A well-marbled steak is a truly beautiful thing, and there's a reason why we're willing to pay top dollar to get it! What exactly is marbling and why is it so desirable? Well, we'll tell you...
Food Science: All About Marbling
Marbling simply refers to the fat found within a cut of meat and between the muscle fibers themselves. A high-quality steak will have a lot of marbling, while a lean cut will have very little or no visible marbling. The fat should be pure white and hard, and the best is when it's distributed evenly throughout the entire cut of meat, as in the picture above.
Steaks and other cuts of meat with a lot of marbling mostly come from the loin region of the animal. This is on the back of the animal where the muscles get very little exercise in comparison to the legs, shoulders, and rump. Excess calories from the cow's diet get stored here in the form of fat.
As the meat cooks, the fat melts. The melted fat does two things: it keeps the meat tender and moist, and it infuses the meat with flavor. In fact, most of the silky texture and great beef flavor that we love in a steak comes from the fat, not the meat itself!
Without this marbling, the cut would end up as dry and flavorless as cardboard. Even with a well-marbled cut of meat, you can still end up with cardboard if you overcook it! Cooked too long and all the fat renders out, leaving the steak bone-dry and completely tasteless.
The best way to cook steak is to sear it quickly over high heat and then cook it in a hot oven until it has reached the desired doneness. We really like Chris's method of cooking the steak in a hot cast-iron pan under the broiler.
If you're trying to watch your figure and are concerned about the fat content of a well-marbled cut of beef, we recommend moderation. Eat steak less often or in smaller portions, but stick with the marbled steaks.
What's your favorite cut of steak?
Related: Why Tougher Meats Make Better Braises
(Image: Flickr member Virtual Ern licensed under Creative Commons)
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Mmmm. That photo is the perfect example of what a steak should look like. I'll take a rib eye please. Although a T-Bone is a thing of beauty.
In a related comment, allow me to mention the explorers Lewis & Clark. In a land teeming with every kind of wildlife, fish, and fowl, these men and their party of exploration nearly starved to death eating meat, fish, and fowl. Why? No fat. All the animals were extremely lean.
The only animal with fat was the bear, and if you were close enough to kill a bear, he was close enough to kill you. No wonder the Indians esteemed the bear so highly. (This concludes your history lesson for today.)
view SunnyBlue's profile
I thought the marbeling was an indication that the cow was grain fed. Grass fed beef generally has zero marbeling.
view lettucelover's profile
wow!
I have never seen beef that marbled!
Personally, I think the trend to things "lean" has really gone overboard...
view mschatelaine's profile
Ok, slightly confused question here:
how does this relate to grass fed vs corn fed/industrial meat? Isn't the marbling more important in corn fed beef, since the meat has so little flavor compared with the grass fed meat? Doesn't Argentinian beef have a lot less fat but more flavor?
I seem to remember hearing this but would love more of an explanation. Esp since I'd rather avoid all of that fat.
view Eliza's profile
I find that most beef is pretty bland, fat or no fat. I like lean cuts of meat with minimal seasoning (salt, pepper, garlic, thyme for example) or in a marinade. As Eliza above suggested, I associate marbling with corn fed beef. It could be because I grew up on elk and deer meat in Oregon, where the bulk of the meat comes out very lean, but incredibly flavorful, requiring no seasoning for flavor.
view wesaturtle's profile
@SunnyBlue,
I've only recently learned about Lewis & Clark (I'm Canadian, after all) and it was my understanding that they ate little fish. Imagine it, they're in the Pacific Northwest, with waterways filled with salmon and they petition their leaders to kill one of their horses so they can eat some "real" meat.
view Michelle of Montreal's profile
Michelle of Montreal---I wonder if you are thinking of another expedition. Lewis and Clark undertook their mission in three boats. They traveled by the waterways, not over-land.
According to their journal, they carried 2800 fish hooks as gifts for the Indians, and 125 hooks for their own use. They ate a lot of fish.
view SunnyBlue's profile
Both grass fed and corn fed beef can have internal marbeling. Corn fed beef has more abundant marbeling do both to diet and the restricted lifestyle of the conventional feedlot. It is also more visible to the naked eye. Waguy beef have even more fat, again due to diet and their *highly* confined conditions.
view JudiAU's profile
Hmm...interesting questions regarding the relationship between corn-fed cows and marbling. I have to admit that I'm not 100% sure about this one - I think you're probably right that corn-fed beef ends up with more marbling in the meat while grass-fed beef ends up with less due to a leaner diet. But I'm not sure that means that one or the other is better or worse (at least from a flavor/quality standpoint). Maybe they're both good in different ways?
We have a post on grass-fed beef going up by another writer tomorrow - I'll be as curious as you to read it. If that doesn't answer our questions, I'll do some more research and put up a follow-up post.
view EmmaC's profile
michael pollan talks about it in Omnivore's Dilemma
view lettucelover's profile