Steak


A steak is a cut of meat sliced across muscle fibers, sometimes including a bone. It is normally grilled or fried, and can be diced or cooked in sauce.
Steaks are most commonly cut from cattle, but can also be cut from bison, buffalo, camel, goat, horse, kangaroo, sheep, ostrich, pigs, turkey, and deer, as well as various types of fish, especially salmon and large fish such as swordfish, shark, and marlin. Some cured meat, such as gammon, is commonly served as steak. Some cuts are categorized as steaks not because they are cut across the muscle fibers, but because they are relatively thin and cooked over a grill, such as skirt steak and flank steak.
Grilled portobello mushroom may be called mushroom steak, and similarly for other vegetarian dishes. Imitation steak is a food product that is formed into a steak shape from various pieces of meat. Grilled fruits such as watermelon have been used as vegetarian steak alternatives.

Etymology

The word steak was written steke in Middle English, and comes from the mid-15th century Scandinavian word steik, related to the Old Norse steikja 'to roast on a stake', and so is related to the word stick or stake. The primary definition is "a thick slice of meat cut for roasting or grilling or frying, sometimes used in a pie or pudding; especially a piece cut from the hind-quarters of the animal". Fish suitable for cutting steaks from might be called "steak fish". An early written usage of the word "stekys" comes from a 15th-century cookbook, and makes reference to both beef or venison steaks.

Production

Marketing and sales

Countries with enough suitable land for grazing animals, in particular cattle, have a history of production and culinary use of steak. Such countries include Argentina, Ireland, New Zealand, Australia, South Africa, the United States, and the United Kingdom.

Argentina

Argentina has one of the largest consumptions of beef per capita worldwide, and much of it is grilled steak. Beef steak consumption is described as part of the "Argentine national identity". Portion sizes of steak dishes in Argentine restaurants tend to be large, with steaks weighing over being commonplace. Asado, considered a national dish, often includes steak.

Australasia

The "Steak of Origin" competition has been run for a decade on behalf of the Beef+Lamb Corporation of New Zealand. It "aims to find the most tender and tasty sirloin steak" in the country. Criteria for judging claims to include tenderness, pH, marbling and percentage cooking loss", but while these data are collected for each entrant steak, only the shear force determines qualification to a tasting panel, at which objective taste from a panel determines the winner. The pH is used solely to disqualify entrants and neither the marbling or the cooking loss have any effect on the outcome of the competition at any stage.

Cooking

Beef steaks are commonly grilled or fried. Grilled beef steaks can be cooked at different temperatures, or for different lengths of time; the resulting cooked steak ranges from blue to overdone. The outside is usually seared for flavor, while the inside is cooked to suit the diner's preference. Steaks cooked well done are usually cooked throughout the entire cut of meat. For example, a beefsteak cooked well done will not have any pinkness in the middle when sliced. Uncooked beef steak can be served raw, such as in steak tartare.
Fish steaks are generally cooked for a short time, as the flesh cooks quickly, especially when grilled. Fish steaks, such as tuna, can also be cooked to various temperatures, such as rare and medium rare. Different cuts of steak include rib eye, sirloin, tenderloin, rump, porterhouse, and t-bone.
Cuts of steak differ between countries owing to differences in farming the animal and butchering the carcass. The result is that a steak found in one country is not the same as in another, although the recipes may be the same, differing "only in their sauces, butters, or garnitures".
Most important is trying to achieve Maillard reaction on meat to ensure that restaurant-quality steak results each time.

Dining

Steak has become a popular dish in many places around the world, cooked in domestic and professional kitchens, and is often a primary ingredient in a menu. It is used in small amounts in an hors d'oeuvre, in an entrée dish or, more usually, in a larger amount as the main course. Steak is sometimes served as a breakfast dish, especially for heavy manual laborers, such as farmers. In restaurants, the doneness is usually specified by the diner: "rare", "medium rare", "medium", "medium well", or "well done". Print appearances of this use of "rare" are found as early as around 1615. A steak knife is a specialized piece of cutlery to make cutting the steak easier; it is sharper than other knives and may have a serrated edge.

Steak clubs

s were once part of London's club life. They were described as "a club of ancient institution in every theatre; when the principal performers dined one day in the week together, and authors and other geniuses were admitted members." Dr Johnson's club in Ivy lane was originally a Beef-Steak Club and the "Rump-Steak or Liberty Club" was in existence from 1733–34. The present-day Beefsteak Club, established in 1876, is at 9 Irving Street, London. Among its members are many notable people.

Steakhouses

A steakhouse is a restaurant that specializes in beefsteaks and other individual portions of meat. Chophouses started in London in the 1690s, and served individual portions of meat, known as chops. The houses were normally only open for men; for example, women were only admitted to Stone's Chop House in 1921. Accounts of travellers in 19th-century London refer to their "dining off mutton chop, rump steak and a 'weal' cutlet", as well as hams and sirloins.
Delmonico's restaurant in New York City, which opened in 1827 and stayed open for almost 100 years, has been described as "the most famous steak restaurant in American history". Delmonico steak is a method of preparation from one of several cuts of beef prepared Delmonico style, originally from the mid-19th century. Hundreds of restaurants specialize in serving steak, describing themselves as "steakhouses".

Sauces and condiments

Classic sauces and seasonings to accompany steak include:
Commercially produced bottled sauces for steak and pre-mixed spices are also popular. In 2012 in the U.S., A1 Steak Sauce had slightly over 50% of the market share for all meat sauce products, and was the category leader. Montreal steak seasoning is a spice mix used to flavor steak and grilled meats that was based on the pickling dry-rub mix used in preparing Montreal smoked meat.

Cultural significance

cut steaks from local indigenous animals. For example, Sami cuisine relies partly on the meat of the reindeer; the Inuit diet uses locally caught sea-mammal meat from whales; Indigenous Australians ate kangaroo; and indigenous North American food included bison steak.
In contemporary Argentina, where steak consumption is very high, steak is a significant part of the national cuisine and the asado has the status of a national dish.
Some vegetarians, vegans, and animal rights activists opposed to the consumption of meat have mounted protests against steakhouses.

Types

Beefsteak

Various cuts of beef are used for steak. The more tender cuts, from the loin and rib, are generally cooked quickly, using dry heat, and served whole. Less tender cuts from the chuck or round are generally cooked with moist heat or are mechanically tenderized.
Beefsteak is graded for quality, with higher prices for higher quality. For example, beef tenderloin is the most tender, while wagyu, such as Kobe beef from Japan, is also known for its high quality.
The quality and safety of beefsteak as a food product is regulated by law. Australia has National Meat Accreditation standards; Canada has the Canadian Beef Grading Agency; in the United Kingdom, the Food Standards Agency is responsible; in the United States, young beef is graded by the United States Department of Agriculture as Select, Choice or Prime, where "Prime" refers to beef of the highest quality, typically that which has significant marbling. In 1996 in the U.S., only 2.4% of cattle were graded as prime, and most Prime beef is sold in restaurants and hotels.
Beefsteak can be cooked to a level of very rare, rare, medium rare, medium, medium well, or well done. More tender cuts can be cooked relatively quickly at very high temperatures, such as by broiling or grilling. Pittsburgh rare is charred on the outside. Beef, unlike some other meats, does not need to be cooked through. Food-borne human illnesses are not normally found within a beefsteak, though surfaces can potentially be contaminated from handling, thus very rare steak is generally accepted as safe.
The wide range of quickly-prepared and well-known beefsteak dishes includes minute steak, steak sandwiches, and steak and eggs. Steak meat is also often minced, shredded, chopped finely or formed to create a range of dishes that retain the name "steak":