Grilled or fried, steak is one of America’s most popular meals, and as a steak lover, having the best steak knives are essential when it comes to eating steak. The experience is just not the same if you are using regular knives. Steak lovers are not just interested in a healthy snack or a quick bite before work. A perfectly cooked steak is something more, an absolute delight.
The word steak goes hand in hand with the word knives. You cannot talk about steak without talking about the best steak knives. Imagine sitting down for a lovely dining experience with your better half, ready to give your taste buds a unique flavor, but your knife just won’t give you that satisfaction. The best thing you can do in this situation is to invest in some quality steak knives.
The Best Steak Knives
There are tons of manufacturers and brands you can choose from. The best steak knives come in a variety of shapes and sizes, different handle designs, or blade materials. These kinds of details can make or break a steak knife. If you are in the market for a new set of steak knives, you will find that two types of steak knives are most popular, the serrated and non-serrated steak knives. Serrated knives have ridged blades, while the non-serrated or straight knives have smooth and straight blades.
Although there is no perfect choice here, knowing the differences is helpful when choosing the best steak knives.
Both serrated and non-serrated blades come with advantages and disadvantages.
It’s up to you to decide which one suits you the best. To see what we recommend, see the best serrated steak knives here and read more about the best straight edge steak knives here.
Advantages and Disadvantages of the Serrated knives
Advantages:
The biggest advantage of the serrated blade is the ability to cut the meat effortlessly. Because of the ridged edges, the serrated knives can cut through steak or any other meat pretty easily. Serrated knives can also be used for cutting bread, other kinds of meats as well as fruits and vegetables.
The serrated blade is also more durable. These blades do not go blunt as easily as the non-serrated blades. You can use it longer without the need of sharpening it. This makes the serrated knives one of the best steak knives you can have.
Disadvantages:
Although an advantage, the teeth-like blade of the serrated knives often tear and rip the meat you are cutting. This causes the juices to spill all over the plate and not in your mouth, which some people view it as a big disadvantage.
The second disadvantage is that when the time comes to sharpen the serrated blade, it’s much more difficult than sharpening a straight blade. Sharpening a serrated knife often requires professional assistance.
Advantages and Disadvantages of the Non-Serrated knives
Advantages:
One of the biggest advantages of the non-serrated blades is the ability to make a clean cut with one stroke. As we mentioned before, this will allow the juices to stay in the meat, leaving you with a proper taste in your mouth.
This will also allow you to cut faster. Because there are no ridges on the blade, you won’t need to cut the meat with a saw-like motion. With the smooth and straight edge, cutting the steak is also more elegant, and that comes handy when you are on a date.
A knife with a non-serrated blade definitely belongs to the group of the best steak knives.
Disadvantages:
A non-serrated knife usually requires a lot more physical effort when cutting. Although this blade can cut the meat with one sweeping down motion, if the steak is a little hard, you will have put a lot of effort into it.
Which brings me to the second disadvantage of the non-serrated blade, which is the sharpness. The non-serrated knives become blunt much easier than the serrated blades. Because of this, the need for maintenance is much bigger. Sharpening the knives every time you want a tasty piece of steak can get boring and time-consuming.
Conclusion
Cutting the steak is part of the full dining experience and no ordinary knife can do the job properly. If you cook steak on a regular basis, owning a quality set of steak knives is paramount. If you are a fan of the serrated blade, there’s no need to switch over, or vice versa. Both the serrated and non-serrated knives will get the job done, it comes down to personal preference.
Each type of steak knives has certain advantages and disadvantages. In the end, the best steak knives are the ones that you like using the most.
See what we recommend for the best steak knives of 2020: Serrated steak knives, straight edge steak knives, best dishwasher safe steak knives