• Check the grade. The government stamps it right on the bigger pieces. Prime is the best but you probably won't find it at the butcher. It's reserved for the big steak houses. Mmmm...Steak.
  
  
• Fat is good. Look for small streaks of fat throughout the meat. This is called marbling. Marbling = taste. Some cuts won't have it and they therefore have less flavor (ie. filet mignon).
  
  
• Color is important. Beef should be red but not STRANGELY red. It should not be browning either. That's a sign of old nasty meat. Good restaurants age their beef, but not in a styrofoam vacu-pack. Go for the red.
  

How should it be done? This is a topic of hot debate here at the Belly. Chef Executive Belly Dave was brought up eating everything his mother burnt for dinner and prefers his steak well done, hockey puck style. Big Belly Brian recommends rare to medium rare; sometimes just lightly searing his steak on a really hot grill to seal in the flavor and juices. Infamous Famous Belly Mark just eats what we put in front of him.

Are salt and pepper the extent of your spice rack? Skip the freggin' recipes and learn how to cook your basic beef's here.