What Cut Of Beef Are Beef Tips?

You may have heard of beef tips before and wondered where they come from, and the answer is actually a bit broad. Generally speaking, beef tips are the meaty bits and scraps left over from breaking down larger hunks of meat. While they're most commonly cut from sirloin, you can also get yours from the tips of a tenderloin, tri-tip, or any tender beef cut. 

You may be able to find beef tips at your local grocery store's butcher counter, but some cooks get their tips at home by breaking down meat for other dishes. When buying them in the store, you'll probably notice that they're quite affordable — this is due to being a byproduct. They're also quick and easy to cook, so long as you keep an eye on any significantly smaller pieces to keep them from drying out.

On the other hand, keep in mind that some people call any style of cut-up beef cubes "beef tips." You may even notice recipes that ask for cubed stew meat and call them beef tips. Regardless, beef tips can be used in a variety of recipes, but one specific dish simply called "beef tips" or "steak tips" is usually made by searing and then slow-simmering the beef in a flavorful gravy. It's a delicious and hearty meal that makes the best of these cheap leftovers. 

When making traditional beef tips at home, there are a few tricks to make sure you have both a flavor-packed and melt-in-your-mouth result. Firstly, consider marinating your meat ahead of time. While not all recipes call for this step, even just a quick 20 minutes of soaking in liquid can help extra flavor penetrate the meat. If you're having trouble finding the right recipe, a simple steak marinade of soy sauce, garlic, Worcestershire sauce, fresh lemon juice, and spices should do the trick (and works perfectly with a simple pan gravy).

Another key to great beef tips is to let them simmer in the gravy to cook through, rather than cooking them fully in the skillet first. This allows the flavors to develop both in depth and complexity, while also giving the meat plenty of time to warm gently and become super tender. Mashed potatoes are the traditional partner for the delectable meat and rich sauce.

If you want to use beef tips in more ways, you can try them in any recipe where you need bite-size chunks of meat. Some ideas include stir-frying them for saucy teriyaki beef and vegetable noodles, cutting them up a little smaller to make carne asada tacos, or making Julia Child's beef bourguignon (which she called the best beef stew in the world). Just make sure you use tips from a tougher stewing cut, like chuck roast, for the latter — tenderloin tips would dry out during hours of stewing.