If I want to know the best vegetables to buy at the farmers market (and I do, desperately!), I’m going to ask a farmer. But if I want to know what cut of steak I’m sleeping on, I’m asking my butcher.
Hanger steak, also known as butcher’s steak, used to be a sort of industry secret. The cut comes from the plate primal, which is the part of the cow directly below the ribs. The name “butcher’s steak” came about because there is only one hanger steak per cow, and butchers often kept it for themselves. This is because while it’s extremely tender (hanger is also referred to as “hanging tenderloin!”), there is an inedible center seam that prevents the steak from being served whole. All this to say, it’s not the cutest steak before you slice it.
