Perfect Steak

Which cut to buy, what it is called on the other side of the Atlantic, how hot and how long, and which sauce to serve. Every cut has its own recipe with pan-fried, griddled and barbecued methods.

Units

US switches the cut names to American butchers’ terms and the weights to oz/lb.

Pick your steak

The cut guide: UK and US names

British and American butchers divide the loin and hip differently, so the same word can mean different steaks. The biggest trap: US “sirloin” is close to a British rump, and a British sirloin is a US New York strip.

Cut	Where it comes from	Eating quality	Best methods	Thickness · weight
Sirloin also called New York strip / strip steak (US)	Short loin, along the back behind the ribs	Tender, beefy, fat edge	Pan, griddle, barbecue	2.5 cm · 225 g
Rump also called Top sirloin (closest match) (US)	The hip, behind the sirloin	Most flavour, firmer; slice across the grain	Pan, griddle, barbecue; no more than medium	2.5 cm · 225 g
Fillet also called Filet mignon / tenderloin steak (US)	Under the backbone, inside the loin	Most tender, lean and mild	Sear then oven, griddle, reverse sear	4 cm · 180 g
T-bone also called T-bone (porterhouse if the fillet is 3.2 cm / 1¼ in wide or more) (US)	Through the short loin on the bone: sirloin + fillet	Two textures; the bone adds flavour	Sear then oven, two-zone barbecue	4 cm · 800 g
Rib-eye also called Ribeye (US)	The fore rib, boned	Richly marbled, juicy, forgiving	Pan, griddle, barbecue, reverse sear	3 cm · 280 g

Other cuts worth knowing

Cut	Where it comes from	Eating quality	Best methods	Thickness · weight
Bavette (thin flank) also called Flank steak (nearest); flap meat / sirloin tip is similar (US)	The belly, below the loin	Coarse grain, big flavour	Very hot and fast, rare to medium-rare; marinate; slice thinly across the grain	2 cm · 400 g
Onglet also called Hanger steak (US)	Hangs from the diaphragm	Loose texture, rich, almost offal-like flavour	Hot and fast, rare to medium-rare only; remove the central sinew	2.5 cm · 250 g
Flat iron (from the feather blade) also called Flat iron / top blade steak (US)	The shoulder blade (chuck); the feather is seamed and its gristle removed	Tender and well marbled for a shoulder cut	Pan, griddle or barbecue, medium-rare	2 cm · 225 g
Picanha (rump cap) also called Picanha / top sirloin cap / coulotte (US)	The cap muscle on top of the rump, with its fat cap	Juicy, beefy; the fat bastes it	Barbecue (Brazilian skewers), roast whole, or steaks cut with the grain then sliced across it	3 cm · 300 g
Porterhouse also called Porterhouse (US)	The rear of the short loin: a T-bone with a large fillet	As T-bone, more fillet	Thick, for sharing: sear then oven, two-zone barbecue	5 cm · 1000 g
Tomahawk also called Tomahawk (cowboy steak if the bone is short) (US)	A bone-in rib-eye with the long rib bone left on	As rib-eye; a showpiece	Reverse sear on the barbecue or in the oven	5 cm · 1200 g
Côte de boeuf also called Bone-in ribeye / bone-in rib steak (US)	The fore rib on the bone	As rib-eye	Sear then oven, or reverse sear; carve for two	5 cm · 1000 g
Denver (chuck under blade) also called Denver steak (US)	The chuck, under the shoulder blade (serratus ventralis); rare in UK shops	Marbled, beefy, slightly chewy	High-heat grilling; slice across the grain	2 cm · 225 g

Weights and thicknesses are typical single steaks (sharing steaks for T-bone, porterhouse, tomahawk and côte de boeuf). Sources: Nigella Lawson’s UK/US cut notes, butchers’ translation tables (GJ Honour), AHDB beef cut specifications, the US Beef Checkoff and USDA Institutional Meat Purchase Specifications.

Doneness chart

Push an instant-read thermometer into the middle of the steak from the side. Take it off the heat at the first temperature; it carries on rising while it rests (about 3–5°C / 5–9°F, more in a thick steak).

Doneness	Take off at	(°F)	After resting	(°F)
Blue	40°C	104°F	43°C	110°F
Rare	46°C	115°F	49–54°C	120–130°F
Medium-rare	50°C	122°F	54–57°C	130–135°F
Medium	55°C	131°F	57–63°C	135–145°F
Medium-well	60°C	140°F	63–68°C	145–155°F
Well done	66°C	151°F	68+°C	155+°F

Finished temperatures from ThermoWorks’ steak guide; restaurant kitchens such as Fallow take steaks off even lower and rest them longer. BBC Good Food lists higher figures (e.g. 63°C for medium-rare). Food safety: the UK Food Standards Agency says whole cuts of beef can be served pink once the outside is seared; the USDA minimum is 63°C (145°F) plus a 3-minute rest. Minced beef and burgers must always be cooked through.

What the tests say

Salt early or at the last minute. Salted at least 45 minutes ahead (overnight on a rack is best), the salt is reabsorbed and the surface dries; salted just before cooking, it has no time to draw out water. In between, the steak sits in brine and browns badly (Serious Eats salting tests).
Don’t bother warming it up. 20 minutes on the worktop raised the centre by less than 1°C (2°F) in Serious Eats’ test; a dry surface matters far more.
Turn often. Turning every 15 seconds to 1 minute cooks the steak faster and more evenly than a single turn (Harold McGee; Serious Eats; Heston Blumenthal; Fallow). One turn gives the boldest bar marks.
Baste with butter at the end. Butter burns at searing heat, so add it with garlic and thyme for the last 1–2 minutes and spoon it over (Gordon Ramsay; Serious Eats).
Reverse sear thick steaks. Steaks 4 cm (1½ in) or thicker cook more evenly started in a low oven or on the cool side of the barbecue, then seared hard; they need almost no rest (Serious Eats; Cook’s Illustrated; ThermoWorks).
Rest briefly. 5 minutes for a normal steak, longer for a big T-bone, on a rack so the crust stays crisp, and make the pan sauce meanwhile.

Sauces, butters and sides

For a pan-fried steak the quickest and best sauce is made in the same pan while it rests (shallot, brandy or wine, stock, a little cream or cold butter, and the resting juices): it is built into every cut’s pan-fried method. For the grill and barbecue, try a compound butter or chimichurri.

Sides: Pommes Frites (chips), Game Chips. Classic steak dishes: Minute Steak Garni, Tournedos Victor Hugo, Mini Mixed Grill.

A little history

The word steak is from the mid-15th century, probably from Old Norse steik, "roast meat"; "beefsteak" is recorded from 1711 and "sirloin" (surloine, from French surlonge, "above the loin") from the early 15th century. The story that a king knighted the sirloin is folk etymology (Online Etymology Dictionary).

In London, beefsteak clubs met to eat steaks grilled on a gridiron: an earlier Beefsteak Club existed by 1709, and the Sublime Society of Beef Steaks was founded in 1735 by John Rich, manager of the Covent Garden theatre; William Hogarth, David Garrick and John Wilkes were members, and the society met until 1867 (Encyclopaedia Britannica, 1911).

T-bone and porterhouse are American names. Where "porterhouse" comes from is disputed: a New York porter house (tavern) of about 1814, or Zachariah B. Porter’s Porter House hotel in Cambridge, Massachusetts (from 1837), are the two best-known claims (Cambridge Historical Commission). The earliest printed use found so far is 1843 (Thornton’s American Glossary). Today’s USDA specification separates them by the width of the fillet: at least 1¼ in (3.2 cm) for a porterhouse.

Useful kit

Instant-read digital meat thermometer: the one tool that guarantees the doneness you want. Amazon UK · Amazon US
Cast-iron frying pan (skillet): holds heat for a hard sear; goes in the oven. Amazon UK · Amazon US
Ridged cast-iron griddle pan: for bar-marked griddled steaks. Amazon UK · Amazon US
Charcoal chimney starter: lights coals evenly for two-zone barbecuing. Amazon UK · Amazon US

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