Why Ribeye Makes A Great Alternative To New York Strip
Walk into any fancy steakhouse and you can order your cut of choice cooked to perfection, but what about the nights when you want to cook steak at home? While most butchers and grocers will have nearly every cut of meat you'd like, there will occasionally come the day when your store of choice doesn't have what you're looking for.
Where steak is concerned, there are a few cuts that tend to be most popular amongst steak lovers. The most well-known are, filet mignon, New York strip (or Kansas City strip,) and ribeye (or Delmonico steak). While the New York strip was the favorite of Ruth Fertel of Ruth's Chris Steakhouse, there's a strong case to be made for the ribeye being equally delectable if not more so.
When it comes to the price per pound both steaks are pretty similar. Per Steak University you can expect to pay about $10-$15 per pound for a New York strip, and about $12-$16 per pound for a ribeye. Ribeyes are slightly more expensive than a New York strip, but there are a few other reasons why a ribeye might become your steak of choice when cooking at home.
A ribeye is harder to mess up
Ruth's Chris Steakhouse notes that both steaks come from the upper parts of the cow. The New York strip comes from the short loin above the cow's belly, while the ribeye comes from the rib section just next to the short loin. Both of these areas are muscle groups that don't get used all that much by the animal, so both steaks are very tender.
While some people think that ribeyes are too fatty, their marbling in truth is somewhat similar to a New York strip's, depending on how the steaks are cut. The ribeye's marbling also ensures a tender and juicy steak, while a New York strip can be a bit tough if not treated right, (per Smoked BBQ Source.) In a steak, richer fats lead to increased tenderness and flavor, according to Steak University, so that's another reason why ribeyes can be easier to make at home. They're harder to mess up.
A word of warning, however, if you're planning to grill a steak, a ribeye's fat content might not jive so well with the grill. In which case, it might be best to go for the New York strip.