 Beef Cuts | |
| Alternative names | butcher's steak, hanging tender, bistro steak |
|---|---|
| Type | Platecut of beef |
Ahanger steak (US), also known asbutcher's steak,hanging tenderloin,skirt (UK), oronglet, is a cut ofbeefsteak prized for its flavor and tenderness. This cut is taken from theplate, which is the upper belly of the animal. In the past it was among several cuts of beef sometimes known as "butcher's steak", becausebutchers would often keep it for themselves rather than offer it for sale. This is because the general populace believed this to be a crude cut of meat, although it is actually one of the most tender and flavoursome.[1]
Hanger steak resemblesflank steak in texture and flavor. It is a vaguely V-shaped pair of muscles with a long, inedible membrane running down the middle.
It is also sometimes incorrectly referred to asflap steak or flap meat, which is a distinctly different cut from thebottom sirloin in the rear quarter of the animal.
Anatomically speaking, the hanger steak is thecrura, or legs, of thediaphragm. The steak is said to "hang" from the diaphragm of the heifer or steer.[2] The diaphragm is one muscle, commonly cut into two separate cuts of meat: the hanger steak, traditionally considered more flavorful, and the outerskirt steak, composed of tougher muscle from the dome of the diaphragm. The hanger is attached to the last rib and to the front of several of the lumbar vertebrae. The right side is larger and stronger than the left.
Occasionally seen on American menus as a "bistro steak", hanger steak's US meat-cutting classification isNAMP 140. Due to its limited quantity, it is rarely marketed to consumers, with most hanger steak cuts being diverted to restaurants.[3]
In Britain it is referred to as "skirt", which is distinct from the Americanskirt steak; the French termonglet is also used.[4] The hanger steak has historically been more popular in mainland Europe than in English-speaking countries. In French, it is known as theonglet and is often prepared by cutting the lobes in two of three flaps along the centerline, in a manner similar to a butterfly cut. In Italian, it is known as thelombatello; in Dutch, thelonghaas; inMallorca,floquet; in Polish, theświeca wołowa; and in Spanish, thesolomillo de pulmón[2] orentraña.[5]
| Upper |   | |
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| Lower | ||
