Striploin at 90 degrees: Strip steak

A fat cap of at least 5mm, evenly attached along the length, cooks far juicier than a trimmed one. Render the fat cap first by standing the steak on its edge — the rendered fat then bastes the meat as it cooks. Called striploin, sirloin or New York strip depending on the country — same muscle, different knife path.

Colour, sinew, where the fat sits, and thickness are what you check before you pay. Ask for the thickness that matches “Strip steak.” Use 90 degrees and 90 when you cook. Salt after you know the job. Do not play with undercooked meat. Cook Striploin to 90 degrees and serve it as “Strip steak.” The other figure to watch is 90. Do not time a hard-working muscle like a thin steak. Colour before heat is not doneness. A single long muscle running along the spine, with a fat cap on one side only. That asymmetry gives it a definite grain and means the order you sear it in changes how it tastes.

Cook Striploin to 90 degrees and serve it as “Strip steak.” The other figure to watch is 90. Do not time a hard-working muscle like a thin steak. Colour before heat is not doneness. A single long muscle running along the spine, with a fat cap on one side only. That asymmetry gives it a definite grain and means the order you sear it in changes how it tastes.