I’ve been writing. Not just on here, but elsewhere, about my time in France over the last two years. Sometimes I join a “Shut Up & Write” group online, where we each set out a writing goal for the next hour or two and hold ourselves accountable to others in the group.1
During my Friday writing session, I was describing about my old market, Marché Monge, just around the corner from my old apartment on rue Mouffetard. One of the vendors I would frequent at the market was to ‘my’ butcher.
But I couldn’t remember the names of all the different cuts of steak in French, so I needed to find a reference to help jog my memory. And after all this beefy research, I figured I could write about steak this week.
One of the iconic dishes to order in France is steak frites. When I first arrived in Paris, I had to have a steak frites. It’s available at any regular French restaurant. But I didn’t know what the different cuts were, so when I would see them described on a menu, I just ordered and hoped for the best (cut).
I’m going to do you a favor. I’m going to tell you what the different cuts are, so the next time you’re in France, you know what you’re ordering:
bavette - flank steak
onglet de boeuf - hangar steak (I would buy this one most often at the butcher because it isn’t overly pricey)
rumsteak - rump steak, like we have in the US and other countries
faux-filet - I just learned that this is a sirloin steak! (To me, the word ‘faux' implies that is a fake nice cut of beef…au contraire!)
entrecôte - this is a boneless rib-eye, arguably one of the best steaks you can get in a French restaurant
filet de boeuf - filet mignon, another gooder
steak hâché - don’t be fooled by the use of the word ‘steak’ here - this is a hamburger without the bun, served like a steak. It’s often on the kids’ section of a menu and I love it.
Wait! We’re not done here. Another important part of ordering a steak in France is saying how you like it done. In case you find yourself at a restaurant where the waiter doesn’t speak English, listen for the word cuisson (pronouned KWEE-son), which means they’re asking you how you like it cooked.
In English, we have rare, medium rare, etc. In French it’s a little different:
Bleu - basically seared on both sides and that’s it.
Saignant - translates to ‘bloody’ = rare. (pronounced sayn-YAWn)
À point - best described as medium rare.2 This is how I prefer my steak. However, I have ordered à point before and gotten something that was much pinker/redder than I like. You can always ask them to put it back on the grill. (Pronounced ah-PWAN - don’t pronounce the T!)
Bien cuit - well done (pronounced byen-KWEE - don’t pronounce the T!)
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Pro tip: if you see the word charolais next to the steak, snap it up. This refers to the breed of beef cattle that is native to the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region in eastern France. They make terrific steaks and burgers.
I didn’t think it was possible, but I have been served bad (read: fatty) steaks in Paris. That may be because I was in a more touristy part of town and they prefer to serve up crappy steaks. However, once I understood the different cuts and how to order them, I managed to turn it around and get some pretty good ones!
This is a plug for anyone seeking accountability for anything they have to write or edit. “Shut Up & Write” is found online and via the Meetup app.
Beware that medium and medium rare are not in the French lexicon, but I have found more and more in Parisian restaurants that they understand what you want. (Don’t quote me on that.)