The Best Cut Of Meat For Better Steak Quesadillas

There are few meals as crave-worthy as a good steak quesadilla, so it's time to throw the restaurant menu away and start making these bad boys at home. Most of the recipe is straightforward: You've got your flour tortillas, a hefty serving of cheese, and maybe some diced onions or jalapenos — but what about the meat? If you're going big, you may be tempted to reach for whatever cut you would use for a classic steak, like a ribeye or a porterhouse, but not so fast.

By cross-referencing several online butcher catalogs and recipe blogs, and getting hungrier by the minute because of it, we have determined that the perfect cut of meat for steak quesadillas has got to be flank steak. Flank steak is sometimes criticized for how lean it is, but that's exactly what we need for such a rich dish like this. The cheese, sour cream, and other sauces we slather onto the quesadilla are going to more than make up for the lack of marbling in the meat. When you bite down on that gooey piece of heaven, you want something with a little chew to it, and flank steak is just the cut for the job. You don't want to overcook it and get it so tough that it turns into rubber, mind you, so take the extra step you need to keep the flank steak tender and juicy. But, flank steak is perfect because it doesn't dissolve in your mouth like a good brisket.

Every cut of meat has its use case, and the steak quesadilla is a great way to utilize an often overlooked portion of the cow. Lean beef gets a bad rap, but that's simply because it's not being put to its highest and best use — it's a matter of knowing your meat so you can play to the strengths of what you're cooking while downplaying its weaknesses. It's worth mentioning that there are several other cuts of meat that make great substitutes for flank steak on the off chance that flank steak isn't available.

If your goal is to create the best steak quesadilla to ever grace the Earth, you'll want to match the other ingredients you're using to the character of the flank steak. Choosing the wrong type of cheese can be ruinous for quesadillas, so keep in mind that you want something that compensates for the leanness of the beef. Take this concept and apply it to the other ingredients you use, and you won't be disappointed by the absolute masterpiece that you get to devour.