This is a special message from the Beef Checkoff Program

One of the best-loved beef cuts of all time, the ribeye, has spawned a versatile new offspring called the ribeye cap. Now enjoying the spotlight in creative kitchens, this tasty and tender cut provides exciting new ways for beef lovers to enjoy a flavorful eating experience.

Known to its fans by sight and taste, if not by name, the ribeye cap is the well-marbled, half-moon-shaped outer rim of the ribeye, often the first part to be savored.

“It’s what a lot of beef eaters love about a ribeye steak,” said Bridget Wasser, senior director of meat science and technology for the Beef Checkoff Program. “It is unique in terms of rich flavor and tenderness.”

With its inherent flavor and versatility, the ribeye cap opens up opportunities to create unique menu applications. At the same time, because it can be fashioned into steaks of various sizes, shapes and thicknesses, it gives additional flexibility and value for portioning and plate coverage.

That’s why chefs and restaurateurs are experimenting with the ribeye cap, which is easily separated from the whole ribeye in the kitchen as well as available packaged from meat purveyors, as a feature cut.

One proponent is Eddie Matney, chef-owner of Eddie’s House in Scottsdale, Ariz. He’s an operator who knows his steak, having grown up cutting meat in a family market.

“That piece of meat is one of my favorites because it is the most well-marbled piece of the ribeye and it has such great flavor,” said Matney. “When we serve a ribeye steak, we serve just the mignon part, so we take the ribeye cap off and do a lot of different things with it.”

Matney’s menu ideas include serving ribeye cap steaks, seasoned with garlic-thyme olive oil, kosher salt and pepper and grilled medium rare, sliced and fanned on a potato pancake. For a gourmet surf and turf, add a nugget of lobster to the plate. He has also cured the ribeye cap with pastrami spices to create Ribeye Pastrami, seared, sliced and served with toasted rye bread squares, braised cabbage and golden beets.

Another suggestion is specialty tacos with grilled ribeye cap and homemade tortillas. “Just put a little cumin on it, grill it up and make tacos with fresh avocado and heirloom tomatoes,” said Matney. “The application is very simple and understandable for people.”

At Stella Sola, a Texas-Tuscan restaurant in Houston, chef de cuisine Justin Basye also has a hand with the ribeye cap. “People always love the cap because they are getting the best part of the ribeye in every bite,” said Basye.

In addition to serving ribeye cap steak as a tender and flavorful partner for eggs at brunch, Basye has reached into food science to create a unique specialty item. He “pastes” three ribeye caps together into a single thick rectangle using transglutaminase, a naturally occurring enzyme that bonds proteins.

“It becomes like one big steak,” said Basye. “We grill it and slice it and it is incredibly tender, marbled and delicious.” The rich meat goes well with contrasting lighter accompaniments like vegetables or salad.

That’s not all the cap can do. Other possibilities include pounding it and spreading it with spinach and cheese and rolling it up like a pinwheel, cutting it into strips for satays or making small to midsized steaks that combine the lusciousness of ribeye with the tenderness of filet mignon.

“You could certainly market it to those who love the ribeye cap but have never had it on its own, and also to those who are fond of it but are looking for a different portion or a different experience,” noted Wasser.

Operators looking to get the most of the ribeye are encouraged to view checkoff-funded video cutting demonstrations at http://www.BeefFoodservice.com/beefcuts.aspx or contact Bridget Wasser, National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, bwasser@beef.org.