With Memorial Day right around the corner and National Beef Month well underway, this is the season for firing up the grill. And who better to ask about the best way to choose and grill that meat than the coach of the University of Illinois meats judging team, Elli Burris?
Burris is also an animal sciences instructor and says mastering your beef selection comes down to two factors: your preferred cooking method and your budget.
Beef’s versatility makes it a great option for grilling and gatherings, Burris says. With high levels of iron and protein, every cut offers nutritional benefits. Beef comes in several different cuts, which means consumers can select a cut with the desired amount of fat.
“If you’re eating beef, it’s always good for you and always going to have nutritional value, no matter what cut you’re eating, how that cut was raised or how much it costs,” she says.
How to pick right cut
Burris says there’s a way to determine the best cut of beef for grilling — based on occasion, price range and cooking method.
1. Are you going to smoke or grill? Burris says the first question to ask yourself to determine the best cut of meat is to think about if you will smoke or grill the beef. Grilling is the far more common method and has more cuts to choose from. If you choose to smoke, consider using brisket or beef back ribs.
2. How much are you willing to spend? Sometimes when grilling, there’s a reason to celebrate. Fancier cuts are enjoyed for occasions such as graduations, weddings and holidays, or as a special treat. But for more casual grilling, you may choose to use a cut of meat that’s less expensive. Determine how much you’re willing to spend on the occasion. Burris breaks it down into three categories:
- low from $9 to $14 per pound
- mid from $15 to $20 per pound
- high from $25 and over per pound
3. Select a cut from the category. After you’ve determined how much you’re willing to spend, select a cut of meat from the category based on your budget.
- Lower cuts include Denver steak, chuck eye, all-beef hot dogs and burgers.
- Midlevel cuts would be New York strip, ribeye, porterhouse, T-bone and sirloin.
- High cuts are picanha, filet mignon and prime rib.
Beef grilling tips
Once you’ve got the right cut of beef selected for the occasion, you’ll want to make sure to cook it correctly to ensure the best results for your tastebuds. Burris offers up a couple of beef grilling tips:
Use a thermometer. “It seems simple, but quite frankly invest in a good meat thermometer and use it to cook the beef to the desired degree of doneness,” Burris says. Medium rare requires beef to be cooked to 145 degrees F, and ground products, like burgers, are suggested to cook to 165 degrees, she notes.
Don’t set your grill too hot. “Grilling should be a slow process because the higher your heat is on your grill, the quicker those things are going to burn the outside and not cook on the inside,” Burris says. The world moves at a quick pace where people often rush through tasks, but grilling should be slowed down, she says.
Keep seasoning simple. “My best recommendation is to keep it simple when it comes to beef because beef has such a rich, diverse flavor in and of itself that you don’t need much to enhance it,” Burris says. “Salt and pepper will really pull out that beef flavor.” She does, however, recommend using marinades to tenderize tougher cuts of beef like skirt steak or round steak.