The Pro Tip That Will Help You Choose The Best Steak Every Time

Visiting a butcher shop can be incredibly intimidating, especially if you are a less-experienced home cook still struggling with basics like the difference between ribeye and New York strip. If you are trying to choose steaks for your next cookout or family dinner, you may be struck by all the choices and feel overwhelmed. After all, steak is a pricey cut of meat, and you don't want to screw up. If you are frantically searching Google for the best steaks, stop and back away from the screen, because you're going about this all wrong.

All the carnivorous experts of the web agree on a few butcher-shop basics. First of all, there is no "right" steak for every situation. Instead, the best steak depends on your needs and individual preferences. So, the first thing to do is ask yourself what you really want. What qualities do you like in a piece of meat? 

Secondly, people often don't take the time to ask their butcher enough questions. Butchers are skilled professionals who generally love talking about their passion, which is meat, so give yourself the opportunity to benefit from their vast experience. As part of this, also think about how you will cook the steak. The best beef cut for chicken fried steak, for instance, is a world apart from your ideal choices for grilling. Talk to the pros at your butcher shop, or even the people behind the meat counter at your supermarket, and you won't be led astray.

Before you go to buy a steak, you need to look inward and get in touch with your feelings. This isn't hippy-dippy claptrap! It's critical that you hone in on what matters to you when you are shopping for dinner. Are you looking for the most succulent, mouthwatering steak, regardless of price, or are you interested in affordable steak cuts that will taste great on a budget? Do you prize tenderness or flavor more? Do qualifiers like free range and pastured meat matter to you? What is your tolerance for fattiness? Again, how are you planning to cook the steak? Will you marinate it? What are your planned side dishes? That's a boatload of questions, true, but take a minute to think it through. All this information will help your butcher be able to recommend the absolute best cut of steak for you.

Why does this all matter? Different steaks come from different parts of the cow, which you probably already knew. The level of daily activity that certain muscle groups get will impact the texture of the steak, while the age of the cow and its provenance can change the flavor. A skilled butcher will be knowledgeable about his or her inventory and be equipped to match you with the right piece of steak to suit your needs ... just make sure that you enter the shop knowing them first!