In American butchery, the sirloin steak (called the ''
rump steak
Rump steak is a cut of beef. The rump is the division between
the leg and the chine cut right through the aitch bone. It may refer to:
* A steak from the top half of an American-cut round steak primal
* A British- or Australian-cut from the ru ...
'' in British butchery) is cut from the sirloin, the subprimal posterior to the
short loin
Short loin is the American name for a cut of beef that comes from the back of the cattle. It contains part of the spine and includes the top loin and the tenderloin. This cut yields types of steak including porterhouse, strip steak (Kansas Cit ...
where the
T-bone, porterhouse, and
club steaks are cut. The sirloin is actually divided into several types of steak. The
top sirloin
A spinning top, or simply a top, is a toy with a squat body and a sharp point at the bottom, designed to be spun on its vertical axis, balancing on the tip due to the gyroscopic effect.
Once set in motion, a top will usually wobble for a f ...
is the most prized of these and is specifically marked for sale under that name. The
bottom sirloin
The bottom sirloin steak is a steak cut from the back of the animal below top sirloin
A spinning top, or simply a top, is a toy with a squat body and a sharp point at the bottom, designed to be spun on its vertical axis, balancing on the ...
, which is less tender and much larger, is typically marked for sale simply as "sirloin steak". The bottom sirloin, in turn, connects to the sirloin tip roast.
In a common British, South African, and Australian butchery, the word ''sirloin'' refers to cuts of meat from the upper middle of the animal, similar to the American
short loin
Short loin is the American name for a cut of beef that comes from the back of the cattle. It contains part of the spine and includes the top loin and the tenderloin. This cut yields types of steak including porterhouse, strip steak (Kansas Cit ...
, while the American ''sirloin'' is called the
rump
Rump may refer to:
* Rump (animal)
** Buttocks
* Rump steak, slightly different cuts of meat in Britain and America
* Rump kernel, software run in userspace that offers kernel functionality in NetBSD
Politics
*Rump cabinet
* Rump legislature
* Ru ...
. Because of this difference in terminology, in these countries, the
T-bone steak
The T-bone and porterhouse are steaks of beef cut from the short loin (called the sirloin in Commonwealth countries and Ireland). Both steaks include a "T"-shaped lumbar vertebra with sections of abdominal internal oblique muscle on each s ...
is regarded as a cut of the sirloin.
Etymology
The word ''sirloin'' derives from the
Middle English
Middle English (abbreviated to ME) is a form of the English language that was spoken after the Norman conquest of 1066, until the late 15th century. The English language underwent distinct variations and developments following the Old English p ...
''surloine'', itself derived from the
Old French
Old French (, , ; Modern French: ) was the language spoken in most of the northern half of France from approximately the 8th to the 14th centuries. Rather than a unified language, Old French was a linkage of Romance dialects, mutually intelligib ...
word ''surloigne'' (variant of ''surlonge''), that is, ''sur'' for 'above' and ''longe'' for 'loin'.
In
Modern French
French ( or ) is a Romance language of the Indo-European family. It descended from the Vulgar Latin of the Roman Empire, as did all Romance languages. French evolved from Gallo-Romance, the Latin spoken in Gaul, and more specifically in No ...
, the cut of meat is called ''aloyau'' or ''faux-filet''.
A fictitious etymology explains the name as being derived from an occasion when a king of England
knighted
A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the Christian denomination, church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood ...
the loin of beef as "Sir loin". In fact, though the pun is reported as early as 1630, and the notion of a king knighting it dates to 1655, the name predates any of the kings who are mentioned.
The story at most influenced the spelling ''sir'' rather than ''sur''.
Dishes
See also
*
Cut of beef
During butchering, beef is first divided into primal cuts, pieces of meat initially separated from the carcass. These are basic sections from which steaks and other subdivisions are cut. Since the animal's legs and neck muscles do the most work, ...
*
List of steak dishes
This is a list of steak dishes. Steak is generally a cut of beef sliced perpendicular to the muscle fibers, or of fish cut perpendicular to the spine. Meat steaks are usually grilled, pan-fried, or broiled, while fish steaks may also be bake ...
References
External links
*
Cuts of beef
{{meat-stub