The Absolute Best Cut Of Beef For Juicy Steak Bites

Steaks can be both the simplest and the most elaborate dishes you can serve. When done right, steaks can elevate your dinners in a way few other mains can, even if you're making steak bites to enjoy in tacos or on their own. But for something that sounds so straightforward, the dish is surprisingly easy to get wrong. And the first thing you need to be particular about when planning to prepare one is getting the right cut of steak. Many people gravitate toward the most tender cut of steak, and it's not a bad instinct. Filet mignon oozes sophistication. It's delicate, lean, mild, and buttery, making it an ideal choice for a perfectly pan-seared presentation. But if you're after juiciness and flavor in each bite-sized piece, it's hard to beat a high-grade, bone-in ribeye. And it is more affordable. 

Ribeye might not always steal the spotlight like filet mignon, but any steak aficionado could write odes to the beauty of this cut. If steaks were superheroes, ribeye would be Batman — underrated but solid, straightforward, and with a league of its own. So what gives ribeye its edge? The intricate marbling. This cut boasts some of the highest intramuscular fat content you'll find in any other cut, with plenty of white flecks between muscles. Think of it like a grilled cheese layered just right, featuring the perfect melt in every bite. As the steak cooks, that fat slowly renders, basting the meat from the inside and infusing it with exceptional tenderness. It can make anyone drool.

Although it's common practice to cut your piece of meat into cubes before cooking, if you want to hit your ribeye bites out of the park, one thing that can take the juiciness up several notches is opting for bone-in. The bone acts as an insulator, increasing the cook time of the meat with less risk of overcooking. The slower and longer you cook a ribeye steak, the juicier it gets — just make sure you're cooking it at a lower temperature. In terms of doneness, anything between rare and medium works well for this tender and dripping cut. After you've reached that perfect state, let your steak rest for about five minutes before slicing it into 1-inch bites.

If firing up the grill feels like too much, reverse searing is another great technique that draws out a ribeye's full potential. To properly reverse sear the meat, cook the steak in the oven at a lower temperature, about 10 to 15 degrees Fahrenheit below what you'd need to reach your desired doneness, then flip it into a hot skillet. You can use an instant-read probe thermometer to monitor the ribeye's internal temperature. This method works especially well for ribeye, as it helps the cut develop a bit of a salty, golden-brown crust with a tender, evenly colored and cooked center. What you end up with is the juiciest steak, packed with a punch of umami that hits all the right notes.