293768 Tue Aug 12 11:26:17 -0700 2003 9 27 General Chowhounding Topics 0 1608991 What is a "hangar steak"? and... what in the world is a "tri-tip"? Tue Aug 12 11:26:17 -0700 2003 0 Pat I 1 1608993 Tri-tip is bottom sirloin. It's a triangular shaped piece of meat, thus the name. According to John Thorne "the hanger steak -- also known as the hanging tender and the butcher's steak -- is the same as the French cut of beef onglet. It consists of two small muscles joined by an elastic membrane that supports the animal's diaphragm." Here's a link to the rest of John Thorne's article: Link: http://www.outlawcook.com/Page1505.html Tue Aug 12 11:40:23 -0700 2003 1608991 0 Nancy Berry 2 1609013 Tri tip is a wonderful cut, especially for grilling. Link: http://www.orbeef.org/tritip-brochure.htm Tue Aug 12 14:06:12 -0700 2003 1608993 0 Kirk 1 1609001 Here's a beef cut chart that might help. Link: http://www.foodsubs.com/Meats.html Tue Aug 12 12:08:29 -0700 2003 1608991 0 Linda W. 1 1609003 Until the 1990s, hanger was a sort of cheap secret. It was also called "butcher's tenderloin" because butchers often kept it for themselve since it was not well appreciated by many in the US. But it was sold to people who learned to appreciate it, like my family, where we ate it frequently: in fact, as a child I was shocked to learn there were other types of steak than hanger! To this day, it remains my family's benchmark for steak expectations. The restaurant trade in the US hopped on the wagon in the 1990s and made it a trendy cut, and thereby sucked a great deal of hangers out of circulation from butcher shops, and making the ones left in circulation (usually they have to be ordered in advance, and then only from knowledgeable butchers) more expensive than they used to be. (As you can tell, I do not approve, except if it ultimately makes it more available at the butcher due to increased demand; this will be hard, as there is only one such steak per steer). The meat has a lot of flavor (which people who don't like beef and prefer blander cuts like filet may not like), and a very coarse grain, coarser even then flank or sometimes skirt. It is tougher than skirt steak (another hard to get fav of mine), but mostly because it is a larger muscle. There is a large fiber than runs lengthwise through the middle of the steak, which butchers will usually remove for you (often leaving you with two smaller steaks); I don't have them do that, as it does not bother me in the least. Given the grain of the meat, it absorbs marinades well, and is superlative grilled medium-rare. Normally, you cut lengthwise against the grain, but you can also cut shorter pieces more along the grain if you like a chewier but tasty approach (as some of us do). Yummy, yummy, yummy. Tue Aug 12 12:23:00 -0700 2003 1608991 0 Karl S. 2 1609009 I'm also a huge fan of hangar steak. Tony Bourdain shared a tip on this board that I'll pass along. ...butterfly the steak before cooking..and trim out the tough membrane..makes for better eating. Tue Aug 12 13:12:42 -0700 2003 1609003 0 9lives 1 1609045 Pat 1: Hanger Steak, is consider "Hanging Diaphram", it was utilized for many years, mostly at Chinese Restaurant's for the majority of Beef dishes. It was alway's popular to Butchers, and europeans who enjoyed the Character and Flavor. This was only a small part of the market. Since it's become a popular "Steak House" cut, the price has become much higher then previously due to supply and demand. Many packers used to add this to their ground beef trimmings and it was made into Hamburger, because they didn't want to waste time with the cut, not any more. Triangle Tip was also a under utilized cut, from the Short Loin, original sold as "Bottom Sirloin" or for some reason "Hollywoods" by the bigger packers. The Triangles came in 2 sizes, the one we now call " Triangle Tip', the other was "Honeymoons". I was one of the first to use the triangle tips for banquet service as "Sliced Sirloin Steak" in the 1960's. It didn't become popular until the mid 1980's as a retail/wholesale cut. It's got lot's of character, it's also one of the most resilient cuts of beef, hard to mess up. Makes excellent "Sauerbrauten", even better "Corned Barbque Beef" it's foolproof beef. Tue Aug 12 19:19:43 -0700 2003 1608991 0 Irwin Koval 2 1609053 I thought skirt steak was the diaphram. What, please, is the difference between hanger and skirt? Different parts of the diaphram, maybe. Tue Aug 12 21:00:20 -0700 2003 1609045 0 Marcia 3 1609083 Our butcher always told us the hanger was located in a hanging mass (hence the name) of tissue near the base of the steer's kidneys -- which explains why it is both fibrous and tender (since it is not exercised a lot). The skirt, as you note, would appear to be located near the diaphragm proper, as it were. Wed Aug 13 09:30:03 -0700 2003 1609053 0 Karl S. 1 1609180 I used my $50 Lobels credit for Hanger steak. I marinated it a few hours in soy sauce, orange juice, and garlic. Then I grilled it to barely med-rare. I'm still not exactly sure what Hanger steak is, but it is good eatin. Yummy! Wed Aug 13 19:39:38 -0700 2003 1608991 0 em