The greatest thing to go from farm to table – at least since that time you had a dream about a date with Daisy Duke — is steak. But where does porterhouse come from? What’s the best way to cook a skirt steak? And, most importantly, what beer should you be drinking while enjoying a tri-tip? To find out, we teamed up with the butcher boys at PDX meat emporium Urban Farmer and watched them hack the prime cuts out of a cow, then came up with your definitive guide to beef cuts. Read on to know everything. BY ANDY KRYZA
TENDERLOIN
Where it is: Right in the middle of the loin, in that magical place between the short loin, the sirloin, and the round.
What it is: The tenderest, leanest part of the cow. It is the source of the filet mignon.
What to look for: Find one with a good network of fat rolling through it, and make sure the sucker’s as firm as possible, not all squishy like a meat Gusher.
How to cook it: You can roast a big’un and cut it into nice little bloody medallions, or blast that sucker in a broiler or on a grill to get the maximum flavor out of it.
Sauce pairing: Either a Bordelaise or garlic/mustard… or just put a lobster tail up top and call that sauce.
Wine/beer pairing: Go big — get the best Pinot you can find.
Cost: $20-$25+/lb.
RIB EYE
Where it is: Right in the ribs.
What it is: Basically the best part of the prime rib section, rib eye’s a cut that does not actually have an eyeball inside. Instead, the eye refers to being cut from the center of the rib. As with prime rib, the layer of fat gives it an extra-awesome juiciness. Get it boneless, or be a total badass and get a tomahawk chop with the full rib sticking out.
What to look for: Make sure it’s bright red, with white strips of fat running throughout it… those suckers’re gonna melt right in.
How to cook it: Hit it with a nice dry rub and grill that sucker medium. This is also the meat used in the best cheesesteaks, so if you’re going that route, you’re thin-slicing it raw and grilling it up.
Sauce pairings: If you’re grilling, just a simple mushroom sauce. If you’re cheesesteaking, hit it with Cheez Whiz.
Wine/beer pairing: A nice Pinot noir to help accent the spices.
Cost: $12-$14/lb.
Read the complete list on Thrillist