Click for the Beef Cutting Chart from the beefretail.org to see the cuts!
The Beef Loin
Done writing about the chuck and rib and following the steer from the front to the back, the next piece in line is the Beef Loin. With the bone left in you will get three different types of steaks out of it. Starting at the large end and cutting them about ¾ inch thick on the saw, the loin will yield, in this order on average, 8 Sirloin Steaks, 8 Porterhouse and 8 T-Bone Steaks.
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The standard cut of Bone-in Sirloin Steak is not a cut that you can find in the counter anymore . It went from a round bone sirloin, like the steak in the picture on the left, to a long bone sirloin and after that into the Porterhouse Steak.
As the Tenderloin, the round part in the picture, became smaller and smaller the cut went from being called a Porterhouse to be called a T-Bone Steak, see below.
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These two cuts make up what is called a short loin and as they are still popular they are part of the modern meat counter in many stores.
If we take out the bones from the whole loin the three pieces you end up with are the Top Sirloin, Tenderloin and Strip Loin.
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.The Top Sirloin will yield a superb roast but is usually cut into the Top Sirloin Steaks as seen in the picture below.
Your New York Strip Steaks, sometimes also called top loin steaks, are cut out of the boneless Strip Loin. These are, according to the BeefRetail.org, the most sold summertime BBQ steaks.
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The third piece of the Beef Loin is the Tenderloin, as this is the muscle which is used the least by the animal it is also the most tender piece of meat from it. Cut as a roast it is often served as Chateaubriand in the restaurants and in steak form it is commonly called a Filet Mignon.
All these cuts are fantastic on the grill and writing about it I get a yearning for warm weather here in Michigan.