What Are the Healthiest Kinds of Steak?
It’s officially grill season! There’s just something about a perfectly seared steak that makes every meal a celebration and everything worth celebrating. Steak is America’s comfort food, the favorite dish on a restaurant’s menu, and the reason barbecue grills were invented.
Whether you want it rare, medium-rare, or medium (we know true steak-eaters don’t eat theirs well-done), an ideally seasoned steak cooked just right makes everything all better.
The only problem is that too much red meat isn’t heart-healthy. So how can you enjoy your favorite meal while still keeping a balanced diet?
The key is to eat the healthiest types of steak. These varieties are leaner, so they give you less of a risk of heart disease and aren’t as carcinogenic. Bonus points if you opt for brands that companies with humane manufacturing practices.
Why Lean Matters
You know that in all aspects of your diet, fat is bad. Yes, you can have some in moderation, but for the most part, you don’t want to be fat, and you don’t want to eat fat because both are unhealthy for your body.
So when you choose your cuts of beef, you want to shoot for the meat that is low in fat, otherwise called “lean.” Lean means the meat was sourced from areas of the animal that aren’t fatty or were sliced to eliminate the excess fat from the cut. Chicken and fish naturally are lean because they don’t have much fat content in the first place. However beef and pork do, so they’re more heavily regulated.
The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) monitors the steaks that are sold in stores. The amount of lean on each cut shows up on the labels, making it easier for you to look for packages that say “lean,” which designates beef with less than 10 grams of fat, or “extra lean,” referring to beef with less than 5 grams of fat.
Tips
To make it even healthier, take the steak and trim the extra fat off before you cook it. Then, use healthier oils to sear your meat, avoiding butter and vegetable oil.
A standard serving of red meat is about three ounces. Experts suggest you don’t eat more than three-and-a-half servings of meat per week. Since an average steak is around six ounces, you can have a full serving plus a smaller serving and still be under your red meat budget. Cutting the fat from your steak before you weigh it gives you more meat and less junk, but if you buy it without the fat in the first place, you’re only paying for the meat.
Types of Cuts
Ready to start shopping for the healthiest steaks out there? Go ahead and eat your favorite red meats with pleasure and guilt-free when you stick with these cuts.
- Top Sirloin – A crowd favorite, for sure, the top sirloin is a bestseller in restaurants, but you don’t have to pay “restaurant” prices to enjoy yours. Grab your cut from the store or your favorite local butcher. It has 10 grams of fat per serving, with 6 of those grams unsaturated (read: healthy). Since the top sirloin has more protein than most other steak varieties, this will fill you up and keep you feeling fuller longer. Stick with veggies and a steak and cut out the mashed potatoes for a truly healthy meal.
- Porterhouse – There’s a reason this cut has the nickname “king of the steakhouse. The porterhouse steak can weigh up to two pounds. It comes from the lower rib section, where the tenderloin and top loin meet, so it’s extra tender and rich. Porterhouse steaks aren’t “lean,” but they are still a healthy alternative to another favorite, the T-bone. At half the fat, opt for a porterhouse instead of a T-bone when you can.
- Top round roast – Sourced from the hip area of the cow, top round roast is a tender slab of beef with more meat than fat. There’s a little more fat content than it takes to make the steak “lean,” but you’ll enjoy the flavor and tenderness without any extra unhealthy seasoning.
- Bottom round roast – Unlike the alternative version, the bottom round roast comes from the rear leg, so it gets a lot of action. Muscles that move tend to be tougher than “lazy” areas. The bottom round roast is very low-fat. When you cook it, it’s important to let it marinate to get it to that tender texture we all love.
- Denver – Have you heard of the Denver chuck steak? If not, you’re missing out. This cut comes from the shoulder and is beefy, rich, and tender. Denver’s fat percentage per serving sits at around 11%, so it’s just outside the “lean” label. Still, it’s a better option than the T-bone or ribeye and just as flavorful.
- Eye of round roast – Looking for the lowest fat possible? Look no further than the eye of round roast and steak, one of the few cut selections that have earned the “extra lean” label from the USDA. Low in fat, healthy for your wallet, and flavorful, this steak is found in homes all over the world. As with other low-fat varieties, you’ll want to marinate it ahead of time or use it in a pot roast to enhance the tenderness.
- New York strip steak – When you see the Kansas City steak on the menu, it’s another term for the New York strip steak. This top loin strip is a bestseller at fine dining establishments. This is partly due to its naturally strong, buttery flavor but also because it’s a healthy steak choice. All you have to do is slice off the excess fat, and you have a tender, juicy, rich steak with low saturated fat.
In Conclusion
You can delight in your preferred cut of steak, seared exactly to your liking, and still stay healthy. The trick is to swap your fatty steaks for these leaner versions. They’re just as tender and tasty (depending on how you cook them). As a bonus you’ll live longer to enjoy more of those delicious slabs of beef in your future!
