In American butchery, thesirloin steak (called therump steak in British butchery) is cut from the sirloin, the subprimal posterior to theshort loin where theT-bone, porterhouse, andclub steaks are cut. The sirloin is divided into several types of steak. Thetop sirloin is the most prized of these and is specifically marked for sale under that name. Thebottom sirloin, which is less tender and much larger, is typically marked for sale simply as "sirloin steak". The bottom sirloin, in turn, connects to the sirloin tip roast.
In a common British, South African, and Australian butchery, the wordsirloin refers to cuts of meat from the upper middle of the animal, similar to the Americanshort loin, while the Americansirloin is called therump. Because of this difference in terminology, in these countries, theT-bone steak is regarded as a cut of the sirloin.
The wordsirloin derives from theMiddle Englishsurloine, itself derived from theOld French wordsurloigne (variant ofsurlonge), that is,sur for 'above' andlonge for 'loin'.[1][2][3] InModern French, the cut of meat is calledaloyau orfaux-filet.[4]
A fictitious etymology explains the name as being derived from an occasion when a king of Englandknighted the loin of beef as "Sir loin". In fact, though the pun is reported as early as 1630, and the notion of a king knighting it dates to 1655, the name predates any of the kings who are mentioned.[5] The story at most influenced the spellingsir rather thansur.[3]
Media related toSirloin steak at Wikimedia Commons
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