The best cut of meat you are currently missing.
Image courtesy of virtualwebergasgrill.com
Question: what little-known, delicious cut of steak is known by it’s anatomical name and is called by the same name in human anatomy? Well, if you read the title of the post you know. It’s the teres major. And if you like steak, you need to track down one of these.
The teres major comes from the chuck primal cut and the shoulder sub-primal of the cow. It’s located just under the shoulder in the front legs. And here’s where it gets interesting. It’s in a muscular area of the cow, so it gets a lot of blood flow which creates great flavor. This particular muscle, though, doesn’t have the range of motion of some of the surrounding areas of muscle, so it stays tender.
In fact, the teres major is probably the second-most tender cut of the cow behind the beef tenderloin. Though not a lot of meat-lovers know about this cut, it’s long been a staple of the food industry. When I worked in hotels, we often served this cut in all kinds of ways—as steaks, roasts, in stews, and anything else you can imagine. It’s tenderness, great flavor, and cost make it so versatile.
In fact, the teres major has even better flavor than the tenderloin. So it must be an expensive cut of meat, right? Actually, it’s not, and this is what makes the teres major such a great buy. I checked prices today at the Chef’s Store where I get a lot of my meat, and it’s about $9 a pound. And it will cost you less than that since this cut is usually just around 10-12 ozs. Why so inexpensive? Because it just isn’t as well-known as some of the other cuts of beef. Lower demand, lower prices. So… keep a low profile when you buy this one! I will tell you, they are a little hard to find. So, ask your local butcher if they carry these. If not, they may be able to order them for you.
My favorite way to cook these is to grill them or cook them in a cast iron skillet. Remember to use a meat thermometer to get them just right, and you’ll want to cook them to medium-rare or medium. As I’ve mentioned in the videos, I love the wireless meat thermometers made by our partner Meater. If you’re looking for a good thermometer, they’re offering a discount to the Butcher Wizard community here.
One more note—the teres major really benefits from resting for a bit after cooking.
So give it a try! Shoot me an email and let me know how it goes.
—Brad
