The Ten
Beyond the Porterhouse
Underappreciated cuts of meat
By Aïda Mollenkamp
Love it, cook it well, eat it responsibly.
Get to Know Bison
Your questions answered.
Meat at Your Door
Bypass the supermarket and buy it direct.
How to Buy, Freeze,
and Prepare Meat
Smart tips from a butcher.
Your Meat Is Green
Ten ways to be a responsible carnivore.
Innard Workings
Chris Cosentino wants you to eat the nasty bits.
Beyond the Porterhouse
Ten underappreciated cuts of meat.
1. Tri-Tip. Tri-tip was used only for ground meat until people discovered how tasty it is roasted. The cut usually comes in a two- or three-pound portion, making it ideal for an intimate dinner party. Try this low-fuss Harissa-Marinated Tri-Tip Roast to see what we mean.
2. Flank Steak. Minimal fat, almost no connective tissue, and a fibrous texture are what make this cut ideal for long marinating and quick cooking. The best-known preparation of flank steak is London broil, but we like it even better made into Carne Asada.
3. Skirt Steak. Like flank steak, skirt steak comes from the cow’s belly and is quick to cook. For a change of pace from fajitas, use it to make Oleana chef Ana Sortun’s delicious Grilled Skirt Steak with Caramelized Butter and Cumin.
4. Brisket. This is best cooked whole and extremely slowly. If you don’t have a barbecue in your backyard, try slow cooking it over the stove in this Braised Brisket with Beans and Ancho Chile recipe.
5. Chuck. It seems as though chuck was created explicitly for the pleasure of pot roast. We make Pot Roast with Porcini and Beer any time cold weather sets in.
6. Ground Beef. It’s terribly versatile, and you know you love a good burger. Try Roy Finamore’s Real Good Meat Loaf.
7. Stew Meat. Like ground meat, stew meat can come from many parts of the cow. It’s delicious when cooked slowly and in a moist environment—sounds like time for Borscht.
8. Pork Shoulder. This is one of the most adaptable and affordable cuts of pork. It holds up well to big flavors, like those in our Red-Cooked Pork.
9. Pork Belly. Every culture has a way of preparing this cut. And if you don’t feel like cooking it, make pancetta.
10. Heart. Some of the more adventurous parts of the animal, collectively known as offal, are also the best priced. Consider this Heart Tartare, Puttanesca Style recipe by offal aficionado Chris Cosentino the perfect jumping-off point.
CHOW’s The Ten column appears every Tuesday.
Aïda Mollenkamp is a food editor at CHOW.
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Aida, I would love if you talked a little about Larding and Barding. Nowadays, you never see these things mentioned in Cookbooks, but, back when almost all the Beef and Lamb was Grass Fed (and, therefore, much leaner) Lard was used extensively to keep the meat moist and tender.
I am thinking of different Round cuts and Shoulder and Neck Cuts.
Beef heart rocks! Check out Fergus Henderson's Nose to Tail cookbook. Thinly sliced, marinated in red wine and herbs, skewered and grilled over hot coals. Rich, beefy flavor.
With the high prices and availability of flank and skirt steak, I wouldn't really consider them underappreciated. I'd add lamb shoulder chops, hanger steak, eye of round, and beef shin to this list.
Flank (especially) & Skirt (to some extent) are actually overpriced currently. People are on the fajita kick and buying up copious amounts of flank. Around me - flank is about as expensive as NY Strip.
Ground Beef? Underappreciated? Huh...GB is everywhere - and not really much of a bargain when buying from the supermarket as you have no idea what's been ground up in there. But I wouldn't say its underappreciated.
I also am surprised at a recommendation for stew meat. That is just leaving people to the mercy of the butcher at what they will be getting. I cannot agree with this advice at all. Would you rather have a bunch of random mysterious leftover trimmings from the butcher or a freshly diced chuck roast? I know what I'd prefer
Shhhh, don't tell everyone about the tri-tips. I remember having to ask for it specifically a few years back. Now everyone's selling it, and the Safeway even puts a special graphic sticker on it, what's the deal? I made the Harissa rub mentioned above last summer and it was the BOMB, even better the next day cold and sliced really thin.
Also big upps for pork shoulder. Braised shoulder w/ red wine and lentils...start it at 10:00 pm if you're having a house party, and by 3:00 am, those that haven't passed out will think you are the second coming.
Bein Scheiben (Chambrette in Spanish, I don't know the name in English), the cut from the leg of the cow with the big bone with marrow in the center, makes wonderful beef broth. I cook it in the Schnelltopf (pressure cooker) for an hour and a half in lots of liquid after browning it in the skillet and then use the meat for Indian or Mexican, anything you want either shredded meat or meat in chunks. The meat is very tender cooked this way and tastes wonderful. You can also use the meat for soup.
I have to agree with chcikenbone; a number of the cuts listed are tough and not very versatile; however, when a cutting-edge (pun intended) recipe is developed for a previously-scorned part like flank or brisket, the price seems to escalate, whether sales do or not. Apparently, all that's required is for Bon Appetit or Food and Wine to offer an article regarding a novel preparation. Both cuts go begging at our Kroger, and often appear in the green-meat bin. On the other hand, pork shoulder is an excellent, versatile cut, and the price remains reasonable. Perhaps it's off the radar screen of the publications mentioned above...
What about Hanger Steak? Very beefy flavor and very tender.
Also, anyone know of Flap Steak? Cooks Illustrated magazine is always recommending it but I cannot find any butchers that have ever heard of it.
I was surprised not to see you mention Flat Iron Steak, I prefer this over flank as well as skirt steak, to me in is the second most tender beef cut.
Be well,
Annie
Flap meat or steak is available in LA at both the high end and low end butchers but not in between. It is a terrific cut with deep beefy flavor and good texture. Less tough and more flavor than flank.