Beefsteak facts for kids
A beefsteak, often called just steak, is a flat piece of beef (meat from a cow). It's usually cut across the muscle fibers. In restaurants, a single steak usually weighs between 120 and 600 grams (4 and 21 oz).
People often cook steaks by grilling them, frying them in a pan, or broiling them. Softer steaks from the loin or rib areas are cooked fast with dry heat. Tougher steaks from the chuck or round might be cooked with moisture or made softer using special tools (like cube steak).
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Steaks Around the World
Steaks are popular in many countries, but how they are served can be quite different!
Australia
In Australia, beef steak is simply called "steak." You can buy uncooked steaks in stores or enjoy them cooked in almost any pub or restaurant. Steaks are often ranked by their quality and cut. Most places offer a few different cuts and cook them from very rare to well-done. A steak usually comes with sauces and a choice of chips (thick fried potatoes) or mashed potatoes. You might also get a side salad or steamed vegetables.
France
In France, steak is called bifteck. It's usually served with fried potatoes, known as pommes frites. This meal is famously called steak-frites. Vegetables are not usually served with steak this way, but a green salad might come with it. Steaks in France often come with classic French sauces.
Indonesia
Indonesia has its own beefsteak dishes. One is called bistik jawa, which was influenced by Dutch cooking. Another is selat solo, a special beefsteak from Surakarta, Central Java, also with Dutch influences.
Italy
In Italy, steak wasn't very common until after World War II. This was because the land wasn't great for raising large herds of cattle. However, some areas like Piedmont, Lombardy, and Tuscany were known for their good beef. Bistecca alla fiorentina is a famous steak from Florence, usually served with just a salad. As the economy grew from the 1960s, more Italians could enjoy eating red meat.
Mexico
In Mexico, steak is called bistec. This word comes from the English word "beefsteak." Mexican bistec often uses salted and peppered strips of beef sirloin. One way to make it is to flatten the meat, cover it in bread crumbs, and then fry it. This dish is often served in tortillas as a taco.
Philippines
In the Philippines, bistek Tagalog is a special dish from the Tagalog provinces. It's made with strips of sirloin beef and onions. These are slowly cooked in soy sauce and calamansi juice. Unlike other beefsteaks, Filipino bistek is always cooked well done.
United Kingdom
In the United Kingdom, steak often comes with medium-thick fried potatoes (called chips), fried onions, mushrooms, and tomatoes. Some restaurants might serve it with other vegetables and a choice of sauces. Popular sauces include red wine, Diane, mushroom, or peppercorn sauce. Peas or a green salad can also be served. Different types of mustard are sometimes offered too.
United States
In the United States, a restaurant that specializes in beef steaks is called a steakhouse. The best steakhouses serve high-quality beef and often age it for many weeks. This aged beef, cooked on hot grills, makes a steak that's hard to make at home.
A typical steak dinner includes the steak, sometimes with sautéed onions or mushrooms on top. It usually comes with a starchy side dish like baked potatoes, mashed potatoes, or thick-cut fried potatoes (called steak fries). Chili, rice, pasta, or beans are also common sides. A small salad or cooked vegetables often come with the meal. Popular vegetables include corn on the cob, green beans, creamed spinach, and onion rings. Bread, usually a dinner roll, is also served.
Sometimes, steak is served with shrimp or lobster tail. This combination is known as "surf and turf." Special steak knives are usually provided, which often have serrated blades. Steak sauces are also common on the table.
"Chicken fried" or "country fried" steaks are tenderized round or sirloin steaks that are breaded and then pan-fried or deep-fried. A famous dish from Philadelphia is the Philly cheesesteak. It's made with thinly sliced ribeye beef cooked on a hot grill, then served on Italian-style rolls with cheese.
How Steaks Are Cooked
The time a steak is cooked depends on how you like it. Shorter cooking times keep more juice in the meat. Longer cooking times make the meat drier and tougher, but they also reduce worries about germs. Here are the common ways to describe how well a steak is cooked, from least to most cooked:
- Raw (French: cru): Not cooked at all. Used in dishes like steak tartare.
- Seared, blue rare or very rare (French: bleu): Cooked very quickly. The outside is seared, but the inside is cool and barely cooked. The steak will be red inside. In the U.S., this is sometimes called "black and blue."
- Rare (French: saignant): The outside is grey-brown, and the middle is fully red and slightly warm.
- Medium rare (French: entre saignant et à point): The steak will have a reddish-pink center. This is how most steakhouses cook a steak unless you ask for something different.
- Medium (French: à point, anglais): The middle of the steak is hot and fully pink around the center. The outside is grey-brown.
- Medium well done (French: demi-anglais, entre à point et bien cuit): The meat is lightly pink around the center.
- Well done (French: bien cuit): The meat is grey-brown in the center and slightly charred on the outside.
- Overcooked (French: trop cuit): The meat is blackened all the way through and a bit crispy.
In some parts of North America, there's a style called "Chicago." A Chicago-style steak is cooked to your desired level, then quickly charred on the outside. You would ask for "Chicago-style rare," for example. A "Pittsburgh rare" steak is rare or very rare inside and charred on the outside.
Types of Beef Steaks
Here are a few common types of beef steaks:
- Rib steak: This comes from the rib area of a cow, often with the rib bone still attached. Sometimes, the boneless version is called a "rib eye."
- Swiss steak: This is a steak that has been pounded with a special hammer or run through rollers to make it softer. It's usually made from tougher cuts of meat, like the round.
Some other foods are called "steak" even though they are not actually beef steaks.
Images for kids
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Rib steak
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Filet mignon
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American cuts of beef
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A beef round top round steak in a pan
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A rump steak cooking in a griddle pan
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An uncooked sirloin steak
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Cooked skirt steaks
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A T-bone steak being cooked on a grill
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A ribeye steak meal with fries and tater tots
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Bistek Tagalog: strips of sirloin beef slowly cooked in soy sauce, calamansi juice, and onions.
