# Steak fat: The best or worst part of the steak? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 2, 2009, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/steak-fat-the-best-or-worst-part-of-the-steak/508683 "2009-09-02T21:57:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2009, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/steak-fat-the-best-or-worst-part-of-the-steak/508683/41 "2009-09-03T16:38:31Z")
I remove the majority of fat (if there is much to begin with) before putting my steaks on the grill. And I cook them to rare or maybe medium rare. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2009, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/steak-fat-the-best-or-worst-part-of-the-steak/508683/42 "2009-09-03T16:46:36Z")
> [@Zsofia](#): > > No, not at all, I don’t think. My father eats parts of the meat on his plate that nobody else eats, but he does that because he grew up in starving abject poverty. As you can see, it’s a matter of personal taste without about half the posters liking the fat (and it’s certainly not a matter of thinking you’re starving- _we like the taste_). Now sure, in the case of some outre food such as grasshopper, I can see some potential nausea in thinking about it, but in the case of a food choice so very common, how can anyone react like that? :dubious: It’d be like getting nauseous when you see someone drink a glass of milk. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2009, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/steak-fat-the-best-or-worst-part-of-the-steak/508683/43 "2009-09-03T16:51:14Z")
We used to have this huge nun come into a restaurant that I once worked in that wanted to eat the entire fat chain off of a whole prime rib. To top it off, she washed it down with buttermilk. Talk about disgusting. ---
**Author:** ![ministryman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f6c823/32.png) [@ministryman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ministryman)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2009, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/steak-fat-the-best-or-worst-part-of-the-steak/508683/44 "2009-09-03T16:53:24Z")
> [@Taber](#): > > I’ve always thought the fat was the best part of the steak. It has the strongest flavor and really makes it “pop.” Lately I’ve noticed friends who cut off any largish piece of fat before eating their steak. I’m pretty sure it isn’t for health reasons because one of these friends regularly puts away a 20 piece mcnugget order. I’m led to believe that they just don’t like the taste of it. I’m curious who is in the majority. How does the dope feel? Beef Fat - YES! Flavorful - Hell to the YES! People, you need some fat in your lives. It makes your gall bladder work, so you can digest your food. ---
**Author:** ![Anne\_Neville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Anne\_Neville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anne_Neville)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2009, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/steak-fat-the-best-or-worst-part-of-the-steak/508683/45 "2009-09-03T16:59:37Z")
I cut it off, because I don’t like the texture. I have always done this, even when I was too young to know about any health issues from eating fat. ---
**Author:** ![ministryman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f6c823/32.png) [@ministryman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ministryman)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2009, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/steak-fat-the-best-or-worst-part-of-the-steak/508683/46 "2009-09-03T17:11:45Z")
> [@Lamar\_Mundane](#): > > To those who like the fat: > > How do you like your meat cooked? > > Rare? > > Medium? > > Well done? Medium rare…yummmmmmmmmmmmmm ---
**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2009, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/steak-fat-the-best-or-worst-part-of-the-steak/508683/47 "2009-09-03T17:12:11Z")
It’s gross. Cut it all off. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2009, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/steak-fat-the-best-or-worst-part-of-the-steak/508683/48 "2009-09-03T17:46:52Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > As you can see, it’s a matter of personal taste without about half the posters liking the fat (and it’s certainly not a matter of thinking you’re starving- _we like the taste_). Now sure, in the case of some outre food such as grasshopper, I can see some potential nausea in thinking about it, but in the case of a food choice so very common, how can anyone react like that? :dubious: > > It’d be like getting nauseous when you see someone drink a glass of milk. :rolleyes: Because it immediately brings to mind the feeling of accidentally eating a hunk of fat and it makes me want to hurl, is why. I have never eaten a grasshopper, so I have no sense memory to disgust me there. ---
**Author:** ![Mosier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ea924/32.png) [@Mosier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mosier)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2009, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/steak-fat-the-best-or-worst-part-of-the-steak/508683/49 "2009-09-03T18:07:55Z")
Best part by far. If a magic animal produced steaks that were made entirely out of fat, I would cook it twice a month. ETA - Medium well. I don’t like the taste of flesh. I prefer the crispy-burny taste. ---
**Author:** ![Taber](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ac91a4/32.png) [@Taber](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Taber)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2009, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/steak-fat-the-best-or-worst-part-of-the-steak/508683/50 "2009-09-03T18:35:03Z")
Huh, I was prepared to come in today and say something like “I guess mine is the minority view, but I’m glad I’m not alone,” but apparently Cafe Society likes the fat while IMHO doesn’t. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2009, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/steak-fat-the-best-or-worst-part-of-the-steak/508683/51 "2009-09-03T19:12:42Z")
It’s all in how you eat it. A properly prepared steak of high quality should allow you to cut a peice that’s mostly meat with just a bit of the fat. IT’s the combination of meat and fat that tastes best. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2009, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/steak-fat-the-best-or-worst-part-of-the-steak/508683/52 "2009-09-03T19:24:06Z")
Rare to medium-rare here. I would definitely not say fat is the best part of the steak. The meat obviously is. A good steak, for me, should have extensive marbling. I don’t eat a lot of steak, but when I do, I always try to buy Prime grade or a Choice that has maybe a bit more marbling than usual for that grade. While I do eat fat on its own (I do enjoy pieces of pure fatback bacon–bacon without the meat–cooked over a campfire served over thick white bread, often with onion), I’m not a huge fan of eating large chunks (more than an inch square) of fat in my steak. I will eat it with the lean in about a 1:4 fat:meat ratio. I will usually eat all of the fat on my steak, but I don’t think, on its own, it’s the best part by any stretch. But a bit of fat in the steak is essential to the whole experience. ---
**Author:** ![Simmerdown](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/simmerdown/32/14859_2.png) [@Simmerdown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Simmerdown)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2009, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/steak-fat-the-best-or-worst-part-of-the-steak/508683/53 "2009-09-03T20:11:21Z")
> [@Two\_Many\_Cats](#): > > Love, love, LOVE the fat. I swear, whenever I eat a nugget of pure fat goodness, I hear my Latvian ancestors singing. They drank the stuff like a beverage and spread it on their bread. > MMMMMmmmmmmmm, fat. Except that _my_ Latvian ancestors (and contemporaries, btw) usually spread pork fat on their bread. Beef fat not so much. As to the OP, I’m with the fat lovers. ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2009, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/steak-fat-the-best-or-worst-part-of-the-steak/508683/54 "2009-09-03T21:28:04Z")
Rare beef eater here, and I like to trim the major outside bits of fat off and crisp them up in a pan with chopped onion to serve on the steak, and grill the nicely marbled steak to rare. I like to season it with salt and pepper and the fried onion sort of sauce. I may or may not deglaze the pan of onions with a nice wine. I occasionally will make hashbrowns with the fat pieces and onions … [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/steak-fat-the-best-or-worst-part-of-the-steak/508683.md?page=2)