Ever been standing in the meat department and stare with a lost look on your face? Boy howdy the amount of selection and if you don’t know what you want, you might as well buy some...

Spam. A good grilled steak is only as good as the meat you buy. There are a couple of things to look for while buying a steak and they are grade, marbling and cut.  With that said, it’s a good idea to make sure that the meat is not gray (that means it’s old). This shouldn’t be a problem but if you see old meat, stop what you are doing and leave that store because they obviously don’t care about quality. Here in America we don’t have the problems of third world countries where your meat selection could be like a crap shoot. Hmm is that beef? Who the hell knows maybe it’s Fido or last weeks loser at the track.
 
Beef in America is graded into three categories; Prime, Choice and Select. Prime being the best and Select the lowest grade. There are lower grades but they generally go to make things like meat by products or are sold to a fast food establishment (Maybe I’m joking). Beef is graded by the age of the animal and the marbling of the meat. Marbling on a good steak is thin streaks of fat in the meat which gives flavor and prevents the meat from drying out. I said thin streaks not large pieces of sinew, which makes the steak cutable only with a chainsaw. A marbled steak is not as tender as one without so finding the perfect balance is key. Prime is tough to find because it makes up 2% of all beef sold in the U.S. and is either exported or sold to fine food restaurants. So your choices are Choice and Select, the former is definitely better but the latter is cheaper. 
 
The cut of the meat depends on you and what you intend to do. There are many cuts and each react different in its cooking methods. For example; I like N.Y. strip for grilling and a brisket for braising. So go nuts and don’t be afraid to question your butcher, that’s what they’re there for. 
 
Chef Riggio
 
 
Steak Rub (Because even a steak needs some lovin)
 
2 tbsp paprika
2 tbsp seasoned black pepper
2 tsp white pepper
2 tsp ground red pepper
2 tsp brown sugar
1 tsp salt
1 tsp ground cumin
 
Makes enough for about 4 steaks
 
Just rub into the steaks about an hour or two before grilling. Eat!