How to Cook Your Sirloin Steak

By KC Kudra

Sirloin steak is a cut that comes from the lower part of beef ribs. It continues from the tenderloin (the place where the most prized steaks come from) and is a high quality cut with a lot of flavor, since these muscles still do a reasonable amount of work. Sirloin has more flavor than a number of other steaks, and is divided into several different subcategories.

The top sirloin is the most prized of all the sirloin steaks, and you are unlikely to find it unless you look for it specifically. Most sirloin steak is really bottom sirloin, a tougher, larger piece of steak that can be more readily available and cost less. Bottom sirloin is also connected to what is called the sirloin tip roast, a good, if somewhat tough roast that should not be eaten as a steak.

The tri-tip steak is a robustly flavored portion of the bottom sirloin, but is the leanest part, so it overcooks easily. Sirloin pin bone steak is cut from the front of the steak and contains an oval pin bone, while sirloin flat bone steaks can be identified by the pieces of backbone and hipbone they contain.

A sirloin round bone cut will have less bone than many other sirloin steaks, and also less fat. Sirloin wedge bone steaks are taken from the rear of the sirloin, and have a small bone in it, shaped like a wedge. You can find all kinds of sirloin steaks at your local market.

Sirloin cuts are usually leaner and not as tender and buttery as some of the higher end steaks, but their low price and deep flavor makes up for a lot. Prepare them with dry heat, such as pan-frying, grilling, broiling, or a similar high heat method. Remember to treat different parts of the sirloin appropriately - cooking perfect steak will depend a lot on what part of the sirloin you are trying to prepare.

Make sure you decide to buy sirloin steaks that have a clear, red color. This color comes from exposure to oxygen - steak is usually purple before the air touches it. Sirloin steak should be cold and neatly packaged, with firm meat that is ready to eat. Store it in the coldest part of the refrigerator for only a few days. External fat can be trimmed before or after cooking.

At 145 degrees Fahrenheit, a steak is medium rare. At 165 degrees, it is well done. A meat thermometer can tell you these temperatures. Use tongs, not a fork, to turn steak, since piercing it will cause the juices to be lost. Let the steaks rest for five to ten minutes to keep this from happening when the steak is cut.

Broil steak in a pan two to four inches from the heat source for eight to ten minutes. Grill brushed lightly with oil and placed over the heat source for six to eight minutes, or pan broil on a stovetop for thirteen to fifteen minutes. - 30289

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