According to the always reliable Wikipedia, humans have been raising domesticated cattle for over 10,000 years. During that time frame, you would think that we would have figured out all the different cuts of steak, but apparently we haven't. While people stuff their faces with cow testicles at Cattlemen's, researchers from OSU have discovered a new cut of beef. It's called the Vegas Strip. From NPR:
"It's an un-obvious chunk of meat that has been sitting there — a little diamond surrounded by a bunch of coal," Steve Price told me. "I'd love to tell you more. We just can't."
Price works at Oklahoma State University. The school says it has worked with an outside meat expert to discover a new steak. It's hiding somewhere inside a part of a cow that's now commonly used for hamburger.
The steak has a name — the Vegas Strip Steak (TM) — and a marketing campaign. But, because OSU is still waiting on its patent, they are being cagey about the details. Price explained it to me in broad strokes.
"The patent actually claims the kind of knife strokes that you make in order to create this cut of meat," he said. "You take this muscle, you make cuts here, here and here and you end up with this Vegas Strip Steak."
There does seem to be a precedent for this sort of thing. One guy patented cuts of meat that became Steak-Umm and KFC's popcorn chicken.
Price hopes the Vegas Strip will take off by the end of the year. The basic idea is to get restaurant chains interested in the steak, and to work with big packing plants to sell the steak to the restaurants. OSU would charge a licensing fee to the packing plant.
In all seriousness, this is kind of cool. When I first heard the news, I figured it would be the type of steak you get at Golden Corral or Cimarron Steak House or any other place where you are likely to find OSU graduates. But apparently this steak is pretty good. According to this website, the Vegas Strip is similar to a New York Strip or (say it in your Mackie McNeer voice) Flat Iron. That's not exactly Kate Upton quality, but it's not some drunk girl at Graham's either.
Anyway, now that they've uncovered a new type of steak, you have to wonder what OSU researchers will discover next. My money's on a double extra-durable hair gel for Mike Gundy or a pedestal that helps vet students violate horses, but then again, I'm not really an expert on these types of things.
