 Happy 4th of July |  |
Grill steaks for the 4th
In just a few days the United States will celebrate the 232nd anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. We celebrate the fact that our country was freed from the shackles of monarchy, tyranny, and power hungry, megalomaniacal despots. Oh wait! Well, we used to be able to celebrate that. But I digress. Sorry!
Anyway, the 4th of July is America's big holiday and most American's celebrate by grilling steaks, which is totally appropriate as steak, as we know it, is predominantly an American dish.
In most other cultures they tend to have the meat from which steaks are cut left in the form of whole roasts. So rather than rib steaks, you will see rib roasts. You will almost never see a T-Bone steak in Europe. Instead you would see those particular pieces of meat in the form of a whole tenderloin and whole strip loin.
Here in the U.S. we generally cut our steaks from 3/4" to 1 &1/2" thick, whereas in Argentina it would be unusual to find any kind of steak cut less than 2&1/2" thick.
But lets talk about good, old fashioned, American steak
As you know, a large variety and number of steaks come from different places within the bovine anatomy. Anatomically speaking, two separate muscles are the most highly prized within any side of beef. (A side of beef is one half of a beef carcass, one "side" or the other). Those muscles are the "Psoas Major (generally referred to as the Psoas - pronounced "so-as"), and the Longissimus (lon-ji-si-mus).
The Psoas is the most highly prized muscle
The Psoas is the most highly prized muscle within a side of beef and is known as the whole tenderloin. If that tenderloin is cut up into steaks, the steaks are known as "Filet Mignon", which literally translates to pretty filet.
The Psoas attaches at the front of the lumbar spine and to the lesser trochanther, the small knob at the top of the thigh bone). The primary function of the psoas muscle is as hip flexor and the main movement it is responsible for is bringing the back leg forward to take the next step.
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When moving forward and taking the next step, the muscle encounters very little resistance and is moving no weight. So while the Psoas is constantly working, it never works as hard as the muscles that extend the hip and move the whole weight of the body forward, making it the most tender muscle in the entire bovine.
And there are only two of them
Unfortunately, a steer only has two Psoas Major, or tenderloin. Not only that, as bovine muscles go they are very tiny! On an average 1200 pound steer, each tenderloin weighs about 4 pounds. Meaning we can only sell 8 pounds of tenderloin, or filet mignon for every 1200 pound steer we process. You can see why they're so highly prized and expensive.
Of course many restaurants want to buy all of our tenderloin, without wanting to buy any of the remaining 1192 pounds of the steer.
Filet Mignon coming soon
As you can imagine, we run out of Filet Mignon quickly, and are currently out of stock. But we will have more Filet Mignon Steaks by early August and will let you know when they arrive.
We have a few whole tenderloins left, but they are only available to Grass Fed and Healthy members. ( You can become a member now if you want to order a whole tenderloin.)
Members: You need to order now if you'll want any tenderloins over the summer
It's possible that we may sell out our entire remaining stock of Whole Tenderloin to a local restaurant, so members, if you think you will want to cook Whole Tenderloin this summer, you should order Whole Tenderloin within the next week or two before we sell out the entire stock. We will have more Whole Tenderloin available by October or November.
Here are some of the cuts in which you will find the Psoas muscle:
- Filet Mignon
- Filet
- Whole Tenderloin
- Chateaubriand
- T-Bone Steak
- Porterhouse Steak
 A typical T-Bone Steak contains both the Psoas Major and the Longissimus |
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The other most prized muscle: Longissimus
Now let's talk about the other most prized bovine muscle, Longissimus. As the name implies, it is a very long muscle, and in humans certain parts of the Longissimus resemble a thick rope or cable. In the bovine, the Longissimus is round up near the ribs, and flattens out lower down the spine towards the hips.
The primary action of the Longissimus is that it extends the back and loin, and flexes the spine laterally. In other words, arching the back and pulling shoulder and hip closer together on each side. In humans it is one of the main muscles that keeps us upright. In cattle, it doesn't do much work, as cattle don't do a lot of back arching unless they are bucking.
This long, ropy muscle goes all the way along the side of the spine, from the pelvis to the neck and head, and once again, each steer only has two Longissimus muscles.
Sometimes you will hear wild game hunters who cut up their own meat refer to the 2 Longissimus muscles as the "back straps".
Here are some of the cuts in which you will find the Longissimus muscle:
- Strip Loin Roast
- Top Loin
- New York Strip steak
- T-Bone Steak
- Porterhouse Steak
- Shell Steak
- Rib Eye Steak
- Rib Steak
- Rib Roast
- Del Monaco
Confusing nomenclature
In its run along the spine, the Longissimus has a variety of names: Along the thoracic spine (the vertebrae, with ribs attached, between the neck and the low back) the Longissimus is known as the "Rib eye". As it continues down the spine into the lumbar region it becomes the "Top Loin" or Strip Loin." Once it gets on towards the pelvis, it flattens out, attaching itself to the sacrum and other hip bones, it becomes part of the "Sirloin".
4th of July Sirloin Steak Special
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This is the perfect package for a large 4th of July gathering!
With up to 20 servings, you can entertain large, or small and intimate. Your choice. Each steak is individually wrapped so you can cook the exact number of steaks you want and leave the rest frozen. Every steak weighs approximately 16 ounces and can easily feed 2 - 3 people.
Order now and receive:
- 8 Grass Fed Boneless Sirloin Steaks
- Approximate weight 16 Ounces (*Actual weight will vary)
- Individually shrink wrapped and vacuum-sealed
- Frozen for easy handling
As always our beef is:
- 100% Grass Fed and Finished
- Free of added hormones
- Free of antibiotics
- Pasture raised and finished
- Humanely raised
- From 111 year old ranch
- From conservation award winning ranch
- From ranch protected forever with conservation easements
Don't miss out on this Sirloin Special
Order now or by June 30th to have your Sirloin steaks in time for the 4th.