Cut of beef

Statue of cow with cuts of beef in a Budapest restaurant

During butchering, beef is first divided into primal cuts, pieces of meat initially separated from the carcass. Firstly it is split into left and right 'sides'. These sides then can be further halved into forequarters and hindquarters. 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 varying definitions for cuts of meat and their names, and sometimes the same name is used for different cuts. For instance, the cut described as "brisket" in the United States comes from a different part of the carcass from the "brisket" referred to in the United Kingdom. Cuts typically refer narrowly to skeletal muscle (sometimes attached to bone), but they can also include other edible parts such as offal (organ meats) or bones that are not attached to significant muscle.

Hindquarter of beef

American and Canadian

American cuts of beef (clickable)

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.
• The brisket is primarily used for barbecue, corned beef or pastrami.
• The front leg or shank is used primarily in stews and soups; since it is the toughest cut, it is not usually eaten in other ways.
• 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 three 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:

the large section of the rib cage including short ribs and spare ribs

often translated as short ribs, but also sold as long, thin strips of ribs. Chuck ribs, flanken style (cross-cut).

T-bone or porterhouse steaks

strip steak, called NY strip in US

ribeye steak

eye of the round

upper portion of small intestines

tri-tip, or the tail of the rump roast

rump

skirt steak

navel

tenderloin

a long, thin cut that lies just under the skin and runs from the lower part of the ribs to belly–or flank area

sweetbreads (thymus gland)

brisket

kidneys

rib cap

top of round roast

flank, though it may contain the muscles of other near cuts

Brazilian

Brazilian cuts of beef (clickable)

The most important cuts of beef in Brazilian cuisine are:

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neck

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top/bottom sirloin

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tenderloin

round (upper)

round (lower)

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part of the tenderloin

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round (outer)

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bottom sirloin/flank

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confluence of flank, bottom sirloin and rear shank

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rump cover or rump cap

hump (zebu cattle only)

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confluence of short loin, flank and bottom sirloin

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chuck/brisket

Irish, British, Australian, South African and New Zealand

British cuts of beef (clickable)

• Tongue
•   Necks and clod
•   Chuck steak & blades
•   Sirloin
•   Rump
•   Silverside
•   Topside
• Top rump
•   Fore rib
• Rib eye steak
• T-bone steak
•   Thick rib
•   Thin rib
•   Brisket (Skirt steak)
•     Shin and leg
•   Flank
•   Thick flank
• Feather blade
• Fillet
• Oxtail

Colombian

• (top round)
• (heel)
• (bottom round)
• (bottom round)
• or
• (sirloin)
• (tri-tip)
• (sirloin tip center)

Chinese

Beef is classified according to different parts of the cow, specifically "chest " (the fat on the front of the cow's chest), "fat callus" (a piece of meat on the belly of the cow), and (a long piece of meat on the back of the beef back), "neck " (a small piece of meat protruding from the shoulder blade of a beef) and so on.

Dutch

Dutch cuts of beef (clickable)

• Neck
• Rib steak
• Sirloin
• Tenderloin – considered to be the premium cut, highly prized. It is called in Dutch. It tends to be cut slightly smaller than its American counterpart.
• Top sirloin
• Round – mainly used for ('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)
• (chuck and blade)
• (topside)
• (flank/rib)
• (shoulder)
• (chuck)
• (bottom sirloin)
• (cheek)
• (shank)
• (brisket)
• (filet/tenderloin)
• (silverside/bottom round)
• (sirloin)
• (rump)

French

Brighter colors show more expensive cuts

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  In between

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German

German cuts of beef

1. , or (chuck steak)
2. (short ribs)
3. (brisket)
4. or (standing rib roast)
5. or
6. or
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7. (fillet)
8. or
9. or (flank steak)
10. , , or (shoulder)
11. , and
12. , or
13. and or (top sirloin))
14. or (beef shank)
16. or (oxtail)

Croatian

Croatian cuts of beef

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Italian

Italian cuts of beef

Leg subcuts

Codone

Scanello, or (bottom sirloin or thick flank)

or or or or

(flank)

(eye of the silverside)

or girello

or

Sirloin () subcuts

Filetto (beef tenderloin)

or roast beef (sirloin)

Veal Carré (spare ribs)

Loin ()

(T-bone steak)

(short ribs)

Neck

(chuck steak)

or

Head subcuts

Lingua (beef tongue)

Testina (flesh from the head of a calf)

Shoulder subcuts

Fusello or

or

Hocks subcuts

anterior and posterior Ossibuchi

(chest) subcuts

(brisket)

or

Lower ribs subcuts

or

(Pony 6 ribs, square cut, chuck, middle rib, steak meat)

(belly) subcuts

Fiocco

(armhole)

Korean

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Korean cuts of beef

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Polish

Polish cuts of beef

11. ()

Portuguese

File:Beef cuts Portugal.svg

Portuguese cuts of beef

Russian

Russian beef cuts

1. Шея/Sheya (neck)
2. / (ribs)
3. /, / (brisket)
4. / (thick edge), / (rib eye), / (loin on the bone)
5. / (thin edge), / (short filet)
6. / (sirloin)
7. Вырезка/ (tenderloin)
8. / (shortloin)
9. / (peritoneum), /
10. / (shoulder)
11. Oguzok (rump), bedro (hip)
12. / (flank)
13. / (leg)
14. / (shank)

Turkish

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Turkish cuts of beef

neck, chuck (1)

rib steak, ribeye (2)

Steak, striploin (3)

rump (4)

fillet steak, tenderloin (5)

the upper left side of , inside round, top round (6)

round of beef, eye of round (7)

the lower left side of , flat, gooseneck (with eye of round) (8)

front and rear leg (9, 14)

sirloin tip, the section between and (10)

flank (11)

brisket, plate, short ribs (12)

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
• Beef alternative merchandising

External links

• Agence canadienne d'inspection des aliments - Boeuf - Manuel de coupes de viande
• French-German butcher glossary