Sirloin is a cut of meat from the back region of an animal, typically beef. The top sirloin is considered better than the bottom sirloin, which is tougher and less flavorful. Porter is a popular cut that includes both top sirloin and tenderloin muscles. The term “chateaubriand” is sometimes used for sirloin cuts, but this is confusing as it refers to a tenderloin cut in French cuisine. The word “sirloin” comes from an Old French word meaning “above the loin,” and legends suggest that King Henry VIII may have knighted the beef he enjoyed.
A sirloin is a cut of meat that comes from about half of an animal’s back region. Typically cut from beef, it comes just short of tenderloin if you picture an upright animal. As a cut of meat, the top sirloin, or top loin, is generally considered better than the bottom sirloin, which is usually tougher and not as flavorful. A sirloin can potentially be a nice cut of beef, but it’s not necessarily the most flavorful and it’s not as expensive or tender as the tenderloin.
The sirloin is, generally, the region of the cow near the rear of, but just before the hindquarters of the cow, often called the round. This entire region has top sirloin, which is separated from the top loin by another cut of meat called a tenderloin. Below the top sirloin is the bottom sirloin, which is a much lower quality cut of meat, and is much less tender than the top loin. Several cuts of steak may come from this region, including French filet mignon or beef tenderloin and porchetta.
Many butchers and steak lovers consider porter the best cut of steak available from a piece of beef. This cut includes two different muscles, with one side of the steak coming from the top sirloin and the other side from the tenderloin. By including both muscles, the steak has the tenderness of top sirloin and the deep flavor of tenderloin. This type of steak is not typically marinated and is often enjoyed cooked to just medium, or just below medium with some pink still in the interior.
Some American butchers refer to sirloin cuts as chateaubriand, although this is quite confusing, as French butchers and chefs use the term to refer to a tenderloin cut similar to filet mignon. The sirloin comes from a derivation of an Old French word surlonge, which meant “above the loin” or “above the loin.” Numerous legends have arisen due to the nature of the word “sirloin” in English and its apparent similarity to the prefix “sir” used in English knighthood.
The more common story tends to be that the English king Henry VIII was so pleased when he dined during a meal that he decided to knight the beef he liked. Some legends indicate that he nicknamed the cut of beef “Sir Loyne of Beefe” and Samuel Johnson even mentioned this bit of apocrypha in his Dictionary of the English Language. The first written uses of the word, however, clearly described it as surloin, which indicates its old French roots and not the funniest etymological pun.
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