Beeeef! Otto’s Steak Chart: 12 Beef Cuts you Should Know

Skirt steak
The outer and the inner skirt steak are cut from the beef’s diaphragm. They are both not particularly tender, but very tasty. The outer skirt steak is more tender and has a much more intense flavor than the inner one.

Brisket beef
Brisket beef comes from the chest and is divided by a layer of fat. Due to its long fibers, it needs to be cooked very slowly, e.g. for corned beef, pastrami, or Texas-style BBQ.

Flat iron steak
The name of this rather thin cut comes from its characteristic iron-like shape. This cut comes from the front shoulder and the large strip of sinew in the middle is usually removed. Then, this cut of meat is usually divided into two fillets.

Tomahawk steak
The tomahawk steak is a classic cut. It is marbled, moist, and has an intense flavor thanks to its intact rib bone. The cut is a bone-in ribeye steak from the front rib of the beef. The thickness of the cut depends on the thickness of the bone. A tomahawk steak is normally so big that it can easily feed at least two people.

Ribeye steak
The ribeye steak comes from the front rib and is a typical American cut. It is composed of four muscle strings. The chunk of fat in the middle is often described as its key characteristic, but in fact, the name comes from one of the four muscle ligaments which looks like an eye.

Entrecôte
Entrecôte is the French version of the American ribeye cut. Like the ribeye, it is composed of four muscle strings, which enclose an aromatic hunk of fat. It is hard to distinguish the two cuts.

T-bone steak
The T-bone steak is a true classic. It is characterized by its T-shaped bone, which separates the strip and the tenderloin muscles. This popular steak cut comes from the short loin across the spine. Compared to the porterhouse cut, it is considered the less premium cut, as it has a smaller piece of fillet. But this is, of course, a question of taste.

Porterhouse steak
The porterhouse steak is the same cut as the T-bone and has the same characteristic T-shaped bone. It’s cut from the far back and contains a larger portion of filet mignon. For many steak lovers, it is the perfect cut, as it combines an aromatic strip steak and a tender fillet. In Italy, the cut is called Bistecca alla Fiorentina and grills to perfection on a quality 1500°F steak grill.

Sirloin steak
The sirloin steak comes from the hip of the animal. Since it's not particularly tender or flavorful, it is often combined with prawns and served as Surf n‘Turf.

Filet mignon
Filet mignon is one of the most popular and expensive cuts because it is particularly tender. It is cut from the long, cylindrical muscle, the tenderloin, which runs below the spine from the mid-body to the hind leg of the animal. As you take cuts toward the front of the animal, the filet mignon gets thinner. This is why the portion of filet mignon is smaller in the T-bone cut than in the porterhouse cut, which comes from further back in the animal. Filet mignon contains only a little fat and shows hardly any marbling. Therefore, its flavor is less intense than that of more fatty cuts. It is used also for carpaccio. The thickest part of the tenderloin from the very back of the beef is cut around 8 cm thick to make Chateaubriand. It is classically served for two with béarnaise sauce.

Rump steak
Rump steak comes from the rear part of the hip and the same muscle as the sirloin. It is well-marbled and has a thick strip of fat, making it particularly flavorful and a great cut for any dish, especially for ramen.

Flank steak
The flank steak comes from the lower belly of the animal. It is a large, flat muscle with long fibers and little fat, which makes it a bit chewy. Regardless, it is a popular cut from the steak chart. It is mostly marinated, grilled, and cut against the fibers into thin slices.

Better try them all, right?