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Prime Cuts
Appears in
By William Lander, Shaun Searley and Daniel Morgenthau
Published 2019
- SIRLOIN Sirloin steaks come from the top middle of the cow’s back, between the fillet and the rib. They have a lovely ratio of lean meat to delicious outer fat, which should be rendered until crisp and golden. When you’re choosing your meat, look for a generous fat cover – at least 2cm if possible – and good marbling, as the intermuscular fat will help keep the meat moist and soft when cooking. As with all the prime steaks, look for thickness rather than weight. A thicker piece will allow you to caramelise the fat without overcooking the meat. Always ask your butcher to cut it in front of you so that you are happy with the size. To us, a sirloin is a Friday-night-in steak: served simply with a bowl of asparagus or a green salad and peppercorn sauce.
- RIB EYE The ribeye sits in front of the sirloin, just above the cow’s ribs. You’ll see similarities with the sirloin but the ribeye has the signature ‘eye’ of fat (which needs rendering) and double the amount of marbling. We think it’s the best bit of the entire animal: rich, soft and packed full of fat, aka flavour.
- T-BONE This cut is made of sirloin and fillet still on the bone, so you benefit from moisture and flavour retention. We think this is amazing when cooked over charcoal – the extra fat content takes on that lovely smoky flavour and there’s little risk of overcooking as it’s thick, lovely and fatty and cooked on the bone. It’s worth noting that the fillet will cook faster than the sirloin, so cut this away from the bone during the cooking of the steak and let it rest while the rest of the meat continues to cook. Serve with lashings of wild garlic mayonnaise.
- FILLET Found just beneath the sirloin, this has a texture like butter. All too often though, you find it overcooked and dry – anything more than medium is too much. This is the cut you’ll often find used for tartare or carpaccio. Due to the limited amount you get within an animal, we don’t often have it on our menu. But it is exciting when we do. We make sure it comes from a properly dry-aged beast to ensure maximum flavour development and serve it pink, alongside creamed wild mushrooms and Jersey Royals.
- RUMP About as far from fillet as you can get, this is a very dense cut from the cow’s rear. Look for a heavy fat cover, which is uniquely soft and goes incredibly crisp when rendered. Don’t cook it more than medium, or it’ll be tough. This is perfect for a midweek steak dinner, as it’s the cheapest of the prime cuts. It’s also a great alternative to fillet for steak tartare – just be sure to trim away any fat and sinew.
- BONE-IN RIB EYE Bone-in ribeye is a party piece, great for sharing between two or three people. There’s something extravagant about serving the meat on the bone, and it shows that you have the kitchen skills to perfectly cook it! The main benefits of cooking meat on the bone are moisture and flavour retention.
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