If you eat meat, you probably love steak. We look into what cut, seasoning and cooking technique are the best.
Argentina, Australia, New Zealand, US and Japan are associated with producing the highest quality steak and indeed some of the top restaurants in Pattaya such as Café des Amis are known to import the very best meats from these countries.
Of course, for centuries we have strived to achieve the perfect steak but with different cooking techniques such as pan-seared, flame-grilled and roasted being options, this is often down to the chef’s preference. There are many ways to make an exceptional steak. One classic approach is to sear the meat on the stove top and then finish cooking in the oven.
Seasoning can improve an average steak but is not be required on a quality cut. Dry-aging is basically a controlled decomposition of the meat, which sounds kind of gross, but results in a meat that is more flavourful and more tender. The thing to remember is dry-aged steak offers a different taste experience to fresh steak, with or without any seasoning, and how it’s cooked will determine it’s overall quality.
In addition, the steak can be cooked from anything from blue to well done with many connoisseurs believing that anything more than rare is ruining the meat. Each one of us has our own idea of what makes a perfect steak.
SIRLOIN STEAK
Sirloin, tenderloin and top sirloin are actually different cuts of meat but often referred to as ‘sirloin’ in restaurants. Top sirloin is regarded as being the prime cut. This meat is taken from towards the top and rear of the cow and is renowned for its tenderness. This is an extremely popular choice for meat lovers and is best cooked rare to retain the flavour although the choice is yours.
Steak & Co. is one of Pattaya’s most popular steak houses and is centrally located on Soi Lengkee, they serve excellent sirloin steaks as well as other great steaks.
RIB-EYE
Rib-eye is a steak that is well-known for its marbling which makes it a juicy and very tasty cut. It is served with or without the bone and another popular steak house in Cental Pattaya is Patrick’s. They serve an excellent Australian Black Angus rib-eye. The cut is from the same area of the cow as where you would get standing ribs, the cut is a little fatty but adds to the overall flavour. Delicious!
RUMP STEAK
Rump steak is a slightly firmer steak that is taken from towards the upper-rear of the cow. This is not quite as tender as the sirloin and slightly cheaper as a result. It’s recommended to grill and slice before serving, the steak is best served rare or medium-rare and is a common feature on many restaurant menus.
T-BONE
The T-bone steak is effectively two cuts of meat on either side of the T-Bone. On one side, you have the tenderloin fillet and on the other, you have a large strip steak known as the ‘New York Strip’. The difference between the T-bone and Porterhouse is the latter has a larger cut of tenderloin. As you would imagine, as a larger piece of meat it is popular in many restaurants not only in Pattaya but around the world. This is best cooked medium or medium well-done although care needs to be taken not to overcook the meat.
IN PATTAYA
Of course, here in Pattaya, you can go to a wide variety of places to enjoy your steak with many restaurants serving imported steaks as well as Thai steak. Care should be taken when ordering Thai steak to ensure it is not overcooked which can make it more than a little tough.
You will no doubt have seen the various Facebook groups discussing the best steaks in Pattaya and the frequent banter that is associated with it. Where ever you choose to have a steak, we hope you enjoy it!
