Cutting Top Sirloin Primals

[weetodd]

Hey everyone!

I decided to try to save a bit of money, and buy a whole primal rather than individual blade tenderized (ughhh I know) steaks from Costco.

I found a few videos on YouTube with how to cut up the primal into steaks, but wanted to reach out to the community here before hacking into this beautiful hunk of meat.

Does anyone have any suggestions or information to share on butchering a top sirloin primal?

Thanks everyone!

[Spinaker]

Backroadmeats might be able to assist you here. I know he is opening his own butcher shop in central MN.

I wish I did. But I will follow this to see what comes of it because I am interested as well.

[Troutman]

I'm not a butcher or even an accomplished meat cutter, but I'm self teaching hoping to do what you seem to be attempting to do. I've been reading this book, I suggest you try to get a hold of a copy. It is a comprehensive textbook on butchering beef, extremely well done and very informative....



Got my copy on Amazon...... https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/16...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

[Backroadmeats]

That is a good book.. I have owned for years!!

[Murdy]

It's been a while but -- get a big, sharp knife of respectable quality and cut with one continuous motion. You don't want to saw it (if you have to go back and forth a little, try to keep cutting downward, don't pull the knife up and reset it). Top butts are pretty big (compared to a strip or rib eye), so this may be a bit of a challenge at first.

[Backroadmeats]

Post a picture of what you are trying to cut up.. I do mine on a meat saw but doubt you have one of those.

[weetodd]

Backroadmeats it is boneless, and only like 8 pounds, so I don’t think a meat saw is necessary.

[JimLinebarger]

I like this guy's videos: Jimmy Kerstein
And if you have the top cap the Sous-Vide Everything video for picanha.

[mgaretz]

It can be hard to visualize at first (and pretty daunting), but you want to make sure to cut across the grain. Well that's for most of it. Part of the steak may not be fully across the grain, but you want that to be the small part.

The easiest way to find the grain is to do a very thin slice off the side you think is most likely and see if it looks like a very thin steak you are used to seeing. If not, then repeat on the next most likely side. The first cut may give you clues as to the proper direction.

Looking at your photo, it looks like the right end is where I would start.

[wrgilb]

This was a write up I did back in 2012 on Top Sirloins at Costco. Today they no longer sell the whole tops with the cap on. If you can find one at a local butcher shop the prices today for choice are in the $6 to $7 per Lb. range. The cap can be cooked as a trip-tip would or sliced and skewered as picanha. I was a meat cutter back in the late 60's and this is what we did with whole top sirloins.

2012 post

If you like tri-tips, you'll love whole top sirloins.
A whole top sirlion has 2 parts. The cap is the part that has the outside fat on it. You can separate the two by a natural seam between them. Just pulling and slicing along the seam. When you trim up the cap, you get a piece that's similar in size and shape of a tri-tip and you cook the same way as a tri-tip. I think it is more flavorful than the tri-tip, also at our Costo you can get whole crayovaced USDA Choice top sirloins in the low $3.00 per lb. range, while tri-tips are usually in the $4.79 per lb. range.
The next question is what to do with the rest of the top sirloin? I slice both ends to square up the piece and trim this meat for stroggie, fajitas or stir fry. Then, depending on the size of the piece, I'll cut 2 or 3 pieces about 3" thick for roasts and cook these the same way as a tri-tip. I'll also get 1 or 2 steaks about 1 to 1-1/4" thick.
The whole USDA Choice top sirloins are in the 15 lb. range. I paid $2.99 for the last one I bought at Costo and had about 5 lbs. of waste, so my finished cost for 10 lbs. of usable meat was $4.50 per lb. Choice tri-tips that day were going for $4.79/lb.
Cook the top sirloin roasts with some SusieQ Santa Maria Rub, DP Cowlick, Raising the Steaks or Red Eye Express. If you can get some red oak chunks, use it and you'll never use anything else on these again.
Better flavor, cheaper price, can't beat that!