Sirloin
If you’ve ever been to a steakhouse you can attest to the fact that steakhouses focus on a very small selection of cuts. The average steakhouse will usually have three or four steaks: a porterhouse, a filet mignon, a ribeye, and a strip steak – in addition to the usual veal and/or lamb chops. But when it comes time to grill or cook steak for the family, a trip to the supermarket reveals far more variety and far better value – if only you know where to look. Perusing the meat case, it doesn’t take long to realize that steakhouse cuts are almost as expensive in the supermarket as they are the restaurant: strip steaks, filet mignon, and porterhouse of good quality easily surpass $15 a pound. So what’s a poor carnivore to do?
There are several other cuts of meat that are sure to please those who are bonkers for bovines. Roughly grained cuts like skirt steak, flank steak, and hanger steak take very well to marinating and grilling, and when sliced against the grain provide manageably chewy texture backed up by tremendously rich, beefy flavor owing to these cuts proximity to bones and organs, and their rich marbling.
And then there’s sirloin. These cuts make up a large percentage of the amount of traditional steak cuts from a cow, and are prized for their solid (but never grisly) texture and rich, beefy flavor that comes from intramuscular marbling – or fat that is interwoven with the red muscle tissue. They take well to being marinated and cooked to medium-rare or else to braising, though they don’t have quite enough fat to make a braise as rich as a pot roast cut like chuck or brisket. Nevertheless, a sirloin marinated simply with garlic, red wine, and a splash of worcesterchire sauce is sure to please crowds when it cooked medium rare, sliced, and served with the copious juices that sirloins famously create. Indeed, sirloin is the ideal choice for London broil as well, and also make the best steak sandwiches.
Within the sirloin category, there are a number of different cuts. Top cut, first cut, shoulder cut – each can be viewed as a trade-off of flavor and texture; what shoulder sirloin lacks chewy, meaty texture, it makes up for in flavor. There is one exception to this rule of sirloin, and that is the tri-tip. The tri-tip sirloin is the end of the sirloin and just may make the tastiest steak or London broil you’ve ever had.
So next time you’re looking to grill, think beyond the steakhouse and enjoy the world of sirloins; it’s a world of great flavor and great texture that will never disappoint.
