Cut of beef
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, but they can also include other edible parts such as offal or bones that are not attached to significant muscle.
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". Canada uses identical cut names 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, 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 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, 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. 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 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.
; 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
; 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:; Acém : neck
; Alcatra : top/bottom sirloin
; Contrafilé : tenderloin
; Coxão duro : round
; Coxão mole : round
; Filé Mignon : part of the tenderloin
; Lagarto : round
; Maminha : bottom sirloin/flank
; Patinho : confluence of flank, bottom sirloin and rear shank
; Picanha : rump cover or rump cap
; Cupim : hump
; Fraldinha : confluence of short loin, flank and bottom sirloin
; Paleta : chuck/brisket
Irish, British, Australian, South African and New Zealand
Colombian
- Posta
- Muchacho
- Bola de pierna
- Entretabla
- Tabla
- Solomo or lomo
- Solomito extranjero
- Solomito Redondo
- Solomito Largo
- Punta de Anca
Chinese
Beef is classified according to different parts of the cow, specifically "chest lao", "fat callus", and diaolong, "neck ren" 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 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- Etuselkä
- Kulmapaisti
- Kylki
- Lapa
- Niska
- Paahtopaisti
- Poski
- Potka
- Rinta
- Sisäfilee
- Sisäpaisti
- Ulkofilee
- Ulkopaisti
French
German
- Rinderhals, Kamm or Nacken
- Querrippe
- Rinderbrust
- Hochrippe or Fehlrippe
- Vorderrippe or hohes Roastbeef
- Rostbraten or flaches Roastbeef
- Filet
- Spannrippe or Knochendünnung
- Dünnung or Bauchlappen
- Falsches Filet, Schulter, Bug or Schaufel
- Oberschale, Unterschale and Nuss
- Flanke, Schliem or Rindfleisch
- Hüfte mit Hüftsteak and Schwanzstück or Tafelspitz )
- Hesse or Wade
- Fricandeau
- Schwanz or Ochsenschwanz
Croatian
- Vratina
- Hrskavi zapećak
- Rebra
- Pržolica
- Hrbat
- Hrbat
- Pisana pečenka
- Rebra, mekana rebra, potrbušina
- Masna potrbušina, slabina
- Rame, plećka
- But
- Vrh kuka
- Zdjelica
- Stražnja goljenica
Italian
; Leg subcuts; Sirloin subcuts
; Loin
; Neck
; Head subcuts
; Shoulder subcuts
; Hocks subcuts
; Petto subcuts
; Lower ribs subcuts
; Pancia subcuts
Korean
; 1. Moksim; 2. Deungsim
; 3. Chaekkeut
; 4. Udun
; 5. Ansim
; 6. Ap-dari
; 7. Galbi
; 8. Yangji
; 9. Seoldo
; 10 Satae
Polish
- karkówka
- szponder
- mostek
- rozbratel
- antrykot
- rostbef
- polędwica
- szponder i mostek
- łata
- łopatka
- udziec
- skrzydło
- krzyżowa
- pręga
- ligawa
- ogon
Portuguese
- Cachaço
- Coberta do acém, acém comprido
- Pá, peito alto
- Maçã do peito
- Peito
- Chambão
- Mão
- Lombo
- Rosbife, acém redondo, vazia, entrecôte
- Prego do peito
- Aba grossa
- Alcatra
- Chã de fora
- Rabadilha
- Pojadouro
Russian
- Шея/Sheya
- Рёбра/rjobra
- Челышко/Chelyshko, грудинка/grudinka
- Толстый край/Tolstyy kray, рибай/ribay, корейка на кости/koreyka na kosti
- Тонкий край/Tonkiy kray, короткое филе/korotkoye file
- Оковалок/Okovalok
- Вырезка/Vyrezka
- Покромка/Pokromka
- Брюшина/Bryushina, фланк/flank
- Лопатка/Lopatka
- Oguzok, bedro
- Пашина/Pashina
- Кострец/Kostrets
- Голяшка/Golyashka
Turkish
; Gerdan : neck, chuck; Antrikot : rib steak, ribeye
; Kontrfile : Steak, striploin
; Sokum : rump
; Bonfile : fillet steak, tenderloin
; Tranç : the upper left side of nuar, inside round, top round
; Nuar : round of beef, eye of round
; Kontrnuar : the lower left side of nuar, flat, gooseneck
; incik : front and rear leg
; Yumurta : sirloin tip, the section between kontrnuar and pençata
; Pençata : flank
; Döş : brisket, plate, short ribs
; Kürek, kol :shoulder, shank