Steak 101
Brought to you by Amy Davidson &
Michele Corigliano (Salt Lake Area Restaurant Association)
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USDA Prime
USDA Prime is the superior grade with amazing tenderness, juiciness, flavor and fine texture. It has the highest degree of fat marbling and is derived from the younger beef. That’s why Prime is generally featured at the most exclusive upscale steakhouse restaurants.
Ruth’s Chris Steak House
257 S. West Temple, SLC
RuthsChris.com
With steaks being cooked at 1800 degrees and served on 500 degree plates, flavor is sealed in. You can’t talk steaks without talking about Ruth’s Chris. They changed the way people think about steaks…and service, which is impeccable all the time.
Fleming’s
20 South 400 West (at The Gateway), Salt Lake City, UT 84101
Flemingssteakhouse.com
Paul Fleming was once a franchisee of Ruth’s Chris who sold his restaurants and signed a non-compete agreement. After that agreement expired, he opened Flemings, which is another pinnacle in the steak house arena. Flemings cooks their meat at a sizzling 1600 degrees, has a 100-by-the-glass wine list but also offers wonderful Happy Hour Appetizers at prices that are a hit.
Kimi’s Oyster & Chop House,
WITH STEAK FRITES, GRILLED RIB-EYE WITH PROVENCE BUTTER
SPECIAL: RIB-EYE WITH BLEU CHEESE FONDUE
2155 S. Highland Dr. SLC, UT
Also serving Prime grade steaks, Kimi’s Oyster & Chop House is called “chop house” for a reason! Their grilled rib-eye served with Provence butter and Steak Frites is a regular standout on their menu. Or, if you are lucky to go in when they offer their special rib-eye with Bleu Cheese Fondue, you have to order it because you will think you died and went to heaven.
USDA Choice Steaks
USDA Choice is the second highest graded beef. It has less fat marbling than Prime. Choice is a quality steak particularly if it is a cut that is derived from the loin and rib areas of the beef such as a tenderloin filet or rib steak. Generally USDA Choice will be less tender, juicy and flavorful with a slightly more coarse texture versus Prime.
Avenues Proper
CUT BY HAND EVERY MORNING
376 8th Avenue
Avenuesproper.com
Avenues Proper is nestled away in the Avenues and you can find an incredible steak there! Their Steak Frites is a basted 8oz top sirloin, compound butter, demiglace, beer aioli and shallots. The chef cuts their meats in-house every morning and takes great pride in serving locally grown food.
USDA Select
Select is generally the lowest grade of steak you will find at a supermarket or restaurant. You will find it tougher, less juicy and less flavorful since it is leaner than Prime and Choice with very little marbling. The texture of Select is generally more coarse. Therefore, Select is not nearly as enjoyable or desirable.
WAGYU
A Japanese beef cattle breed – derive from native Asian cattle. ‘WAGYU’ refers to all Japanese beef cattle, where ‘Wa’ means Japanese and ‘gyu’ means cow.
Wagyu were originally draft animals used in agriculture, and were selected for their physical endurance. This selection favored animals with more intra-muscular fat cells – ‘marbling’ – which provided a readily available energy source. Wagyu is a horned breed and the cattle are either black or red in color. Wagyu is very trendy right now.
Harbor Seafood & Steak
2302 Parley’s Way Salt Lake City, Utah 84109
HARBORSLC.COM
Oh, please…try Harbor’s grilled Wagyu steak with lobster truffle butter. It’s ridiculously decadent and always cooked perfectly. This restaurant is hidden in an East Sugarhouse location, so it’s out of the way and trendy. Their bar area is amazing too, where you can sneak away and get dinner at the bar when you want to enjoy dinner and have no one to go with you.
Spencer’s at the Hilton
255 South West Temple, Salt Lake City, Utah, 84101
This is one of the best kept secret steakhouses in Salt Lake City. Serving Wagyu, they hand cut their steaks in-house. Go in for lunch and have their Wagyu steak salad or dinner, where they serve wild boar chops and have a huge array of wild game meats. Pair it with a wine from their 450 bottle list. They also source their food locally, which is a bonus!
Kobe Beef
Kobe beef refers to beef from the Tajima strain of Wagyu cattle, raised in Japan‘s Hyogo Prefecture according to rules as set out by the Kobe Beef Marketing and Distribution Promotion Association. The meat is a delicacy renowned for its flavor, tenderness, and fatty, well-marbled texture. BEEF MUST COME FROM KOBE. Massaged..
| Term | Description |
| Extra-rare or Blue | very red |
| Rare | red center; soft |
| Medium rare | warm red center; firmer |
| Medium | pink and firm |
| Medium well | small amount of pink in the center |
| Well done | gray-brown throughout; firm |
