Steaks are one of the few indulgences you can still enjoy on a diet, as long as you don’t have them with chips.
But your high protein meal may contain more calories than you think – and the number of calories can vary wildly depending on the cut you choose, it’s been revealed.
A rib-eye has nearly twice the number of calories of a leaner – and much cheaper – flat iron steak, Monday night’s Tricks of the Restaurant Trade uncovers.
Nutritionist Amanda Ursell reveals that a rib-eye steak (left) is the most calorific, with 270 calories per 100g. The leanest is a flat iron steak (right), which has 140 calories per 100g
Nutritionist Amanda Ursell reveals to presenter Sophie Morgan that a rib-eye steak is the most calorific, with 270 calories per 100g.
Amanda says: ‘It has the most fat in it. As you can see, it’s got the most marbling in it.’
A T-bone steak is the next most calorific, containing 210 calories per 100g.
The most expensive cut, a fillet steak, is much leaner, with 155 calories per 100g.
But the leanest of all is a trendy flat iron steak, which has just 140 calories per 100g and only 7g of fat per 100g.
A fillet steak (left) is quite lean, with 155 calories per 100g. A T-bone steak (right) is more calorific, with 210 calories per 100g
Not only are flat iron steaks leaner, but they are cheaper too.
You can pick up a flat iron steak for just £10 at some London eateries.
Flat iron steaks have become more and more popular in recent years, and were a hit in the US before the UK started to take notice.
A flat iron steak is butchered from the shoulder blade, and is considered a ‘secondary cut’ of meat, below the likes of fillet and sirloin.
It has a reputation for being tough, but skilled chefs who know how to remove the gristle from the centre of the cut say it’s actually one of the most tender – and flavoursome – pieces of meat.
Tricks of the Restaurant Trade airs on Monday at 8.30pm on Channel 4.