Angie, freezing beef changes the flavor so if I am eating anywhere they best not have thawed steaks and I will tolerate frozen steaks at home if I over bought but I put my seal-a-meal thingy I got for a present one year to use to keep the meat better.
If anyone is reading this thread and unsure of just WHERE the cuts of meat are located, keep in mind that there are sometimes different names for just about the same cut of meat.
Here's a page with multiple charts so you can know what actual cut you are getting.
http://www.virtualweberbullet.com/meatcharts.html
If you've ever processed an animal, say a deer or feral hog, you know where the most tender cuts of meat are located just from the processing.
Legs are always the toughest and that's why you normally cook as roast.
One thing that is critical in meat is you WANT steaks meat that is marbled with fat. A better rib-eye has fat you can see in the meat.
Lack of fat most times means it was range fed and will be tough.
Kobe beef comes from cows that are not allowed much exercise at all and their meat is very marbled with fat and that is why it is SO juicy and tender.
When you grill at home, never flip the meat more than once. EVER. I've seen people sear the steak in a good flame before beginning the cooking but that is a step in the cooking not the actual cooking.
The flame or heat should be hot enough to sear the meat and trap the juice from the cooking fat into the muscle. Flip once and then the juices from the fat are truly sealed in and ready for the sharp knife.
As Angie noted, there are smaller places where you can get to know a butcher and they will cut your steaks to order. How thick and where on the back you prefer them. Many people just ask for a steak and have no clue what part of the animal it comes from.
I like this chart that in the upper right shows just where a Porterhouse compared to a T-bone is cut.
http://www.virtualweberbullet.com/me...fchart2007.pdf
I love steak but am not into over paying for someone else to cook it for me. I forget the name of the place I used to frequent down off Knox Henderson that I was introduced to a year after moving here in the early 90's but they had awesome steaks and we'd head there after working downtown Dallas. My sted-dad was a huge fan of texas Roadhouse and I need to go have a steak in his honor. We did that after he passed at the start of the year when I was out of state and the steak was very nicely done and not over priced at all.
Word of Mouth is All They Need now
