Someone please explain the difference between Hanger/ flank/ skirt

by C137RickSanches

5 Comments

  1. ball_zout

    Hangar- more of a tube shape and slightly ferrous flavor
    Skirt- falls apart and kind of fatty. Grain goes perpendicular to the length of the cut
    Flank-overrated trash steak. Lean. Long grain. Fight me

  2. GruntCandy86

    Anatomically, the hanger and skirts are all part of the diaphragm of the animal.

    The hanger hangs along the spine right in front of the “tail” of the tenderloin.

    The skirts are long muscles that extend basically along the ribcage and along with a huge membrane, help the lungs expand and contract.

    The flank is the lowest abdominal muscle closest to the groin.

    As far as eating and what not, the hanger is *very* tender. It has super defined muscle fibers so it’s essential to cut across the grain. In prepping it, the entire hanger is often seamed into two pieces to get rid of a huge layer of silverskin that connects it together. It’s a little more minerally in flavor, but super delicious. Both pieces of hanger are probably going to be just over a pound, depending on the size of the animal.

    Skirt also has very defined muscle fibers. Common mistake is to just start slicing it up after cooking. But, cook it, cut into sections, and cut these sections individually across the grain. Skirt isn’t the most tender, but it’s a very beefy cut with great marbling. Again, slice it thin against the grain and you’re fine. It’s used a lot for carne asada. If it’s inside skirt (closer to the navel) or outside skirt (closer to the rib plate), they’re probably going to be around a pound and a half each. Depends on the size of the animal.

    Flank is lean, not the most tender as far as steak cuts go, and also has very defined muscle fibers. It’s used in quite a few traditional Italian recipes, namely braciole. A whole flank is going to be about two pounds or slightly more, again, depends on the size of the animal and all that.

    Hope I made sense.

  3. Mycol101

    Skirt – fatty, super flavorful, chewy. Grill fast.

    Hanger – Tender, beefy, Grill medium-rare.

    Flank – Lean, fibrous, Slice thin, marinate, grill.

  4. MadManMorbo

    Hanger is god damned delicious, and flank well… Flank is loved by those who love it.

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