# Why Is "Hanger Steak" A Trendy Cut Of Meat?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-hanger-steak-a-trendy-cut-of-meat/609031
**Category:** Cafe Society
**Created:** [January 10, 2012, 6:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-hanger-steak-a-trendy-cut-of-meat/609031 "2012-01-10T06:35:20Z")
**Posts on this page:** 12
**Page:** 2
### Author:  [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)
#### Post date: [January 11, 2012, 4:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-hanger-steak-a-trendy-cut-of-meat/609031/21 "2012-01-11T04:20:29Z")
> [@devilsknew](#):
>
> Maybe at a premium and authenticity, but we have large Mexican populations where I’ve been too, and it seems like most Mexican restaurants use sirloin for fajitas and al carbon/carne asada (Tex Mex) over the pricey skirt steak so they have a profit margin. But then I suppose fajitas are cheaper here and must be cheaper here to compete than in Chicago environs.
It’s definitely skirt steak at pretty much every Mexican restaurant and taco stand I’ve seen in Chicago–you can see them grilling it, and it’s hard to mistake a full skirt steak for anything else. A skirt steak taco with plenty of meat is usually about $2 per at a taco stand. Sklrt steak generally runs in the $4-5/lb range.
I checked on the short ribs, and one place not far down the street from where I live has USDA Choice boneless short ribs at $3.29/pound, so it has gotten a bit pricier from what I remember. They used to have short ribs a year or so ago at $2.49/pound sometimes.
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### Author:  [@devilsknew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/devilsknew)
#### Post date: [January 11, 2012, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-hanger-steak-a-trendy-cut-of-meat/609031/22 "2012-01-11T04:26:53Z")
I don’t know what places you are eating at, **pulykammel** , but say, 7$ dollars 'round here for a couple of street tacos with some shavings of fajita steak outprices whole mexican “dinners” here. As **gaffa** elucidates, I’d be better off coming up with a ribeye fajita for my bottomline over the hanger, perhaps in the tradition of the philly cheeseteak.
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### Author:  [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)
#### Post date: [January 11, 2012, 5:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-hanger-steak-a-trendy-cut-of-meat/609031/23 "2012-01-11T05:25:04Z")
> [@devilsknew](#):
>
> I don’t know what places you are eating at, **pulykammel** , but say, 7$ dollars 'round here for a couple of street tacos with some shavings of fajita steak outprices whole mexican “dinners” here. As **gaffa** elucidates, I’d be better off coming up with a ribeye fajita for my bottomline over the hanger, perhaps in the tradition of the philly cheeseteak.
I’m not sure what you’re saying. Is $2 a taco expensive? That’s the same or less than what a regular hot dog costs around here, and it’s a lot more filling. I paid $2.50 for a dog yesterday, and it didn’t even come with fries.
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### Author:  [@devilsknew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/devilsknew)
#### Post date: [January 11, 2012, 5:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-hanger-steak-a-trendy-cut-of-meat/609031/24 "2012-01-11T05:31:12Z")
I’m simply saying I am outpriced. I couldn;t obtain hanger steak for that price here.
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### Author:  [@devilsknew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/devilsknew)
#### Post date: [January 11, 2012, 5:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-hanger-steak-a-trendy-cut-of-meat/609031/25 "2012-01-11T05:34:26Z")
Maybe it’s because your Metropolitan area is eating up the nationwide supply of hanger steak or exporting it at a premium?
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### Author:  [@Runs\_With\_Scissors](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Runs_With_Scissors)
#### Post date: [January 11, 2012, 5:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-hanger-steak-a-trendy-cut-of-meat/609031/26 "2012-01-11T05:39:31Z")
> [@Fear\_Itself](#):
>
> Hanger steak, huh? Is that what kids are calling meat curtains these days?
Ew.
Just…ew.
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### Author:  [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)
#### Post date: [January 11, 2012, 5:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-hanger-steak-a-trendy-cut-of-meat/609031/27 "2012-01-11T05:42:04Z")
> [@devilsknew](#):
>
> Maybe it’s because your Metropolitan area is eating up the nationwide supply of hanger steak or exporting it at a premium?
Wait, so hanger is the same as skirt? I thought they were different cuts from the same general area.
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### Author:  [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)
#### Post date: [January 11, 2012, 7:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-hanger-steak-a-trendy-cut-of-meat/609031/28 "2012-01-11T07:26:05Z")
Skirt steak is still the cheapest I can buy already cooked, if I get it at the local Mexican restaurant. You get a whole (i.e. not cut up) steak if you order their carne asada.
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### Author:  [@Lusus\_Naturae](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lusus_Naturae)
#### Post date: [January 13, 2012, 10:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-hanger-steak-a-trendy-cut-of-meat/609031/29 "2012-01-13T10:37:09Z")
> [@SARG](#):
>
> Has anyone ever had a “flat-iron steak”. We had a local restaurant that featured it and it is indeed a specific cut of meat and damn … it was really good.
I had a flatiron steak on of all things AMTRAK (Starlate…er, StarLIGHT Express) and boy howdy that was the most tender, succulent steak I’ve had in ages.
That said, hanger and skirt steak are some of my favorites as well. Versatile and tasty. Cut 'em cross-grain though, and don’t over-cook or you’ll be one sad little camper.
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### Author:  [@D\_Odds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Odds)
#### Post date: [January 13, 2012, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-hanger-steak-a-trendy-cut-of-meat/609031/30 "2012-01-13T16:05:58Z")
There is no cut of beef nor a part of the steer that is a “London broil”. London broil refers mostly to the way the meat is cut and how it would be cooked. Quite often, this is top round, though I’ve been pretty disappointed lately with the quality of top round I’ve been seeing in my local mega-mart and have been avoiding their ‘London broil’ 2-for-1 specials. I’ve seen shoulder cuts and sirloin cuts also labelled ‘London broil’, the former usually less expensive than the top round and the latter much more expensive.
I, too, love short ribs, but it is hard to find good short ribs, especially English cut. The bone to meat ratio is much too high for the price. I need to go to a butcher to get good, meaty ribs, and that’s twice the cost of the mega-mart.
Hanger, like skirt and flank steaks, are quite tasty when prepared and sliced properly, but when they cost almost as much as a rib-eye from the same steer, I’ll take the rib-eye _every_ time.
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### Author:  [@Kimballkid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimballkid)
#### Post date: [January 13, 2012, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-hanger-steak-a-trendy-cut-of-meat/609031/31 "2012-01-13T17:16:58Z")
> [@pulykamell](#):
>
> Wait, so hanger is the same as skirt? I thought they were different cuts from the same general area.
According to Wiki, the hanger, skirt and flank steaks are all different cuts.
> **[Hanger steak](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hanger_steak)**
>
> A hanger steak (US), also known as butcher's steak, hanging tenderloin, skirt (UK), or onglet, is a cut of beef steak prized for its flavor and tenderness. This cut is taken from the plate, which is the upper belly of the animal. In the past it was among several cuts of beef sometimes known as "butcher's steak", because butchers 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 on...
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### Author:  [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)
#### Post date: [January 13, 2012, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-hanger-steak-a-trendy-cut-of-meat/609031/32 "2012-01-13T17:27:18Z")
> [@Kimballkid](#):
>
> According to Wiki, the hanger, skirt and flank steaks are all different cuts.
>
> [Hanger steak - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hanger_steak)
That’s what I thought. It does look similar to the skirt, though. I generally do not see hanger steak around here. Just inner and outer skirt.
Interestingly, that Wikipedia cite says that arrachera is hanger steak. I know arrachera as skirt steak. [This other Wikipedia article](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flank_steak) says arrachera is flank steak. I wonder if this is regional, or if in Spanish arrachera refers to a section of muscle that corresponds to part (or all) of the skirt and part (or all) of the flank. Butchering is different from country to country, so there may not be a one-to-one correspondence between Mexican and US cuts. Anyhow, [this site](http://morepleasebymargie.blogspot.com/2008/12/arrachera-for-steak-tacos.html) says it’s skirt steak.
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