Steak

Steaks are most commonly cut from cattle (beefsteak), but can also be cut from bison, buffalo, camel, goat, horse, kangaroo,[1][2] sheep, ostrich, pigs, turkey, and deer, as well as various types of fish, especially salmon and large fish such as swordfish, shark, and marlin.

[5] An early written usage of the word "stekys" comes from a 15th-century cookbook, and makes reference to both beef or venison steaks.

[6] Countries with enough suitable land for grazing animals, in particular cattle, have a history of production and culinary use of steak.

Criteria for judging claims to include tenderness, pH, marbling and percentage cooking loss", but while these data are collected for each entrant steak, only the shear force (correlated to perceived tenderness) determines qualification to a tasting panel, at which objective taste from a panel determines the winner.

The pH is used solely to disqualify entrants and neither the marbling or the cooking loss have any effect on the outcome of the competition at any stage.

[15] Different cuts of steak include rib eye, sirloin, tenderloin, rump, porterhouse, and t-bone.

[17] Most important is trying to achieve Maillard reaction on meat to ensure that restaurant-quality steak results each time.

Down on the place d'Armes near Racouchot's, there was a restaurant ...the Pré Aux Clercs ... [that] made very good grilled rare steaks with watercress, which at that time were beginning to be in great vogue in the big cities among the younger generation ...les sportifs... but were dismissed with impatient disgust by older gourmands raised in the intricate traditions of fine sauces and culinary disguise.

[19]Steak has become a popular dish in many places around the world, cooked in domestic and professional kitchens, and is often a primary ingredient in a menu.

They were described as "a club of ancient institution in every theatre; when the principal performers dined one day in the week together (generally Saturday), and authors and other geniuses were admitted members.

[24][25] Accounts of travellers in 19th-century London refer to their "dining off mutton chop, rump steak and a 'weal' cutlet", as well as hams and sirloins.

[dubious – discuss] For example, Sami cuisine relies partly on the meat of the reindeer; the Inuit diet uses locally caught sea-mammal meat from whales; Indigenous Australians ate kangaroo; and indigenous North American food included bison steak.

Some vegetarians, vegans, and animal rights activists opposed to the consumption of meat have mounted protests against steakhouses.

The more tender cuts, from the loin and rib, are generally cooked quickly, using dry heat, and served whole.

Food-borne human illnesses are not normally found within a beefsteak, though surfaces can potentially be contaminated from handling, thus very rare steak (seared on the outside and raw within) is generally accepted as safe.

Although their delicate flesh requires quicker cooking than beef, steaks from swordfish, halibut, tuna, salmon, and mahi-mahi can be grilled.

Fish steaks may also be poached or baked using a court bouillon, wine or sauce or cooked en papillote.

[49] Sliced vegetables can be used as vegetarian nonmeat "steak" alternatives, such as cauliflower, portobello mushrooms, and eggplant.

In 2019, the European Union included steak as one of the protected designations under a revised regulation that passed with 80% approval.

The change was "designed to protect meat-related terms and names exclusively for edible parts of the animals".