What Is The Least Nutritious Cut Of Steak?
Rich, tender, and melt-in-your-mouth slices of juicy beef. These are a few of steak lovers' favorite things when dining on such a simple yet delectable masterpiece of meats. There are also many kinds of cuts, such as chuck eye, porterhouse, and Denver steak, per Eat This, Not That!, which are all high in fat, and thus, have heightened buttery flavors. On the other end of this spectrum lies extra-lean cuts of beef like a bottom round roast and top sirloin, which are low in cholesterol, saturated fat, and total fat, per Mayo Clinic.
But these steaks don't even come close to the king of saturated fats, which happens to be the least nutritious cut of steak. It's also quite pricey and may set you back about $100 due to the giant bone that sticks out of the meat (per Smoked BBQ Source), which looks a lot like an axe handle, per Price of Meat.
So what on Earth is this steak and why does it rank so low on the nutritional scale?
Also called the bone-in ribeye
According to Ruth's Chris Steak House, a tomahawk ribeye steak comes from the loin of a steer. This type of muscle doesn't get exercise too often, which means its high-fat content yields those coveted butter-like flavors and textures that are sweet and extra-tender, as the source states.
But what about the long bone that sticks out of the meat? Ruth's Chris explains that this is called a French-trimmed bone, which means that the bone is cut to a point where it bears similarities to a handle.
Such a decadent cut of meat is certainly not met with the healthiest of nutrition labels. In fact, it's the least nutritious steak because it contains 22 grams of total fat and 10 grams of saturated fat per every 100 grams, or 3.5 ounces, according to Eat This, Not That! Now Carnivore Style notes that the average tomahawk steak weighs around 40 ounces, or 2.5 pounds, due to the weight of the bone. But without the bone being factored in, a tomahawk steak will weigh between 16-20 ounces, or 1-1.25 pounds, via Steak Specialist. Thus, if we do some basic math, we'll find that a 16-20 ounce tomahawk ribeye contains between 100.5-125.7 grams of total fat and 45.7-57.1 grams of saturated fat.
It may not be lean or particularly healthy, but a tomahawk ribeye is definitely indulgent and one to dine on for a special dinner party.