curious cuts: Spider or Oyster Steak

There’s much more to beef steaks than the popular ones that grace the front rows of our local butchers displays and our local grocer/supermarket.  If you look at these displays you’d be hard pressed to find items other than the “money steaks”.  These include the Rib Eye, Eye Fillet (Beef Tenderloin), Porterhouse, Sirloin (New York Strip) and T-Bone.  Depending on which side of the world you live in, they might be called slightly different things, but the themes are common.  Which is why as an unashamed curious cuts lover, I’d like you to expand on your horizons and consider something other than the norm (and maybe even save yourself some money).  So today, I bring you the Spider or Oyster Steak (not to be confused with Oyster Blade); the first of my curious cuts posts.

This marvellous specimen which you see above is a MB9+ Australian Fullblood Wagyu Spider Steak.  I’m going to sear it hot and fast over hot coals in my Akorn Kamado grill.

something different but without the big price tag

It’s hard to believe, but this special cut cost me no more than a standard Angus Rib Eye per lb/kg.  And it is so darn tasty with all the intramuscular fat from the MB9+ marbling.  Call me crazy but the Rib Eye is just so ho-hum to me now and I’ve never been a fan of Eye Fillet (Tenderloin) due to the lack of fat/taste.  I’m happy that everyone that doesn’t know can keep on paying through the nose for those cuts and leave these curious cuts as a secret just between us :). 

The Spider Steak is a marvel to look at.  It’s a little semi-circle shaped somewhat like a croissant.  It’s named Spider Steak in Australia for the spider’s web weave of intramuscular fat across the top of it.  Don’t worry about it being all fat though.  It’s relatively thinly spread on the surface, and it creates great flavour when seared over hot coals. 

As for the anatomy of the cut, it’s adjacent to each hip bone of the cow.  It’s a relatively small cut (average 0.5 lb/250g) and super flavourful, and the MB9+ marbling keeps it very tender.

Just freshly cracked salt and pepper for this beauty.  I’ll let the beef and the coals shine here! Read more >