Anyhow, let's talk about the Top Sirloin. The Top Sirloin, is a funky tender piece of beef. It is not an even section, I mean unlike the Strip Loin (a.k.a. New York Steak), that's kind of even, the Top is like..oh well you just have to Youtube that crap, because it's a doozy. I like to take my boning knife to trim all the fat off, and all the other connective tissues, and use my butcher knife to slice up some various cuts of Top Sirloin (steaks).
Top sirloin comes from the primal loin, subprimal sirloin, of a beef carcass. Top sirloin steaks are different from sirloin steaks because the bone and the tenderloin and bottom round muscles have been taken away; the remaining major muscles are the gluteus medius and the biceps femoris (top sirloin cap steak). Some American butchers call a thick top sirloin steak a chateaubriand, the French however reserve that term for a more premium cut from the tenderloin.
In my test kitchen I did Top Sirloin with a teriyaki sauce spread over the finished steaks. The first test was in a hot carbon steel wok, I called it simply "Wok Seared Top Teri Sirloin" real easy.
12 lbs. Black Angus Top Sirloin
Island Groceries Maui 5.60 lb.
The top sirloin comes vacuumed sealed in a plastic bag from the market. Fresh as an be, the product is sealed with its blood. I simply opened the package, and rinsed the piece of meat under cold water to remove any bloody slime. And then patted it dry with a paper towel. The next thing I got was a knife I seldom use, a 6" boning knife. The blade is thin and flexible, a sharp blade and skinny, makes maneuvering under the fatty skin a breeze, try doing this with a regular chef knife good luck. Always use the right knife for the right occasion. It's been years since I've actually trimmed beef like this, it brought back memories. You know, like when the crew is all stoned in the kitchen, Pink Floyd is playing, maybe some Led Zep from that CD boom box, it brought back cherished memories.
The boning knife destroying the fatty skin!
As I trimmed the fatty skin off of the tender beef, you can see the nice color of the beef itself, and the grain, this is a very tender piece. Learn to trim your owns steaks, you can save money too. I also saved some of the meat that was stuck to the fatty skin, parts that I could not get on the initial trimming. I cooked those as scraps for our dogs, do you think they loved it? Of course they did, they were in doggy heaven man!
My 10" butcher knife sectioning out some different cuts of steaks
I cut small 5 oz. steaks as well as 8-9 oz. ones
These are beauties, great for the grill, just some garlic salt and fresh peppers
These are very tender, so DO NOT USE IT FOR STEW
You will ruin a quality cut of beef
Big cuts for papa, medium for mama, and small one for Jr.
After seasoning some of the cuts with salt and pepper, I heated up my carbon steel wok from The Wok Shop in San Francisco, CA, and did my "Wok Seared Teriyaki Top Sirloin."
This is a beautiful sight, the carbon steel adds a nice burn to the outer
part of the steak, a good burn for a crust! This steak was 10 oz.
The 10 oz. Top Sirloin steak is resting before being
brushed with Teriyaki sauce and sliced
The other test I did that resulted in a lesser burn for a crust was in a pan of a non-stick variety, although a very good quality pan. I put various cuts of steaks in the pan with a little vegetable oil, and cooked each to medium rare. I used the cover of the pan and turned the heat to low, to help cook through the steaks. Then topped it with some teriyaki sauce, and let the sauce simmer on the bottom of the pan.
No wok this time but a non-stick pan of good quality,
no Teflon
Finally the steaks cooked in the non-stick pan was done, in the picture below, that's a total of 12 oz. of meat, make that tender cuts like butter meat, the Top Sirloin. The plate came with a scoop of white rice, and 5 beef wontons. $13.00 if you wanted one. A friend who always buys or eats cheap steaks because of his budget got one of these plates and he was blown away. "Shit that was worth it man, I'd pay you $20 for that plate. Me and my wife shared the plate, she doesn't eat much, but wanted another plate." Quality makes a difference. Don't get me wrong, I don't eat or cook like this all the time unless someone hires me to do it. I was just test kitchening and did some lab work if you will. But I must say, a carbon steel wok or pan is the best way to sear these prime cuts, it gives the steaks a nice burn for a crust, only thing is, your kitchen will get smoked out. Like Cheech and Chong, UP IN SMOKES! But hey, it's good to experiment, or go back to basics. I've learned all this when I was in high school working in kitchens. But going back to basics, I keep thinking, just keep it basic, and you will be considered a genius. Why? Because the basics develops good foundations. Like LarryBird in the 80s playing for the Celtics. He was not flashy, but his basics were so sound, excellent, that he burned his opponents all the time, and having sound fundamentals. Executing all of the time, nothing fancy, but just basics that worked. So in cooking, get back to the basics. I swear a lot of chefs out there need to get back to basics, I taste their foods, and it's got zero guts, no spine. All fancy shit, but no guts and no spine. Remember that, keep and stick with the basics in cooking, and just execute that all of the time. Even if you just do one dish, make that one dish spectacular all of the time. When people eat your food at a potluck, they will want it! And they will eat it! And you my friend will be a rock star! Yay!
A $13.00 Top Sirloin Teriyaki Plate, 12 oz. of steak,
beef wontons, & rice
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