Sirloin tops UK steak poll

A total of 1,004 people were interviewed by the consumer research firm in April, with almost half (49%) of those preferring sirloin steak over other cuts, while in rural areas and the northern regions of the UK, sirloin preference was even higher, at 57%.

The survey was representative of age, gender and region profiles of the UK and selected consumers at random on the weekly ‘omnibus’ study.

Fillet, which fell just short of sirloin in the southern regions, was second choice at 37%, while ribeye came in at 23% and T-bone at 15%. Other results included tenderloin and porterhouse at 6%.

Income also contributed to steak choice, with almost one in five people who earned up to £14,000 having no preference, compared to only 6% of those earning £48,000 and above.

Participant earnings also divided UK consumers on how they liked their steak cooked, with those with higher incomes preferring steak on the ‘rare’ side, at 11%, while those on lower incomes preferred a well-done steak, at 23%.

Overall, medium-rare was the favourite way to cook steak in the UK, at 29%, while medium came in at second with 20% and well done coming in at 17%. Other ways to cook steak including medium-well, very well done and blue were 15%, 7% and 3% respectively.

The research was conducted for the annual World Steak Challenge event, which invites steak producers from across the globe to compete for the World’s Best Steak title.

There are a total of seven categories at the event, including Sirloin, Fillet and Ribeye categories, judged by some of the leading experts in the meat industry.

Think you have the world’s best steak? Then we want to hear from you. Deadline for entries is on Monday 4 June and you can enter through the World Steak Challenge website​. 

The World Steak Challenge is kindly sponsored by Fabri Group and supported by Synergy Grill as the official grill supplier for the event.