Which part is the best part of a cattle for your steak? The questions actually depending on type of cooking you want. If it is steak, the best part is the loin part. The purpose of this article to explain a bit on the loin part of the beef, for more people to understand why are this part more expensive and if they pay more, are they getting the best part for their steak?
 
Loin is divided into 3 parts and it is only 15% of the whole cattle - sirloin/striploin 8%, ribloin/ribeye 4% and tenderloin/filet mignon 3%. This can explain why the demand is higher than the supply. There are multiple way to call them sometimes, with small distinctions but generally it is categorise into this 3 parts.
 
Striploin is the part that is lesser fats of the loin. The fats are normally attached to one side of the meat. The fats are used to create more flavour when we are cooking our steak. Striploin is tender, leaner and tasty as well. Normally is serve in 1 inch thickness for a normal western beef steak and 0.5 inch for Japanese Wagyu steak.
 
Ribeye is the part extended from the rib of the cattle. It has more fats and the “eye” in their name means the fats shape is round and in circular, normally. This is the softest part, tender and most tasty due to the fats. It is the part with highest fats level among the loins. This is normally serve at 1 inch thickness and sometimes thicker if it is cook under barbecue.
 
Tenderloin is the most tender part of the cattle. It is consider the most sought after meat on the cattle. It is round or slight oblong in shape normally. There is not much fats and in fact it is leaner than the first two part above. It has smaller marbling on the tenderloin. For Japanese wagyu tenderloin, It has perhaps more marbling but smaller marbling. Normally serve at the thickness of 1.5 inch or thicker. It’s easily bite and tasty too.
 
Hopefully, next time when you shop for your steak or when you dine in a restaurant, you have a better understanding on what you are purchasing. Enjoy your steak and do try different part of the cattle to understand the part better.
 
Note : The photo shown is the USA Prime Ribeye. You may notice the beautiful fats and looks like an eye. This is definitely going to be good steak. USA beef has its own distinctive nice flavour.