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I want to do some cheese steak at home. I was wondering what kind of meat should I buy.
What part?

Sinan
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  • You can try to find Steakumm at your local grocery store. It's thin, frozen beef steak which makes cheese steak easy at home: https://steakumm.com/products/beef-sandwich-steaks – SnakeDoc Nov 30 '18 at 23:41
  • @SnakeDoc I feel bad for you if you think Steak-Umms qualify as cheesesteak meat: https://www.grubstreet.com/2012/04/what-is-really-in-steak-umms.html – pacoverflow Dec 28 '21 at 07:57
  • @pacoverflow I suppose you don't eat sausages or chicken nuggets either? – SnakeDoc Dec 28 '21 at 22:09
  • @SnakeDoc I guarantee you authentic cheesesteak establishments in Philly don't use Steak-Umm. – pacoverflow Dec 29 '21 at 04:15
  • @pacoverflow Who ever said they do? Not everyone is going to go out and buy butcher meat to make a sandwich. Besides, you don't need to go to Philly to get a good cheesesteak. – SnakeDoc Dec 29 '21 at 18:52
  • @SnakeDoc But anyone who uses Steak-Umm isn't getting a good cheesesteak. – pacoverflow Dec 29 '21 at 19:04
  • @pacoverflow In your opinion. That's like saying anyone that buys a Strip Steak isn't getting a good Steak because Fillet exits. Or people who don't make their own dough aren't getting a good pizza. People have various levels of disposable income and willingness to put effort into a single meal. Not everyone cares to spend a bunch of money on a single sandwich - they'll order from a restaurant before doing so, which would likely be cheaper than buying all the proper ingredients anyway. Nobody is pretending Steak-Umm's are the definitive cheesesteak meat.. but they can make decent cheesesteaks. – SnakeDoc Dec 29 '21 at 19:15
  • @SnakeDoc I bought 12 oz of ribeye steak for $7 last week. That was enough to make two delicious 8" cheesesteaks. I estimate the total cost per cheesesteak was about $5. If you bought one cheesesteak in Philly, it'd cost you $10 or so. Anyway, why assume that OP can only afford the lowest grade meat? – pacoverflow Dec 30 '21 at 02:51
  • @pacoverflow Plus cheese, plus bread, plus onions, peppers and whatever else you want on there. I'm not assuming anything, but perhaps you are when you assert Steak-Umm isn't a good enough cheesesteak for anyone, or that everyone should invest time to make a cheesesteak according to how you prescribe. – SnakeDoc Dec 30 '21 at 18:41
  • @SnakeDoc I included the bread (50 cents) and cheese ($1) in my $5 estimate. Some veggies might take it up to $6 then. Also, this is a cooking site, so people who come here do have the time to invest. And it's not like a Steak-Umm saves you a whole lot of time - you still have to cook it in a pan the same way you would any other kind of meat. – pacoverflow Dec 30 '21 at 20:09
  • @pacoverflow Where are you getting 50 cent bread? And only $1 of cheese? I think either you live somewhere extremely cheap, or have grossly underestimated grocery expenses. Regardless, my point stands. Just because you think something is beneath you personally doesn't mean you can disparage those who choose to use it for whatever reason. – SnakeDoc Jan 03 '22 at 19:06
  • @SnakeDoc If I buy a 6 pack of bread for $3, or a pack of 12 slices of cheese for $4, I'm not going to add the entire $3 and $4 to the cost of a single cheesesteak. The remaining 5 rolls of bread and 9 slices of cheese will be used for other things. If you think Steak-Umm is good enough, why not post it as an answer instead of a comment? – pacoverflow Jan 03 '22 at 20:56
  • @pacoverflow Because this comment was from 4 years ago... and around here, there is no 6 pack of rolls (like used on a philly) for anywhere near $3. Cost of living is different everywhere however. – SnakeDoc Jan 03 '22 at 22:10

5 Answers5

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There is no single cut of meat that is universally used in Philadelphia. Top round is common, and it may actually be the most traditional given the sandwich's Italian origins (top round is what is used in braciole and Italian beef sandwiches). It is becoming more and more common to use rib-eye, though, which is what is used in some of the most popular Philadelphian establishments (e.g., John's Roast Pork and Tony Luke's), which makes sense given its higher fat content.

As lazoDev mentioned, you should be able to get your butcher to slice the meat into thin (~1mm) pieces. If that is not possible, though, you can put an entire rib-eye roast into the freezer for a half hour or so. This will harden the meat without actually freezing it solid, and will make thinly slicing by hand much easier.

Community
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ESultanik
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As a person who actually sells Philly steak meat to many of the national chain accounts and most of the cheesesteak accounts around the Philly area, the raw material used to make a true Philly steak is knuckle meat or wedge meat. These are both cuts of meat you will not find in your local grocery store.

Thousands of cheesesteak accounts claim they use only ribeye, but very few can afford the high cost of ribeye and having ribeye advertised on their menu but serving something in place of ribeye is actually a crime, but who is going to turn them in? Chances are nobody is going to fight that legal battle and that is why they get away with breaking truth in menu laws.

JDługosz
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Joebagadonuts
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I think that the best meat to use for a Steak sandwich is very thinly sliced ribeye. The fattiness of the steak make the best flavor for sandwiches in my opinion. You can get it thin sliced at any butcher shop, or grocery store that have a good meat department.

lazoDev
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    Just had a Tony Lukes on Monday 7/15/13 and can definitively say it is not rib eye. It was delicious, but not rib eye. Probably top or bottom round. Rib eye is way to expensive for any restaurant. Regardless of the 8-9 dollar price tag. –  Jul 16 '13 at 14:45
  • @AnthonyC., [Tony Luke's menu](http://www.tonylukes.com/images/Original-Menu-2.jpg) specifically advertises that they use rib-eye for their cheese steaks. Their relatively new line of frozen make-at-home cheesesteaks also lists rib-eye as the main ingredient. – ESultanik Aug 18 '13 at 16:45
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Top round with tallow to lubricate the griddle. Using ribeye for this application is a waste of a pricey cut, but the extra fat is 100% required.

Chris Clements
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Hanger steak is also a very popular choice. Flat iron would work, as well.

Macromika
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