, it is classified in different grades by the US Department of Agriculture[1]. Depending on your preference, you can get beef meat in the market tagged as Prime, Choice, or Select up to the Canner.
Among them, our chefs highly recommend buying at least Choice or Select if prime beef does not fit your current budget.
Another determinant of the meat’s quality is its marbling. It gives more moisture and flavor to the meat, as well as added tenderness. With these characteristics, expect meats with good marbling to be more expensive.
If you want meat that cooks faster in the griller, boneless is a better choice. However, bone-in meats carry many flavors and lock the moisture, so we recommend them for savory cooking.
The easiest steak to grill is the top sirloin steaks. It has enough tenderness from the sirloin’s primal section that suits the cooking condition of the griller. On top of that, cuts that have excellent marbling and tenderness meat are also a great option. Grillers could consider tri-tip or hanger steak as well. (Here's how long grilling tri-tip takes.)
While our team tried to list all the best steaks for grilling, keep in mind that there are other meat cuts you can consider depending on your cooking needs. Now that you’re well-versed about the different cuts of beef, you’re ready to face that griller and cook your first piece of meat: here's how you can grill the perfect steak.
We have more guides to expand your grilling knowledge:
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