What Are the Most Tender Cuts of Beef?
The tenderloin is the most tender cut on the animal. The useful question is whether that is what you want, because the muscles that stay tender are the ones that never did any work, and work is where
Tenderness is the thing people ask about first when they are buying beef for someone they want to impress. It is a reasonable question with a slightly awkward answer.
Roughly in order: tenderloin, then flat iron, then ribeye, then strip, then sirloin. After that you are into cuts that want slow cooking rather than a hot pan.
Why some muscles stay tender
It comes down to what the animal did with them. Gray explains it in terms of use.
“Um, but the mussels that get used, that's where the flavor comes from. That's why the brisket is so good if you can cook it right.”
Gray Shipley
The tenderloin sits along the spine and does almost nothing. It never develops the connective tissue that makes a muscle tough, and it never develops much flavor either. The brisket works constantly, which is why it is difficult and why it is delicious.
The honest trade
This is where the farm's own preference diverges from the obvious answer.
“You know, I don't want to talk down the filet because, you know, filet is, I mean, it is the premium steak in the animal. And it is so incredibly tender, but there are, I like fat and the filet doesn't have a lot of fat. And so, for me, I prefer to go to the other cuts and leave the filet for the folks that just really like that premium Chateaubriand tender steak.”
Gray Shipley
And then, plainly:
“I like to sell the filets and the ribeyes and then eat the, eat the more lesser-known secondary cuts myself.”
Gray Shipley
That is not a criticism of the filet. It is a statement about what a person who eats a lot of beef comes to want, which is usually flavor over softness.
The cut in the middle
The flat iron is the interesting answer to this question. It comes from the shoulder, which does work, yet it stays unusually tender.
“You know, you can grill it, you can pan fry it, and stays tender even if you mess up and overcook it a little bit. All it needs is a little salt and pepper. That's a really easy way to start.”
Gray Shipley
How to cook the tender cuts
- Tenderloin and filet. Very lean, so they overcook fast. Reverse-sear or sear hot and short, and pull early.
- Flat iron. Hot and fast, two to three minutes a side. Slice across the grain.
- Ribeye. Enough fat to be forgiving. Render the cap first if you are in a pan.
Which to buy
Tenderloin. Nothing on the animal is softer, and it asks for very little from you.
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Gray's pick when you want tenderness without giving up character.
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Tender enough, and marbled enough to taste of something.
View ProductIf flavor matters more to you than softness, read the most flavorful cuts next. Either way, a dry surface and the right temperature will do more for a lean cut than the cut itself.
Buy the tenderloin for the person who wants tender. Buy the ribeye for the person who wants beef.
- Cook to a Safe Minimum Internal Temperature, FoodSafety.gov
Food-safety temperatures and storage times on this page are cited to the agencies above rather than to us.
Written at Shipley Farms in Vilas, North Carolina: a family cattle farm raising and dry-aging beef in the Appalachian Mountains, now in its fifth generation. No shortcuts since 1872.
Every quote on this page is Gray Shipley talking, the man who runs this farm. We sat down with him, turned on a recorder, and left his words alone.
Nobody knows this beef better than we do. On food safety we leave it to FoodSafety.gov, and we have linked their page above. Reviewed 3 October 2026.
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