The Aldi Steak That's More Trouble To Cook Than It's Worth

Although steak is really just a hunk of meat, extravagant sauce pairings and rich flavors can turn it into a date-night-worthy pick. While there are some cuts of steak that taste better at a restaurant , you can usually make a pretty mean meal at home without too much effort or damage to your wallet. If you're after a cheap steak, supermarket chain Aldi has a leg up thanks to its high-quality cuts and low prices .

Still, there are some cuts more worth your money than others. Daily Meal taste-tested six different Aldi steaks and ranked them in terms of taste, texture, appearance, and ease of cooking. With those factors in mind, there was one cut that just isn't worth picking up — Black Angus Choice Petite Sirloin steaks.



The issue with Aldi's Black Angus Choice Petite Sirloin steaks is that to make them taste good, you'll have to add more steps to your cooking process than you need for other cuts of steak. They're difficult to prepare well, have an odd texture once cooked, and worse yet, the flavor just doesn't make the cut, leaving you hankering for that savory, beefy flavor you were looking for when you first decided to make steak. Why Aldi's Black Angus Choice Petite Sirloin steaks fall short The problem with Aldi's Black Angus Choice Petite Sirloin steaks lies mainly in the fat content.

Just by looking at the meat, you'll notice that there's not a lot of white marbling throughout. While this might not sound like a big deal, steak marbling is what creates that juicy, tender bite and gives your meal rich, buttery flavors. Without that intramuscular fat, your steak can easily become dry and tough.

The lack of fat means a greater proportion of tough muscle fibers in the meat. The good news is that you can use a meat tenderizer or marinate the meat to help soften it. But, marinades require extra prep work and time.

You could also baste the steak with butter while cooking to avoid drying it out, but you'll be adding steps to your steak searing. Finally, the lack of fat also means there's a lack of flavor in these steaks, leaving you with a plate of what we could only call bland meat. The good news is that you can get around this by again using a marinade or preparing a sauce, such as a steak sauce hollandaise , but you'll be adding time to your meal prep when other cuts are succulent with a proper sear and just salt and pepper.

While this steak may be affordable, making it flavorful is more trouble than it's worth..