The Best Cut Of Steak, According To Jacques Pépin

French chef, television host, and cookbook author Jacques Pépin has been on Americans' radar since 1982, when his first public television cooking show, "Everyday Cooking." His TV career went on to include a range of other shows, including the iconic onscreen collaboration of Pépin and his close friend Julia Child for the series "Julia and Jacques Cooking at Home," a beloved cooking show that still airs on PBS stations to this day.

Known for his playful sense of humor, improvisatory cooking style, and on-air wine pairings, Pépin hasn't slowed down at the age of 86, continuing to film food TV in the form of instructional videos that appear on his Facebook page and gearing up to publish a book of chicken recipes and accompanying illustrations in the fall (via Artnet).

Pépin's wisdom of food and wine is indispensable, so when he shares his techniques for infusing fruit stew with fresh basil, using ketchup in a glaze for pork tenderloin, and soaking bread for French toast in melted vanilla ice cream, we listen up. We're just as eager-eared now that the esteemed chef has noted which cut of steak is his favorite.

If there's any doubt about which cut of steak the famous French chef and television host Jacques Pépin prefers, let's clear it up right now: He loves New York strip. In an episode of his KQED show "Today's Gourmet with Jacques Pépin" from 1991, the chef slices steak off of a side of beef that he'll prepare in a red wine sauce. "For the steak we are doing today, we're getting the best piece of meat: This is a New York strip," he tells the camera.

In a video of the chef grilling steak on Food & Wine, Pépin again reaches for an entire loin which he cuts into New York strip steaks. "I have a beautiful steak here," Pépin says. "This is a strip loin or a New York strip ... it's certainly the best."

Pépin's YouTube show, "Home Cooking with Jacques Pépin," featured the chef preparing a New York strip with a mushroom pan sauce in 2020. Over the years, Pépin has remained loyal to this cut, saying in the video that he prefers it to other trendy steals such as a bone-in ribeye or "cowboy steak." "I would rather have this. This is really good." So the next time you want to channel the great Jacques Pépin on steak night, do as he does and pick up the best New York strip you can find.