How To Choose The Perfect Steak For You

The iconic Auckland Restaurant, Jervois SteakHouse got a facelift over winter and is once again firing on all cylinders. Part of the refresh saw the return of the much-loved “meat board”, from which you can choose the most premium cut of beef on offer.

But when presented with a row of raw steaks what do you do? You can fake it till you make it with wine but steak is a life or death decision. To help us navigate this situation we brought on board Gavin Doyle, group executive chef at Foley Hospitality to show us the ropes.

The finest quality cuts, says Gavin, have high marbling which is the flecks of intramuscular fat that’s deposited evenly around the beef. Obvious on scotch fillet and wagyu steaks with high fat counts. We all know fat is flavour!

Keep this in mind as you choose from the types of meat on offer. With these guidelines:

For tenderness – order a fillet.

You can cut this with a butter knife, but with a lower fat content, its flavour is less robust than other cuts. Its lean but equally as delicious.

For intense flavour – order a rib eye.

This is usually well-marbled, juicy, packed full of flavour. There is a much higher fat content which you can taste as you eat.

For the classic bone-in experience – T-bone.

This cut contains two different steaks on either side of the bone – a strip steak on one; and a tenderloin on the other, giving you a range of flavours and textures. The bone helps retain moisture

when cooking. So, it’s always moist and tender.

To have a real Jervois Steakhouse experience order two different types of wagyu.

Start with grass fed and then move onto the to the grain fed. You will notice the difference as you eat. The grass fed usually with a little less marbling compared to the grain fed.