The Butcher Knows Best: How to Substitute Common Cuts of Meat - Food. Curated. (2024)

FAQs

What are the 4 major cuts made in butchering beef? ›

There are 8 main primal cuts of beef: chuck, rib, loin (consisting of the short loin and the sirloin), round, flank, plate, brisket, and shank.

The first step in choosing the best cut of meat is understanding the factors to consider. These include marbling, fat content, tenderness, and flavor. Marbling, or the small flecks of fat throughout the meat, is a key factor in determining tenderness and flavor.

The cuts come from different parts of a cow. For example, chuck and brisket come from the front section and round cuts come from the rear. In general, most people prefer meat from the middle section, which includes rib roasts, sirloins, and tenderloins.

Chuck comes from the cow's shoulder. It's a very flavorful region that can be cut and prepared in many ways, but it's also typically a firmer cut of beef. Due to its versatility and cheap cost, chuck is probably what you're most familiar with.

These cuts—ribeye, New York strip loin, and filet mignon—can certainly be dubbed the best, and few will disagree. “Filet is the most tender cut, but has the least amount of flavor. Ribeye is the most flavorful, but the least tender of the three, and New York is in the middle.” Flannery explains.

Typically, tender cuts of meat (such as tenderloin or striploin) can be cooked quickly with a dry method, like grilling or broiling. Tough cuts are best to cook (blade, brisket, short rib) slowly, by stewing or braising them, in order to add moisture and break down the tough proteins.

As you move lower and outward, the meat will become tougher. With the cow, the short loin, rib, and sirloin are more tender than cuts from the belly. The chuck, round, brisket, and shank are tougher yet.

What is the most expensive cut of beef? ›

A5 Japanese Kobe Beef

Japanese Kobe steak is one expensive meat. In fact, it's usually considered the most expensive steak in the world, although prices vary by location, restaurant, etc. In fact, Japanese Kobe is often hailed as having the best marbling of any steak that your money can buy.

The most tender of all cuts of beef, tenderloin steaks are lean and known for their delicate, butter-like texture and thick cut. These mouthwatering steaks are so tender they can be “cut with a butter knife.” Tenderloin steaks are commonly known as filets or filet mignon.

Tenderloin

The tenderloin is a cut from the loin of beef and is the most tender cut of beef. The best way to cook a tenderloin is by pan-searing it while topping it with a sprinkle of salt and pepper.

Price Ranges

Prices can vary, but for our Angus 1/4 bundle for instance, you're looking at $849.99. This range depends on a few factors like where you're buying from and the type of cow. Here's an example from our site.

If you buy a beef quarter you'll either be getting the front quarter or the back quarter of the animal. In either case you could expect to take home about 100 pounds of meat and 30 pounds of bones/fat (mostly bones).

Information. The first division of a whole carcass is into primal cuts. The four major primal cuts into which beef is separated are chuck, loin, rib and round. All primal cuts may or may not be intended for use in ground products.

There are four basic (primal) cuts into which beef is separated: chuck, loin, rib and round. It is recommended that packages of fresh beef purchased in the supermarket be labeled with the primal cut as well as the product, such as "chuck roast" or "round steak".