Legend has it that in 1617, King James I of England coined the term “sirloin” during dinner and after a few goblets of wine.
The King suddenly stood and drew his sword and, laying it across the entrée, declared:
“Gentlemen, as fond as I am of all of you, yet I have a still greater favorite, the loin of a good beef.
Therefore, good beef roast, I knight thee Sir Loin and proclaim that a double loin be known as a baron.”
More accurately, the word “sirloin” comes from the Middle English word “surloine”, which was derived from the Old French word “surlonge”, which means “sur la longe”, or above the loin.
Today, a “sirloin” is a beef steak cut from the rear back portion of the animal, or a select roast of beef.
