Let's Take a Ride on the Wayback Machine to 1959 ~ Beef Steaks

[thirdeye]

When I was a little boy in the '60s, steaks were very different. The two of these examples I remember the most were full sized bone-in round steaks... and T-bones that always had the 'tail'.

 

[Itsdone]

Im sure i have a few of those Porterhouse with what you call the "tail" in my freezer.


EDIT: Nope, just checked, no tail. But I know i have bought a few this year that had that "tail" I didn't care for it because there was barely any meat and mostly fat so i cut it off before cooking anyway.

 

[food4thot]

Can't recall the names ribeye/delmonico when I was growing up.

 

[Itsdone]

Can't recall the names ribeye/delmonico when I was growing up.

Without googling, i still don't know the difference between Ribeye and Delmonico.

 

[food4thot]

Without googling, i still don't know the difference between Ribeye and Delmonico.

Think they're the same but the Delmonico is an end cut...less gooder.

 

[smoke ninja]

ribeyes seem to be the in vogue cut today. they are not even on the list here

old timers care to explain?

 

[Juggy D Beerman]

You did send me wayback, Wayne! I had forgotten about the cut called, "club steak"! I have not seen a bone-in sirloin steak in a long time either. I had forgotten about the tail too. Over the years the beef industry has changed the nomenclature for describing certain cuts of meat and developed new cuts as well. Thirty years ago, nobody knew what a flat iron steak was. Now it is a popular cut. T-bones are still around my area, but porterhouses are hard to find.

I am still waiting for someone to tell me what the difference is between a New York Strip steak and a KC Strip steak.

 

[Itsdone]

Think they're the same but the Delmonico is an end cut...less gooder.

Is it less gooder though? I seen one in the grocery store and it looked compact, and crazy marbled. But they wanted $17.99/lb so i passed. It was not even labeled prime, but it looked prime. Still im not paying $17.99/lb for any steak. At least not till im estimating 2026ish. Might be at worst Sirloin, at best Ribeye on sale.

 

[16Adams]

Family of 6 one income. Dad would grill three TBones and we'd split. Well done and crunchy. Gnawing the bone yielded the moistest meat. The aroma of Kingsford and GulfLite, lit with a blue diamond match still hits the feels. Our baked potatoes were cooked with a baking nail.

 

[cdhbrad]

I was a Butcher in a small family owned grocery store in the late 60s while finishing HS. I remember all those cuts. That was when the Meat delivery truck driver would deliver either Front or Rear Qtr of Beef by dropping them on the Block and it was up to me to break them down with a hand saw and breaking knife to cuts small enough to work with on the Bandsaw.
If we were really low on stock, he’d flop Half a Beef on the block. Those guys were REALLY strong.
Today, a Butcher in most stores would rarely see cuts like that.

 

[ronbrad62]

Curtis, I was a meat cutter also and it was also for a family-owned grocery store and I think the last time I was there was in 1997, we had a lot of grocery stores coming into the area and the owner couldn't compare with their grocery prices so he sold the building and retired, but we had a ton of people that would come just for our meats because we would cut them from the bigger primals, every, and every now again we would get a quarter of beef that we broke down and got the cuts from. I would get whole beef loins because we had customers that would come in and request the long bone sirloin. I really miss those days because I would have a lot of customers that I became friends with and it was almost like a barber shop, just hang around and talk about what's going on and everyone's life.
Thanks for bringing up the memories, Wayne.

 

[Big George's BBQ]

Dont remember seeing ribeye as a kid. My parents use to get a freezer load. I remeber T Bone, sirloin, and Porterhouse Saturday night was steak night for the 6 of us. My father would cook on the Weber- also remeber the kingsford and lighter fluid smell Adams and if weather was too bad in the in door fireplace. Bones went to the dog

 

[Bill-Chicago]

And where the hell did Charcoal Steak come from

 

[4ever3]

Dang I’d like to try my hand with the Round steak

 

[thirdeye]

ribeyes seem to be the in vogue cut today. they are not even on the list here

old timers care to explain?

The steaks on the right are from the short loin, which is behind the rib primal. Rib steaks were just not included. This chart helps with beef geography.

 

[thirdeye]

You did send me wayback, Wayne! I had forgotten about the cut called, "club steak"! I have not seen a bone-in sirloin steak in a long time either. I had forgotten about the tail too. Over the years the beef industry has changed the nomenclature for describing certain cuts of meat and developed new cuts as well. Thirty years ago, nobody knew what a flat iron steak was. Now it is a popular cut. T-bones are still around my area, but porterhouses are hard to find.

I am still waiting for someone to tell me what the difference is between a New York Strip steak and a KC Strip steak.

A flat iron was always in the shoulder, but the University of Nebraska promoted a different style of butchering to harvest that steak, which added a few dollars to the net profit of a steer. Fun fact: The Vegas Strip steak comes from the chuck, near the flat iron.

I don't see many porterhouses labeled as such either. That said, not all T-bones are porterhouses but all porterhouses are T-bones.

Some meat cutters will say the NY strip has the tail removed, and the edge fat trimmed a little closer than a KC strip.

 

[cdhbrad]

The steaks on the right are from the short loin, which is behind the rib primal. Rib steaks were just not included. This chart helps with beef geography.

Thirdeye: Yep, that's what 1/2 a Beef looks like. Now, imagine it whole and all you have to get started with is a Handsaw, a 12" breaking knife, and a 6" boning knife. Most of the main cuts are made from the "underside" so you can count ribs, etc. The trickiest cut for me was separating the Round from the Short Loin as you have to line up just right on the Pelvic bone to make that long cut you see on the chart.
I was always glad when we ordered a Round and what our supplier called a "Trimmed Loin" which was everything from the Sirloin to the T-Bones. Those were pretty much ready for the Bandsaw once you trimmed off the hard fat on the inside of the Loin and removed the Kidney if that hadn't already been done.

 

[thirdeye]

Thirdeye: Yep, that's what 1/2 a Beef looks like. Now, imagine it whole and all you have to get started with is a Handsaw, a 12" breaking knife, and a 6" boning knife. Most of the main cuts are made from the "underside" so you can count ribs, etc. The trickiest cut for me was separating the Round from the Short Loin as you have to line up just right on the Pelvic bone to make that long cut you see on the chart.
I was always glad when we ordered a Round and what our supplier called a "Trimmed Loin" which was everything from the Sirloin to the T-Bones. Those were pretty much ready for the Bandsaw once you trimmed off the hard fat on the inside of the Loin and removed the Kidney if that hadn't already been done.

Oh boy, a lot of work for sure.

 

[ronbrad62]

Every now and again, we would get the rare order for a steamship round. Now, that was a cut to behold! Think of a whole ham but beef.

 

[Smoking Piney]

Every now and again, we would get the rare order for a steamship round. Now, that was a cut to behold! Think of a whole ham but beef.

When I was in the Air Force many moons ago, they would offer Steamship Round for dinner every now and then in the chow hall. Carved right in front of you, and it was always great. :-D

Great Blast From the Past here...:-D