# The best thickness for a steak



## AlFulchino

What is the consensus of this wise body for the thickness of your favorite steaks? 

I have just rounded up my first two bulls, both about two weeks short of a year old...they are sitting in a small pen by the side of my house and i plan on loading them tomorrow..i have my choice w the usda butcher of how thick to have the steaks cut......what are your thoughts and reasons on the size.thickness of raw steak cuts for the prime cuts of meat?


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## Brew and Wine Supply

depends on how much you like to eat and how rare or well you like them cooked. 
I have a friend who is a butcher and we have come the the liking of 1" to 1 1/4" for a porterhouse and ribeye. Wife and I both like them med rare so this works out well to split one. If you like them on the rarer side go thicker or thinner if you like them more on the well done side... or if you eat a lot go thicker..... but I'll beat ya if you burn it....
Just my thoughts but thats what you asked for


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## Sirs

I agree with Brew on about 1" to 1 1/4" or even 1 1/2" if it is marbled good. me and the wife like them abit on the thicker side we like them about mid way between rare and med. rare. If its real lean meat and you like it rare cut it thin otherwise you'll burn it to get center even cool.


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## Runningwolf

I agree 100% with the above post. I like my steaks also Med rare. But like he said if you like them well done you might want to go a bit thinner. Not part of your question, but before I grill them I always coat them with olive oil before seasoning them. This makes a big difference in taste and keeping them moist locking in the flavor, and it's healthier.


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## Wade E

I like them right at 3/4" myself. You can nail them on high on the grill taht way and get a good char and still take them off fairly quickly without over cooking the outside to try and get the inside cooked medium. If you have a great grill like IBGlowin you may not have this problem but I dont have a super grill. Mine always tends to flare up so short and high is kind of how mine has to cook to get the best results.


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## Randoneur

I like them 3/4 - 1 and no more - I like them med - well.


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## AlFulchino

thank you for the replies so far.....i am filling the cut sheet out and find myself by replies here and some online research to be raising the cut thickness of some of the more expensive cuts ( 1-1.5 inches) and going 3/4-1" on others...i was originally 3/4 inch straight down the line

some of the tougher meats will be roast and crock pot material and a lot of hamburger


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## Flem

1 1/4 - 1 1/2 on most. Maybe a little thicker on the filet mignon.


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## ffemt128

1-1 1/2" and yes the Filet Mignot needs to be about 2+" I like them cooked Rare - Med Rare. You know, brown on the outside and mooing on the inside....


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## milbrosa

I dry age subprimal strip loins, ribeye, and sirloin. I've settled on 1 inch and medium rare for 90% of the steaks I cook. 

I'll have the butcher cut me a 2 inch thick high quality porterhouse occasionally and grill it rare. Serves 2 people at least, and the dog.


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## Rocky

I realize that I am deep into the minority on this, but I lke my steaks sliced THINLY, about 1/2" or so. To me the best taste from the steak is from the caramelization that occurs on the surface of the meat. The thinner the cut, the more surface area per unit weight, ergo, the more good taste (at least to me). Also, I prefer my steak prepared in a frying pan with olive oil, garlic and lots of black pepper rubbed onto the meat. I cook at high temperature, searing both sides for about two minutes each. Fry up some onions and mushrooms and deglaze with a good red wine and pour this over the steaks. Yummo!


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## grapeman

Rocky that is one of my favorite ways to preapare a steak also only I carmelize the onion and mushrooms and pour in about 2-3 cups of a nice red wine. Reduce that down just a touch and then add the seared steaks to that pan until done (not long). That infuses the steak with the red wine, onion and pepper flavors. Take the steak out and plate it. Continue to reduce the wine mixture to make a nice reduced glazing and pour over the steaks when like a syrup.

But then again a nice inch thick steak on the grill is great too.

One question for Al though. Did you leave the bulls uncut and if so why? I don't recall from your original posts when you got the bulls. I always found steers to be more tender than the bulls, even when young.


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## AlFulchino

Thanks for the continuing comments and opinions...very helpful....
Rich, this question you raise of bull or steer was the first thing i raised to the farmer that i purchased my first two bull calves.....he stated that at a yr or under there was no difference and that for a short period the castration wound would slow the growth down a tad....since then i have scoured the internet and queried local beef growers.....the over all consensus minus a few people on the internet is that butchered before 18 months keeps things very tender and flavorfull. Additionally, wwhile one of the first two is a hereford, the second is a jersey...the jersey is known as one of the tastiest breeds around....i wont get the lbs that i get from the hereford but i have asked the two not to be mixed and we have filled out seperate cut sheets....this will be the one thing out of my control, but to have it usda certified and saleable, i have to do this...maybe next yr i will do one myself, i have four more bulls and one is a jersey....so maybe will do that myself and keep

Rocky thanks for you ideas on a thin cut...you said hi heat....how high can you get in a frying pan?

FFment, i keep upping the cut of the filet and tenderloin

Milbrosa do you see a drastic difference in dry aging flavor?


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## AlFulchino

*hormone implants in the steers you buy*

http://www.fao.org/docrep/004/X6533E/X6533E01.htm

this link is to a study done in Norway that tells the tale of how steers in the US are given implants and or food additives to replace natural hormones because otherwise there is a loss in FCE (food conversion ratio) and overall meat gain

----

the overall main reason that i have come to learn about the need for castration is to curtail fighting and injury in pens and feedlots, but this article above is saying that to get the meat production back up in terms of dollars spend on feed that one must give the steers a hormone replacement

i was also wondering why this subject is really not discussed w other animals...when i butchered my chickens pheasants and turkeys the thought never occurred to me whether castration was an issue, and i am now wondering whether this issue is thought of w deer/elk etc hunters

i guess i will know in about a month


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## grapeman

Good points Al. I always used to have them cut or crimped while young to minimize wound recovery time. As long as you butcher them at that young age it should be good. I have noted puberty in bulls begin at 8 or 9 months, but like humans it can vary some by region, feed, etc. I love raising my own when I can because I have control over what that animal eats.

Best of luck with it. I can taste it from here! Yummmmmmm


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## JohnT

Make mine a 2.5 inch thick porterhouse (cooked a perfect medium)!


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## winemaker_3352

ffemt128 said:


> 1-1 1/2" and yes the Filet Mignot needs to be about 2+" I like them cooked Rare - Med Rare. You know, brown on the outside and mooing on the inside....



Absolutely!! That is how I love my steaks. Ditto to this!!


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## AlFulchino

just backed the trailer up to the small corral.....lunch and a haircut and then i have to entice them up a ramp without making mincemeat out of me


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## almargita

I may be the odd ball, but we only eat our steaks well done..... Don't care if the so-called experts & chiefs say thats not the way to eat them, its the way we like them! If they are too thick, then I butterfly them to make them easier to get well done, And don't say to just buy hamburger, If I like a good steak burned, so be it!! Bring a bloddy steak to me & I'll throw up on your plate............

Al


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## AlFulchino

no reason to apologize Al...its the reason i asked the question....i know a lot of people like you....they want to see no blood...almost no juice etc

the whole size of the cut thing in my mind also needs to be tied to ones own ability to apply heat quickly to seal in flavor

by the way...both bulls walked up the ramp with out much trouble...perhaps because they have been handled so much, i dont know...just happy to have it done...they spend the night in the trailer and around 6 or 7 i will have them on the road


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## ibglowin

How could you......


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## AlFulchino

i have been waiting something from you 
probably for the same type reasons you have your smoker and grill


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## Wade E

Al M, I sometimes like them that way also. Its usually because I opvercooked them on my crappy grill though!!!! LOL. Im not picky when it comes to steak at all and Rocky and Rich, those sound good and Ive cooked them similiarly also, usually when my deck had 2' of snow on it and I just didnt have the oomph left in me to shovel all the way to the grill!


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## Wade E

It probably took him all this time to find that pic to cut and paste! Hehehehe


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## ibglowin

I raised rabbits as a teenager. I knew after that I could never raise anything bigger. They just became a pet like the dog to me, part of the family......



AlFulchino said:


> i have been waiting something from you
> probably for the same type reasons you have your smoker and grill


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## AlFulchino

I hear ya Mike...i cant say there are no feelings about this...


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## Brew and Wine Supply

Old farmer lady told me how not to have feelings for a cow. Buy and raise a dairy cow, sell it at market and buy a slaughter cow and take it right a way to the butcher. That way there is no attachment and you know your cow is in good hands ( no pun intended)


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## AlFulchino

Soaring Beef Prices Force Shoppers To Find Other Foods
January 30, 2012 6:30 PM

By Oren Liebermann

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- At Cappuccio’s Meats in the Italian Market, the cuts of beef are cutting into the profits.

“Every week when I talk to my suppliers, I’m amazed by how much it’s going up,” said owner Domenick Crimi.

Beef prices soared more than 10 percent last year according to the Department of Agriculture, and they will likely go up at least another 5 percent this year.

“It bumps up a bit, comes down a tiny bit, then it bounces again, and when it bounces, it goes up another dime, 15, 20 cents,” said Crimi, “and sometimes that’s in a week.”

A drought across Texas and Oklahoma has made food and water scarce for cattle, which has kept herds small. The Department of Agriculture says there are 91 million cattle nationally, the smallest herd since 1952. Add to that the rising cost of feed and rising beef exports, and the price of beef in the states is surging.

“Your customers get tired of hearing every week that it’s going up,” said Andrew Hurford, manager of Kissin Fresh Meats. “Sooner or later, they’re going to reach a tolerance ceiling and they’re going to say maybe it’s not worth it anymore.”

The meat locker at Kissin used to be filled with fresh beef hanging from rails. But now it is only half full, since they have replaced beef with pre-packaged goods like eggs and cole slaw, leaving them something else to sell when customers stop purchasing as much beef.

“We do a lot of fish now and chicken,” said Johanna Butler, visiting the Italian Market from Swedesboro, NJ. “I mean, beef indeed is very expensive, so I’ve made some changes.”

For many shoppers tired of high beef prices, the question is no longer where’s the beef, but how much is it going to cost?


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## AlFulchino

this is a price list from a grass fedding producer in new england that i found online...it is similar to grass fed prices here in this state

STEAKS

Loin Strip$17.00
T-Bone$16.00
Porterhouse$17.00
Rib Eye$18.00
London Broil$9.00
Sirloin$14.00Price Per Pound
Tenderloin$20.00
Flank$12.00
Skirt$12.00
Flat Iron$10.00
Delmonico$18.00

ROASTS

Top Round$9.00
Bottom Round$7.00
Eye Round$8.00
Chuck$7.00
Rib (boneless)$17.00
Ground Beef$6.50
Ground Beef Patties$7.00
Soup/Shank Bones$4.00Price Per Pound
Stew Meat$7.00
Sliced Liver$7.00
Short Ribs$8.00
Brisket$9.00
Heart$11.00 Each
Tongue$11.00 Each
1/4 Side (115 lbs.)$1035.00
1/2 Side (230 lbs.)$2070.00


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## milbrosa

AlFulchino said:


> Milbrosa do you see a drastic difference in dry aging flavor?


.

I have found that dry aging makes a profound difference with choice or better grade beef. The three most obvious improvements are the intensification of beef flavor, an increase in tenderness, and the reduction of blood on the plate when you cut into the steak. 

I like my steaks medium rare most often, but if it is a particularly tender and well-marbled piece of meat, I like it rare. When cutting into an unaged or minimally wet-aged steak grilled medium rare or rare, even one of high quality, I'll end up with a pool of bloody juices on my plate. With a dry aged steak, I can have rare or medium rare meat that is very tender, and no pool of blood. 

I use the dry-bag steak bags. They really work. You need to dry age a whole subprimal, like a 10 to 20 pound strip loin, or ribeye, or sirloin. It doesn't work for cut steaks because you'd lose too much meat to the drying process. You have to trim all the dried exterior of the beef off. 

So there's a cost to all this goodness. You are going to lose 15 to 25 percent of your meat weight. 

I've attached an example. I lost nearly 25% of the weight of the original subprimal. This is one of my best dry age results yet, and if you look at my calculated cost per pound for the dry-aged end product, you'll see that it is very reasonable.


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## AlFulchino

thanks, i think i will have to look into doing this w some of my meats!


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## joea132

In my opinion you can't beat a 2 inch thick cut porterhouse. Bloody on the inside and charred on the outside. Do yourself a favor and try some "Spike" seasoning on it. My family puts it on almost everything.


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## AlFulchino

Hi Joe...i did set the porterhouse and sirloins at 2 inch cuts...just returned from the meat guy....gotta admit did not feel good about that *instant* where they go from being w you day and and day out to laying on the floor....but short of being a vegetarian there is no other way

theme to Rawhide....

Rollin', rollin', rollin'.
Rollin', rollin', rollin'.
Rollin', rollin', rollin'.
Rollin', rollin', rollin'.
Rawhide!
Hah! Hah!

Keep rollin', rollin', rollin',
Though the streams are swollen,
Keep them dogies rollin', rawhide.
Through rain and wind and weather,
Hell bent for leather,
Wishin' my gal was by my side.
All the things I'm missin',
Good vittles, love, and kissin',
Are waiting at the end of my ride.

Move 'em out, head 'em up,
Head 'em up, move 'em on.
Move 'em out, head 'em up:
Rawhide.
Cut 'em out, ride 'em in,
Ride 'em in, cut 'em out,
Cut 'em out, ride 'em in:
Rawhide!
Hah! Hah!

Movin', movin', movin',
Though they're disapprovin',
Keep them dogies movin', rawhide.
Don't try to understand 'em,
Just rope an' throw an' brand 'em.
Soon we'll be living high and wide.
My heart's calculatin',
My true love will be waitin':
Waitin' at the end of my ride.

Move 'em out, head 'em up,
Head 'em up, move 'em on.
Move 'em out, head 'em up:
Rawhide.
Cut 'em out, ride 'em in,
Ride 'em in, cut 'em out,
Cut 'em out, ride 'em in:
Rawhide!

(Rollin', rollin', rollin'.)
(Rollin', rollin', rollin'.)
Hah!
(Rollin', rollin', rollin'.)
Hah!
(Rollin', rollin', rollin'.)
Rawhide.
Hah!
Rawhide!


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## Flem

Keep on rollin', Al!


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## Rocky

Rocky thanks for you ideas on a thin cut...you said hi heat....how high can you get in a frying pan?

Al, I fry in olive oil and have a gas range so I get the temperature of the oil up to "just below smoking." I listen for the "sizzle" to tell me if I hit the right temp.


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## joea132

Haha! I guess you can't get too attached to your food!


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## betnwar

Rocky said:


> Rocky thanks for you ideas on a thin cut...you said hi heat....how high can you get in a frying pan?
> 
> Al, I fry in olive oil and have a gas range so I get the temperature of the oil up to "just below smoking." I listen for the "sizzle" to tell me if I hit the right temp.



I see a few of you like this olive oil but I cant stand the low degrees in which it burns off. I tend to get that burnt oil taste and olive loves to catch a flame.

Theoretically you can get as high in a pan as you can stand... it's really no different from cooking on a "fly" grill... aka McDs grill. Personally at home I cook with country crock butter and if I'm cooking at high temps I add just a hint of veggie oil as not to burn the butter.


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## joeswine

*Did anyone say dinner?*

 I THINK ROCKY LIKES HIS STEAKS THIN ,AND OTHERS LIKE THEM THICK,AND STILL OTHERS THICKER ,NO MATTER HOW YOU CUT THEM(PUN)WHEN A STEAK IS TENDER AND JUICY WITH JUST THE RIGHT AMOUNT OF SEASONINGS OF YOUR PREFERENCE,ITS ALL GOOD,AS FOR ME I LIKE MY IN STRIPE OR T-BONE FASHION MED-RARE.WITH A LITTLE SALT ,PEPPER AND GARLIC POWDER. ,OR SOMETIMES WITH A LITTLE SOUTHWEST RUB ,HIGH HEAT FOR ABOUT 2.5 MINS. ON EACH SIDE AND A GLASS OF AMARONE.....YES.............STEAK THE OTHER RED MEAT.


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## JohnT

Has anybody noticed that the price of beef has gone way up (about double out by us).


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## ibglowin

We have Smith's which is owned by Kroger. I bought a half a Beef Tenderloin for Easter. It was in the "family pack" which means it was on sale. I paid 10.99lb. The last one I bought was back at Christmas and I paid $8.99lb in the family pack. Prices are definitely on the rise it seems....


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## Boatboy24

JohnT said:


> Has anybody noticed that the price of beef has gone way up (about double out by us).



Very much so. In fact, I expect to receive my first order from a local farm today. All pasture raised Angus with no hormones, antibiotics, etc. Prices on the "regular" stuff at the stores are so high now, that it isn't much of a jump at all for me to buy from the local. I'd prefer that anyway. Can't wait to try it out.


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## JohnT

It just seems to me that (out by me) a chunk of bottom round (roast beef) about 3-4 pounds for around $6 or $7. 

Just a couple of weeks ago, they have a big ad for roast beef on sale. the same size ran about $10. Gee some sale! This really hits me where it hurts. 

Anybody know the reason for the increased price? Is it O'bama or the farmers?


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## ibglowin

Your kidding right?


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## ibglowin

*U.S. Beef Prices Rising Thanks to Drought in Southwest*

US Beef Prices Rising Thanks to Drought


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## joeswine

*Costs............*

ITS SAID THAT THE COST OF BEEF AS WELL AS PORK IS DIRECTLY RELATED TO THE COST OF FEED AND FUEL,THERE MAKING MORE FUEL FROM CORN AND OTHER PRODUCT THAT USE TO BE DIRECT ,DIRECTLY TO FEED ,SO THE COST OF THE FUEL GOES UP BECAUSE ITS MORE EXPENSIVE TO PRODUCE ,THAT LEAVES LESS FEED FOR STOCK AND THE COST OF FUEL TO POWER THE BEEF TO MARKET HENSLEY- GOES UP,ITS A VICIOUS CIRCLE,AT LEAST THAT'S HOW I SEE IT.


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## betnwar

JohnT said:


> Has anybody noticed that the price of beef has gone way up (about double out by us).



it is high here too. all depends on where you live. chicken is cheaper than it's been in a while... most of the cattle farms are a drive away so that factors into it.


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