During butchering, beef is first divided into primal cuts, pieces of meat initially separated from the carcass. These are basic sections from which steaks and other subdivisions are cut. Since the animal's legs and neck muscles do the most work, they are the toughest; the meat becomes more tender as distance from hoof and horn increases.
Different countries and cuisines have different cuts and names, and sometimes use the same name for a different cut; e.g., the cut described as brisket in the US is from a significantly different part of the carcass than British brisket. Cut often refers narrowly to skeletal muscle (sometimes attached to bones), but can also include other edible flesh, such as offal (organ meat) or bones without significant muscles attached.
American and Canadian
The following is a list of the American primal cuts, and cuts derived from them. Beef carcasses are split along the axis of symmetry into "halves", then across into front and back "quarters" (forequarters and hindquarters). Canada uses identical cut names (and numbering) as the US, with the exception of the "round" which is called the "hip". The British designation 'rump' is also common in Canada.
Forequarter
The chuck is the source of bone-in chuck steaks and roasts (arm or blade), and boneless clod steaks and roasts, most commonly. The trimmings and some whole boneless chucks are ground for ground beef.
The rib contains part of the short ribs, the prime rib and rib eye steaks.
Brisket, primarily used for barbecue, corned beef or pastrami.
The foreshank or shank is used primarily for stews and soups; it is not usually served any other way because it is the toughest of the cuts.
The plate is the other source of short ribs, used for pot roasting, and the outside skirt steak, which is used for fajitas. The navel is the ventral part of the plate and is commonly used to make pastrami. The remainder is usually ground, as it is typically a tough and fatty meat.
Hindquarter
The loin has two subprimals
the short loin, from which the T-bone and porterhouse steaks are cut if bone-in, or strip steak.
the sirloin, which is less tender than short loin, but more flavorful, can be further divided into top sirloin and bottom sirloin (including tri-tip), and
the tenderloin, which is the most tender, can be removed as a separate subprimal, and cut into filet mignons, tournedos or tenderloin steaks, and roasts (such as for beef Wellington). They can also be cut bone-in to make parts of the T-bone and porterhouse loin steaks.
The round contains lean, moderately tough, lower fat (less marbling) cuts, which require moist or rare cooking. Some representative cuts are round steak, eye of round, top round, and bottom round steaks and roasts.
The flank is used mostly for grinding, except for the long and flat flank steak, best known for use in London broil, and the inside skirt steak, also used for fajitas. Flank steaks were once one of the most affordable steaks, because they are substantially tougher than the more desirable loin and rib steaks. Many modern recipes for flank steak use marinades or moist cooking methods, such as braising, to improve the tenderness and flavor. This, combined with a new interest in these cuts' natural leanness, has increased the price of the flank steak.
Argentine
The most important cuts of beef in Argentine cuisine are:
Asado
the large section of the rib cage including short ribs and spare ribs
Asado de tira
often translated as short ribs, but also sold as long, thin strips of ribs. Chuck ribs, flanken style (cross-cut).
Bife de costilla
T-bone or porterhouse steaks
Bife de chorizo
strip steak, called NY strip in US
Ojo de bife
ribeye steak
Bola de lomo
eye of the round
Chinchulín
upper portion of small intestines
Colita de cuadril
tri-tip, or the tail of the rump roast
Cuadril
rump
Entraña
skirt steak
Falda
navel
Lomo
tenderloin
Matambre
a long, thin cut that lies just under the skin and runs from the lower part of the ribs to belly–or flank area
Mollejas
sweetbreads (thymus gland)
Pecho
brisket
Riñones
kidneys
Tapa de asado
rib cap
Tapa de nalga
top of round roast
Vacío
flank, though it may contain the muscles of other near cuts
Brazilian
The most important cuts of beef in Brazilian cuisine are:
Acém2
neck
Alcatra9
top/bottom sirloin
Contrafilé7
tenderloin
Coxão duro
round (upper)
Coxão mole
round (lower)
Filé Mignon6
part of the tenderloin
Lagarto10
round (outer)
Maminha15
bottom sirloin/flank
Patinho16
confluence of flank, bottom sirloin and rear shank
Picanha8
rump cover or rump cap
Cupim
hump (zebu cattle only)
Fraldinha14
confluence of short loin, flank and bottom sirloin
Paleta3
chuck/brisket
Irish, British, Australian, South African and New Zealand
Tongue
Top rump
Rib eye steak
T-bone steak
Brisket (Skirt steak)
Shin and leg
Feather blade
Fillet
Oxtail
Colombian
Posta (top round)
Muchacho (heel)
Huevo de Aldana (bottom round)
Entretabla
Tabla (bottom round)
Solomo or lomo
Solomito extranjero
Solomito Redondo (sirloin)
Solomito Largo (tri-tip)
Punta de Anca (sirloin tip center)
Chinese
Beef is classified according to different parts of the cow, specifically "chest lao" (the fat on the front of the cow's chest), "fat callus" (a piece of meat on the belly of the cow), and diaolong (a long piece of meat on the back of the beef back), "neck ren" (a small piece of meat protruding from the shoulder blade of a beef) and so on.
Dutch
Neck
Rib steak
Sirloin
Tenderloin – considered to be the premium cut, highly prized. It is called ossenhaas in Dutch. It tends to be cut slightly smaller than its American counterpart.
Top sirloin
Round – mainly used for kogelbiefstuk ('hip joint steak') considered to be the basic form of steak in Dutch and Belgian cuisine.
Flank
Chuck – the best cuts are used for stoofvlees; lesser bits are used in hachee.
Brisket
Shankle
Beef tongue is considered the cheapest piece of beef; it is used in certain styles of sausages such as the frikandel, though not as the main ingredient.
Oxtail, though not on the image shown, is used extensively in stews.
Finnish
The cuts of beef in Finland are:
Entrecôte (rib eye)
Etuselkä (chuck and blade)
Kulmapaisti (topside)
Kylki (flank/rib)
Lapa (shoulder)
Niska (chuck)
Paahtopaisti (bottom sirloin)
Poski (cheek)
Potka (shank)
Rinta (brisket)
Sisäfilee (filet/tenderloin)
Sisäpaisti (silverside/bottom round)
Ulkofilee (sirloin)
Ulkopaisti (rump)
French
German
Rinderhals, Kamm or Nacken (chuck steak)
Querrippe (short ribs)
Rinderbrust (brisket)
Hochrippe or Fehlrippe (standing rib roast)
Vorderrippe or hohes Roastbeef
Rostbraten or flaches Roastbeef 5 and 6 together are the Roastbeef or Zwischenrippenstück
Filet (fillet)
Spannrippe or Knochendünnung
Dünnung or Bauchlappen (flank steak)
Falsches Filet, Schulter, Bug or Schaufel (shoulder)
Oberschale, Unterschale and Nuss
Flanke, Schliem or Rindfleisch
Hüfte mit Hüftsteak and Schwanzstück or Tafelspitz (top sirloin))
Hesse or Wade (beef shank)
Fricandeau
Schwanz or Ochsenschwanz (oxtail)
Croatian
Vratina
Hrskavi zapećak
Rebra
Pržolica (ramstek)
Hrbat (rozbif)
Hrbat (rozbif)
Pisana pečenka (biftek)
Rebra, mekana (srednja) rebra, potrbušina
Masna potrbušina, slabina
Rame (ribica), plećka (lopatica)
But
Vrh kuka
Zdjelica
Stražnja goljenica
Italian
Leg subcuts
Codone
Scanello, noce or fesa (bottom sirloin or thick flank)
Sottofesa or fetta di mezzo or codino or controfesa or contronoce
Fianchetto (flank)
Rosa, fesa interna, punta d'anca (eye of the silverside)
the upper left side of nuar, inside round, top round (6)
Nuar
round of beef, eye of round (7)
Kontrnuar
the lower left side of nuar, flat, gooseneck (with eye of round) (8)
incik
front and rear leg (9, 14)
Yumurta
sirloin tip, the section between kontrnuar and pençata (10)
Pençata
flank (11)
Döş
brisket, plate, short ribs (12)
Kürek, kol
shoulder, shank (13)
UNECE standard for bovine meat carcasses and cuts
The UNECE standard formalizes internationally agreed upon specifications written in a consistent, detailed and accurate manner using anatomical names to identify cutting lines.
See also
List of steak dishes
Meat on the bone
Steak
Beef alternative merchandising
References
External links
Agence canadienne d'inspection des aliments - Boeuf - Manuel de coupes de viande