Cut from the sirloin area of cattle, a pin bone sirloin steak has in it the same T-bone that appears in the porterhouse and T-bone steaks. It also has, in a corner of the steak, an oval cross-section of a bone which is called the “pin bone”, which is the top of the hip bone.
This is a very good steak; it’s the first cut in the sirloin, and lies right next to the porterhouse steak over in the short loin. The steaks cut in the sirloin are, in order from more tender to less tender: pin bone, flat bone, round bone and wedge bone.
The pin bone sirloin steak contains meat from the following muscles: tenderloin, top sirloin, top loin and flap.
The American food writer James Beard wrote:
“Pinbone sirloin contains a good deal of bone, but also a nice section of the tenderloin and some of the sirloin. If it is cut thick — 21/2 to 4 inches — it makes an excellent steak for a large number of people.” [1]Beard, James. American Cookery. Boston, MA: Little, Brown and Company. 1972. Page 259.
The secret about what a bargain a porterhouse steak is has been well and truly out for the past few decades, enough to drive its price out of the bargain range. The pin pone sirloin steak, being cut right next to the porterhouse, remains a relative bargain, as people don’t realize the quality of the cut, and there are still some beef snobs who won’t venture into the sirloin.
If the bone is removed, the steak will be sold as a top sirloin steak.
References
| ↑1 | Beard, James. American Cookery. Boston, MA: Little, Brown and Company. 1972. Page 259. |