Cloudship

I am fortunate enough to have a really good, old fashioned butcher nearby - one who cuts down a whole side of beef himself and sells it.

I want to buy a 2 or 3 pound roast and cut it up into various steaks. Well, to be honest most of it is going to be made into individual portions which will be frozen, and at some point thawed to make Tartare or Carpaccio. Although to be fair some will actually turn into pan fried steaks.

Trying to figure out what kind of piece I want to buy. Beef prices are way up so I can't afford tenderloiun. The butcher recommends sirloin. But I want another opinion as to what I should get. I want something fairly lean so that I don't have a lot of throw away when cutting it up. But I also need something fairly tender and tasty, too. What would you recommend?

andyh64000

Well...based on what you described the first thing I thought of was tenderloin. I know this is based on your local butcher but costco sometimes has amazing tenderloin deals (~$90 for a full tenderloin). Otherwise, I would do top round or sirloin tip. Far and away my favorite is a rib roast but that is not what you are looking for .

lhrsfo

Not really clear whether the principal purpose of the meat is for roast beef, and the question relates to what to do with leftovers, or whether you are not really planning on roast beef at all. If the former you really need a rib of beef, bone in.

Cloudship

No roast beef. To me apiece of meat is a piece of meat.

wait, that didn't come out right.

I could always have the butcher cut it up into steaks for me, but that takes away the fun (and customization) of it all. I plan on cutting up the piece into steaks, some will be cooked in a pan, most will simply end up going into the food chopper to become Tartare. So that is kind of the driver there - for Tartare I need something lean but tasty. Probably the one place where I don't want a lot of marbling. I know Tenderloin is probably the best product wise, but just too expensive. And as I am going to be eating this raw I don't trust markets and wholesale clubs. Besides I dont have a Costco near me.

corky

I'm not sure there is something so all purpose.
For steaks you want some marbling/fat. For tartare you want leaner.
Do you have to buy a whole roast. Pay the big bucks for a small tenderloin for carpaccio and then something different for the steaks. You could even get flank steak which is usually inexpensive but if cooked & sliced properly is very tasty.
BTW---I would trust the big clubs..their turnover is fast so you are getting fresh all the time. I know a lot of high end restaurants even shop at Costco. I think their meat is super high quality.

Cloudship

I am not concerned with the market end - they know that if hey get caught with some kind of meat problem it is bad news for them so they do what they can to keep things clean and safe. It's the meat packers that I have a problem with - that is where I think the problem comes from. Fortunately the butcher I go to is the real deal - he buys sides of beef from a known source (a cattle ranch in I think it is New York - I forgot but he told me once) and cuts them down himself. Not many left like that these days.

thelark

so why don't you trust the butcher when he suggested what cut to buy?

Cloudship

I don't know - I guess I am just double checking. He recommended Sirloin if I was planning on steaks, but top round if I was doing Tartare. I ended up with the top sirloin.

corky

I would not do a steak from sirloin or top round (especially not top round). Sirloin has good flavor but it's too chewy IMO.

Cloudship

Cook it rare and slice it really thin.

corky

I know...like flank steak OR flap. But I thought you were looking for a steak kind of steak.