Know your steak: A guide to meaty meals

This post is brought to you by Longhorn Restaurant.

Even the most experienced carnivore might not know the difference between a tenderloin and a sirloin, or what must happen for a T-bone to qualify as a porterhouse. We spoke to the team at Longhorn Restaurant to learn more about everyone’s favourite piece of beef, so let us take you on a journey of beef education – and we’ll try not to make any mis-steaks…

What cuts of steak are there?

There are six main different cuts when it comes to beef steak, named either by their shape when the meat is ready to be cooked or where the meat comes from on the animal. The main cuts are named:

• sirloin, which is lean, juicy and full of flavour;
• filet (or tenderloin), which is very tender and has an almost buttery texture;
• strip, which is well-marbled with fat, tender and full of flavour;
• ribeye, which is usually seen as the most juicy and flavourful cut of steak;
• T-bone, which combines the filet and strip;
• porterhouse, which is a thicker cut of the T-bone.

According to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)’s regulations, a steak must be more than 1.25″ wide to be classified as a porterhouse but only 0.5″ wide to be classified as a T-bone.

All of these are available at Longhorn Steakhouse, as the steak menu includes Ribeye, Renegade Sirloin, New York Strip, T-bone, Longhorn Porterhouse and Flo’s Filet, which is a tenderloin.

How do you choose which steak to have?

The answer to this question is beautifully simple: don’t choose just one steak and order lots of different cuts of beef on the same platter! Longhorn Steakhouse is offering two platters, of smaller cuts of more than one type of steak, until 28 May 2017:

• The Steak Sampler Duo contains a 85g sirloin and a 70g fillet
• The Steak Sampler Trio comes with a 85g sirloin, a 70g fillet and a 70g striploin

Each Steak Sampler comes with two side dishes and one bottomless drink – the choice includes Pepsi, 7-Up, Revive, Mountain Dew, Lipton Ice Tea, or Mirinda Strawberry. You can also add any dessert from the choice of Apple Gold Rush, Cheesecake, Chocolate Lava Explosion, Longhorn Banana Split or Chocolate Stampede for 50% off.

What sauces and side dishes go best with steak?

Actually, the chefs at Longhorn Steakhouse recommend that you should first try a steak without any sauces – if it’s cooked that well, it shouldn’t need an accompaniment! However, if you do want something to dip you steak in or smother on your meal, we have a selection of black pepper sauce and an spicy Asian sauce, or you could finish your steak with a number of toppings – for example, a parmesan crust or sauteed mushrooms, or sauteed onions – or both.

As for sides, you can’t go wrong with some form of potato, such as fries, or a baked potato, or mash. Other carbs such as pasta – perhaps macaroni and cheese – and rice also work well, and it’s always good to add some vegetables to your meal, perhaps steamed or roasted.

More information

Longhorn Steakhouse now has over 450 outlets worldwide, including two in Malaysia: at Quill City Mall on Jalan Sultan Ismail and at The Curve, Mutiara Damansara. They always use high quality chilled Australian beef in their steak dishes and regularly hold promotions, for example sometimes you can order a Renegade Sirloin (170g) for less than the normal price of RM69.90.

For more information, visit the Longhorn Restaurant website. 

Quill City Mall

Address: G-01, Ground Floor, Quill City Mall, No. 1018, Jalan Sultan Ismail, 50250 Kuala Lumpur
Telephone: +603-2602 0871
Operating Hours: 11am-10pm

The Curve

Address: G88B, Ground Floor, The Curve, Jalan PJU 7/3, Mutiara Damansara, 47810 Petaling Jaya, Selangor.
Telephone: +603-7732 7438
Operating Hours: 10am-12midnight (Sun-Thurs) / 10am-1am (Fri, Sat & Eve of Public Holidays)