All hail the Strip Steak!

Beef, butchering, Chef cooking tips, cooking
All hail the Strip Steak!
Strip steaks are one of the most popular cuts sold in top steak house restaurants. Learning how to fabricate them from the whole primal strip loin and how to utilize all of the trimmings will save you money. In this post I will show you how I do it.


Located from the beef short loin in the lower part of the back comes the popular New York Strip steak also known as the Kansas City strip. This steak is one of the favorite steaks served in restaurants or cooked at home on the back yard grill.
In this post I will show how to break down and portion these steaks from the primal whole strip loin, along with how I use the trim in some unique ways.
To see an alternative way for breaking down the loin I recommend this video from the Missouri Beef Council at- https://www.beefitswhatsfordinner.com/cutting-videos/search?Take=10&SortItem=&VideoId=70403

Cut the steaks from the clean side of the loin towards the side with the tendon going through the middle of loin. This side of the strip loin is called the nerve end. Once reached stop cutting steaks and trim out the piece for diced Kabob meat or stir fry.
This group of photos shows how I break down the nerve end into diced Kabob meat suitable for skewers or blackened steak bites. Notice the un-trimmed nerve end with the tendon going right through the middle of eye of the loin. If left in on steaks cut this part they would be unpleasant to eat since the tendon is tough and not chewable. Chefs in high end restaurants do not use this part for steaks however most grocery stores will cut this into steaks and sell this to unsuspecting consumers. Buyer Beware! In the top right image I show how to “C” cut out the tendon and cut the clean muscle into 1 1/4″ cubes.

When butchering and fabricating large pieces of meat it is best to use the proper knives. The large knife on the left side and the angled boning knife on right are the knives that I used for this job, they were gifted to me for review by Mercer Culinary- If you are interested in the butcher knife that I used to portion the strip into steaks check it out on Amazon at https://www.amazon.com/Mercer-Culinary-M13718-Granton-American/dp/B08KZD2M8H?ref_=ast_sto_dp
From the silver skin, back strap and gristle I make a beef broth (I call it an Au Jus base). I start this by roasting off the meat and deeply caramelizing the onion. Then I add the browned scraps along with garlic, parsley, bay leaves, rosemary and black peppercorns. Simmer this for at least one hour to make a rich broth. I often use this base to make Au Jus after de-glazing my pan when I make a whole roast beef (Prime Rib, Strip Loin or Top sirloin roast)

After cutting up the loin I vacuumed sealed the steaks and diced meat for later use. Freeze them for long term storage and remove and thaw them as needed.
Here is another image of a sliced strip steak served on fingerling potatoes, and wild mushrooms with cippolini onions and bacon lardons. I use a Worcestershire compound butter and a rich port wine veal jus to finish the dish.

I teach this method for breaking down the strip loin in the beef lab of my fabrication class at Ozarks Technical Community College. From this post I hope you will learn how to do it too, and save some money when you do. Until next time Bon Appetit!

Sliced strip steak with mushrooms, green peppercorns, demi glace and cream.