Know Your Beef
Cooking Skills: Beef and Steak 1
Chapter 1 · Know Your Beef
Skill goal
Choose the right cut, handle raw beef safely and cook a first steak.
Shopping list for this chapter
The basics
Beef is the muscle of the animal, and how tender a cut is depends on how hard that muscle worked. Muscles along the back barely work, so the meat is tender and cooks fast (steak). Muscles in the neck, shoulder, legs and belly work all day, so they have more flavour but are tough until slow cooking melts their connective tissue. The right cut for the method is half of cooking beef well.
The method
- Match the cut to the method: tender cuts for quick, hot cooking; tough cuts for long, slow cooking.
- Look at the label: the cut, the weight, the use-by date and, on mince, the fat percentage.
- Season ahead: salt a steak at least an hour before cooking, or just before, but not in between.
- Go by thickness and temperature, not by the clock.
- Always rest and slice across the grain. See Cooking Skills: Knife Skills 1, chapter 7 for slicing meat.
| Cut | Where it is from | Best for | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fillet | Inside the loin, barely works | Quick pan-frying; very tender, mild | Dearest |
| Ribeye | The rib, well marbled | Quick pan-frying, griddling; full flavour | High |
| Sirloin | The loin, with a strip of fat | Pan-frying, roasting; good balance | High |
| Rump | The back end | Pan-frying (sliced); lots of flavour | Medium |
| Flank and skirt | The belly, long fibres | Thin and fast, sliced across the grain | Low to medium |
| Topside and silverside | The back leg, lean | Roasting, or braising | Medium |
| Chuck, shin and brisket | Neck, shoulder, leg and chest | Stews and braising; slow and rich | Low |
| Mince | Trimmings, often chuck | Sauces, pies, chilli; fat % matters | Low |
Handling raw beef, rare beef and the budget
Raw beef hygiene: keep raw meat on the bottom shelf of the fridge in a covered dish so it can't drip onto other food, use a separate board and knife for raw meat (or wash them in hot soapy water before they touch anything else), and wash your hands for 20 seconds after handling it. Don't rinse raw beef under the tap: it spreads germs around the sink and does nothing to remove them. Cook or freeze it by the use-by date.Whole cuts and mince: germs sit on the outside of a whole piece of beef (a steak or a joint), and searing the surface deals with them, which is why a steak can be served rare. Mince, burgers, sausages and rolled or tenderised joints can have germs all the way through, so they must be cooked right through (no pink, juices running clear, about 71°C in the centre). Rare beef is not recommended for very young children, older people or anyone with a weakened immune system, and the advice for pregnancy depends on the cut, so check current NHS and FSA guidance.
On a budget: the tender cuts (fillet, ribeye, sirloin) are the dearest. Rump, flank, skirt and onglet cost less and have more flavour if you slice them thinly across the grain, and tough cuts (chuck, shin, brisket) are cheapest of all when you cook them slowly.
Try it
Level 1 · Start here
Reading the label and the counter
Before you cook beef you need to know what to buy. Visit a supermarket or a butcher and look at three packs: a steak, a pack of mince and a braising cut. Write down what each label tells you. This is a shopping exercise, so you only need to buy the packs if you want to cook with them later.
Ingredients (1 portion)
- 1 notebook and pen
- 1 pack pack of rump steak, about 250 g
- 1 pack pack of beef mince
- 1 pack pack of stewing or braising steak
- 1 cool bag or insulated shopping bag
- Read the label on each pack: the cut name, the weight, the use-by date, the price per kilo and, on mince, the fat percentage (for example 5% or 20%). Write them in your notebook and work out which is the cheapest per kilo.
- Look at the colour and the fat. Fresh beef is a deep cherry-red (it can be brownish where it touches the tray, which is harmless), and fat should be creamy white or pale yellow, never grey or slimy. Look for fine white flecks of fat inside the meat, called marbling.
- If you are at a butcher, ask what the cut is for and how long they would cook it. Put the beef in the cool bag, keep it cold on the way home, and put it in the fridge straight away.
Buying, carrying and storing
Raw beef hygiene: keep raw meat on the bottom shelf of the fridge in a covered dish so it can't drip onto other food, use a separate board and knife for raw meat (or wash them in hot soapy water before they touch anything else), and wash your hands for 20 seconds after handling it. Don't rinse raw beef under the tap: it spreads germs around the sink and does nothing to remove them. Cook or freeze it by the use-by date.Whole cuts and mince: germs sit on the outside of a whole piece of beef (a steak or a joint), and searing the surface deals with them, which is why a steak can be served rare. Mince, burgers, sausages and rolled or tenderised joints can have germs all the way through, so they must be cooked right through (no pink, juices running clear, about 71°C in the centre). Rare beef is not recommended for very young children, older people or anyone with a weakened immune system, and the advice for pregnancy depends on the cut, so check current NHS and FSA guidance.
Level 1 · First steak
A first pan-fried steak
A first look at the whole method in one go: dry, season, sear, rest and slice. Chapter 2 goes into steak cooking in depth, so just aim for a browned outside and a pink middle.
Ingredients (2 portions)
- 2 rump steaks, about 200 g each and 2 cm thick
- 1 tbsp sunflower or rapeseed oil
- 1 pinch flaked sea salt, to taste
- 1 pinch freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 15 g butter
- Take the steaks out of the fridge 20 minutes before cooking. Pat them very dry with kitchen paper and season both sides with salt and pepper.
- Heat a heavy frying pan over a high heat until it is very hot, add the oil, and lay in the steaks. Cook for about 2 to 3 minutes a side for medium-rare, turning once and adding the butter for the last minute.
- Rest on a warm plate for 5 minutes. Slice across the grain (the lines of the muscle fibres) into strips about 1 cm thick and serve with any juices spooned over.
Hot pan, resting and slicing
Hot pan and hot fat: fat spits and the pan gets very hot. Dry the steak well first, lay it in away from you, use tongs rather than your fingers, keep the handle turned in and stay with the pan. If fat catches fire, never use water: turn off the heat and cover the pan with a lid or a damp cloth. Open a window or use the extractor fan, because searing makes smoke, and keep children out of the kitchen.Resting: after cooking, leave the beef on a warm plate or board, loosely covered with foil, for about 5 minutes for a steak and 20 to 30 minutes for a joint. The juices settle, so they stay in the meat instead of running onto the board, and the centre rises a few degrees as it rests.
Knife safety: slice and carve on a stable board (a damp cloth underneath stops it sliding) with a sharp knife, because a blunt knife slips. Keep your guiding fingertips tucked back, and let the knife do the work. A carving fork or tongs holds the joint steady.
Level 2 · Salt ahead
A dry-brined sirloin
Salting a steak an hour or more ahead lets the salt draw out a little moisture and then be drawn back in, so the meat is seasoned all the way through and the surface dries, which gives a better crust. It costs nothing but a little time.
Ingredients (2 portions)
- 2 sirloin steaks, about 250 g each and 2.5 cm thick
- 1½ tsp flaked sea salt
- 1 tbsp sunflower or rapeseed oil
- 15 g butter
- 1 pinch freshly ground black pepper
- Pat the steaks dry and sprinkle the salt evenly over both sides. Put them on a rack or plate, uncovered, in the fridge for at least 1 hour (up to overnight). Take them out 20 minutes before cooking and pat off any moisture.
- Heat the oil in a heavy pan over a high heat and lay in the steaks. Cook for about 3 minutes a side for medium-rare, adding the butter and pepper for the last minute.
- Rest for 5 minutes, then slice across the grain and taste. Notice how evenly it is seasoned compared with the steak you salted only before cooking.
Salting, hot pan and thickness
Raw beef hygiene: keep raw meat on the bottom shelf of the fridge in a covered dish so it can't drip onto other food, use a separate board and knife for raw meat (or wash them in hot soapy water before they touch anything else), and wash your hands for 20 seconds after handling it. Don't rinse raw beef under the tap: it spreads germs around the sink and does nothing to remove them. Cook or freeze it by the use-by date.Hot pan and hot fat: fat spits and the pan gets very hot. Dry the steak well first, lay it in away from you, use tongs rather than your fingers, keep the handle turned in and stay with the pan. If fat catches fire, never use water: turn off the heat and cover the pan with a lid or a damp cloth. Open a window or use the extractor fan, because searing makes smoke, and keep children out of the kitchen.
Thickness: steaks vary in thickness more than in weight, so go by thickness, not by the clock. A steak about 2 cm thick needs very different timing to one 4 cm thick, and the timings in this course are only a starting point.
Level 3 · Compare
A three-cut tasting
Cook three cuts the same way and taste them side by side. You will find that the dearest cut is not always the tastiest, and that thin flank is delicious when sliced properly but chewy when it isn't.
Ingredients (3 portions)
- 1 rump steak, about 150 g
- 1 sirloin steak, about 150 g
- 1 flank or skirt steak, about 150 g
- 2 tbsp sunflower or rapeseed oil
- 1 pinch flaked sea salt
- 1 pinch freshly ground black pepper
- Salt and pepper all three steaks and pat them dry. Fry the rump and sirloin in a very hot pan for about 2 to 3 minutes a side and the flank for about 1 to 2 minutes a side, in two batches if the pan is crowded.
- Rest each for 5 minutes. Slice the rump and sirloin 1 cm thick across the grain. Slice the flank very thinly across the grain.
- Taste each in turn and write down the flavour, the texture and the price per portion in the tasting-notes table.
Cooking three cuts safely
Hot pan and hot fat: fat spits and the pan gets very hot. Dry the steak well first, lay it in away from you, use tongs rather than your fingers, keep the handle turned in and stay with the pan. If fat catches fire, never use water: turn off the heat and cover the pan with a lid or a damp cloth. Open a window or use the extractor fan, because searing makes smoke, and keep children out of the kitchen.Raw beef hygiene: keep raw meat on the bottom shelf of the fridge in a covered dish so it can't drip onto other food, use a separate board and knife for raw meat (or wash them in hot soapy water before they touch anything else), and wash your hands for 20 seconds after handling it. Don't rinse raw beef under the tap: it spreads germs around the sink and does nothing to remove them. Cook or freeze it by the use-by date.
Knife safety: slice and carve on a stable board (a damp cloth underneath stops it sliding) with a sharp knife, because a blunt knife slips. Keep your guiding fingertips tucked back, and let the knife do the work. A carving fork or tongs holds the joint steady.
Experiments
Experiment
Salting time
None, 1 hour and overnight.
- Cook three similar steaks: one salted just before cooking, one salted 1 hour ahead and one salted the night before and left uncovered in the fridge.
Look for: The salted-ahead steaks are seasoned all through and brown better, because the surface is drier. The overnight steak may feel a little firmer and more cured. Write down which you like best.
Experiment
Fridge or room temperature
Cold from the fridge or 30 minutes out.
- Cook two similar steaks the same way, one straight from the fridge and one after 30 minutes on the side (not longer than 30 to 60 minutes, and keep it covered).
Look for: The colder steak usually has a thicker grey band under the crust, and the other cooks more evenly. The difference is small for a thin steak, bigger for a thick one.
Experiment
Lean or marbled
Lean and fatty steak.
- Cook a lean cut (such as rump) and a well-marbled cut (such as ribeye) the same way and taste them.
Look for: The marbled cut tastes richer and juicier because the fat melts as it cooks. The lean cut is firmer and more beefy, and can taste drier if overcooked.
Experiment
With and against the grain
Same steak, two ways.
- Cook a flank or skirt steak, rest it, and cut half across the grain and half along it.
Look for: Cut across the grain, the slices are tender, because you have shortened the muscle fibres. Cut along the grain, they are long and chewy. This is the most important slicing rule in beef.
Tasting notes
| What I tried | Method or amount | What I saw | What I thought | Will I do it again? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Label reading | ||||
| First pan-fried steak | ||||
| Dry-brined sirloin | ||||
| Three-cut tasting | ||||
| Salting time | ||||
| Fridge or room temperature | ||||
| Lean or marbled | ||||
| With and against the grain |
Troubleshooting
| Problem | Likely cause | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Steak is grey and tough | Overcooked, or the pan wasn't hot | Dry the steak, heat the pan until very hot and use a thermometer |
| Steak is chewy to eat | Wrong cut, or sliced along the grain | Slice across the grain and rest before slicing |
| Pale, steamed surface | Wet steak or an overcrowded pan | Pat dry and cook one or two at a time |
| Steak is too salty | Too much salt for the thickness | Use about 1 teaspoon of flaked salt per 400 g |
| Beef smells sour or looks slimy | Past its best | Throw it away: never taste to check |
| Mince is greasy | High-fat mince | Choose 5 to 10% fat for sauces, or drain off fat |
Raw beef, hot pans and leftovers
Raw beef hygiene: keep raw meat on the bottom shelf of the fridge in a covered dish so it can't drip onto other food, use a separate board and knife for raw meat (or wash them in hot soapy water before they touch anything else), and wash your hands for 20 seconds after handling it. Don't rinse raw beef under the tap: it spreads germs around the sink and does nothing to remove them. Cook or freeze it by the use-by date.Hot pan and hot fat: fat spits and the pan gets very hot. Dry the steak well first, lay it in away from you, use tongs rather than your fingers, keep the handle turned in and stay with the pan. If fat catches fire, never use water: turn off the heat and cover the pan with a lid or a damp cloth. Open a window or use the extractor fan, because searing makes smoke, and keep children out of the kitchen.
Leftovers: cool cooked beef quickly (within about 1 to 2 hours), cover it and keep it in the fridge for up to about 2 days (general guidance). Reheat until it is steaming hot all the way through, and reheat it only once. Don't leave cooked beef standing at room temperature for longer than 2 hours.
Checkpoint: can you do this now?
- I can name three tender cuts and three tough cuts.
- I can read a beef label and know what the fat percentage means.
- I handle and store raw beef safely.
- I can pan-fry a steak, rest it and slice it across the grain.
- I know why salting ahead helps.
Next chapter
Cooking Skills: Beef and Steak 1, chapter 2 is Steak in the Pan: searing, doneness and resting, in depth.