What Is Steak Marbling

The marbling keeps the meat moist so natural juices don t evaporate in the pan.

What is steak marbling.

Our farm partnerships focus on stewardship and care that result in great tasting meat. Marbling intramuscular fat is the intermingling or dispersion of fat within the lean. Marbling in uncooked meat looks aesthetically interesting but that is not why it s special. Good marbling means good quality you may think that quality is a subjective term used to describe one s preference of beef steak whether that be fat content breed of cattle grass.

Sirloin is among the leaner steaks while ribeye is generally the most well marbled. Hence the practice of wrapping tenderloin steaks with strips of bacon without it the steak would lack flavor and moisture. When you begin to see only small spots of moisture appear on the uncooked side of the steak turn it and only once. So what is marbling and what makes it so important to great steak.

The marbled fat will baste the meat from inside as it slowly melts resulting in a great flavour. Degree of marbling is the primary determination of quality grade. Sadly however this marbling does mean strip steak can be a little on the pricey side and it s debatable whether that extra cost is really worth it especially compared to some of the other arguably superior expensive cuts out there. But there are various types of marbling as well and some types are more desirable than others when discussing steak quality.

In contrast we value marbling for its contributions to flavor but not at the cost of animal welfare. Graders evaluate the amount and distribution of marbling in the ribeye muscle at the cut surface after the carcass has been ribbed between the 12th and 13th ribs. When cooking marbling adds flavor and juiciness as the fat melts into the steak. Tenderness and marbling don t necessarily go hand in hand so while the beef tenderloin is possibly the most tender cut of beef it doesn t usually have much marbling.

Marbling is just one way to consider the overall deliciousness of a given steak from a particular farm. Marbling varies from one cut of steak to another. From usda inspectors to michelin rated chefs to backyard steak aficionados if you ask what matters most in a quality cut anyone into steak will tell you the answer is easy. The presence and type of marbling in meat is important for several reasons.

Place the steak in the pan seasoned side down. When it comes to steak no quality is so highly prized as marbling.