What Are The Best Cuts Of Beef And How Do You Cook Them?

cuts of beef

Have a hankering for meat? It’s one thing to properly know how to cook a steak. It’s a whole new ballgame when you learn how to cook all the best cuts of beef, maximizing your meat for flavor.

Before you throw that steak on the grill and ruin it, let’s learn the best cuts of beef and how you can cook them.

Beef comes in a variety of cuts and each one is used for different purposes. Each cut has its own taste profile – it doesn’t need to be a mystery if you’re trying something different from your standard t-bone or ribeye. Just buying before making your purchase.

What are the best cuts of beef?

You’re probably the familiar with the following cuts of beef:

  • Round steak
  • Ribeye
  • Flank steak
  • Sirloin tip roast
  • Top round roast

Round steaks are flavorful while ribeyes have more fat marbling which makes them tender when cooked properly. Flank steaks come from the abdominal muscles in an animal so they can be tough if not sliced into thin strips against the grain first. Sirloin tip roasts are also very lean with little marbling but still delicious because they respond well to dry-heat cooking methods like grilling.

Related: Top Grill Masters In The Country All Say This Is The Best Cut Of Steak

Our friends at ButcherBox put together a video guide on the best cuts of beef based on how you plan on cooking them. Some cuts of beef, like London Broil, cook faster than others. For example – what cuts of beef should you grill? Which steaks are delicious when reverse-searing in a pan? Which cuts of beef are best for roasting low and slow in a slow cooker?

A couple takeaways:

  • The eye-round is used for roast beef, cooked medium rare
  • Tri-tip is great smoked, BBQ-style.
  • A bavette cut can be cooked “hot and fast” for tons of flavor as a bistro steak.
  • The short loin is “crazy tender” – buttery, rich. You can cook the whole loin or in pieces as filet mignon.
  • Yes, the bone from “luxury steaks” like porterhouse and stripe steaks does add flavor
  • Ribeye – The fat, when cooked properly, should melt in your mouth.
  • The flat iron comes from a section between two muscles, can be cooked fast and hot.

Check out the full video below for a comprehensive breakdown.

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Brandon Wenerd is BroBible's publisher, writing on this site since 2009. He writes about sports, music, men's fashion, outdoor gear, traveling, skiing, and epic adventures. Based in Los Angeles, he also enjoys interviewing athletes and entertainers. Proud Penn State alum, former New Yorker. Email: brandon@brobible.com