- © Cristian Feher 2011
- Chef Cristian's Sunday BBQs
Like Michael Jackson and Elvis Presley, we’re all familiar with the popular cuts. New York strip steak, T-Bone steaks, rack of lamb, and baby back ribs have all had their names displayed in bright lights. And it’s very likely that they’ve headlined a show on your kitchen table more than once.
But what about the less popular cuts? Don’t they deserve some publicity? I figured if anyone would know, it would be a butcher. And that’s just what I set out to find.
My good friend Dave Bowman grew up in Mount Airy, NC (known fictitiously as Mayberry, where the Andy Griffith Show was filmed). His family owned a grocery store where Dave began working as a butcher since the age of 12. With 30 years of experience under his cleaver, it’s no surprise that he is my “go to” guy for anything meat-related. I paid him a visit at the Fresh Market butcher shop in Clearwater, Florida to get some insight into a butcher’s favorite cuts of meat.
As it turns out, Dave likes them all! But after much deliberation, we managed to narrow the list down to his five favorite cuts.
#5 Top Sirloin Beef Steaks
The top sirloin cut is something many people pass over on the way to the rib eyes, strip steaks and tenderloin. “At first glance” says Dave, “most people notice that the sirloin has very little fat. It’s a lean steak. They’re also quite large compared to strips and rib eyes.” For these reasons, people assume that top sirloin would cook up tough and be too much. “However,” explains Dave, “top sirloin is a muscle that the cow does not use very much, and because of this, it’s actually quite tender.” The top sirloin is a close neighbor to the softest muscle on the cow – the tenderloin. In fact, it resides right underneath of the tenderloin in the rear part of the cow.
Top sirloin steaks may be large, but can easily feed a family of four for less than the price of one premium steak. They are also great on the grill. And because they are lean, they cook faster and have less calories than fattier steaks. It’s often been described as “poor man’s tenderloin”.
This article appears in Oct 6-12, 2011.