# Cuts of meats



## slm78 (Nov 15, 2010)

Hi,

I'm new here and am hoping you can help me. I never really cooked a lot before and I'd like to start, but I don't understand the various cuts of meat. I don't know the difference between a pork tenderloin and pork loin or the difference between rump roast and round and chuck roast, etc. I've looked it up and have seen the cow charts, etc but that doesn't really help. I am hoping someone knows of a website or can tell me which cuts of meat are best for pot roast for example, etc etc. Thanks in advance!


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## msmofet (Nov 15, 2010)

slm78 said:


> Hi,
> 
> I'm new here and am hoping you can help me. I never really cooked a lot before and I'd like to start, but I don't understand the various cuts of meat. I don't know the difference between a pork tenderloin and pork loin or the difference between rump roast and round and chuck roast, etc. I've looked it up and have seen the cow charts, etc but that doesn't really help. I am hoping someone knows of a website or can tell me which cuts of meat are best for pot roast for example, etc etc. Thanks in advance!


 Welcome to the forum.

I use a tough cut of beef such as bottom round or rump roast for pot roast (the simmering in a liquid makes it tender).


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## Andy M. (Nov 15, 2010)

My favorite is a boneless chuck roast.  A bottom round is also good.


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## CharlieD (Nov 15, 2010)

I really think the best way to learn this is just to go to your local store you shop at, go when it is not busy and ask meat department person. that is one, also in our store, for example they have recipe cards near respective cuts of meat, that is also a great tool in learning about different meats and the use of the above.
We of course can tell you, but nothing like actually seeing what there. Also you can pick the recipe you want and go look for that particular part, see what it looks like. But again do go to store, i will be the best.


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## Chief Longwind Of The North (Nov 15, 2010)

I have a plan.  Many of us know the humble cow, and which parts are used for what, and techniques for bringing out the best in them.  I propose we make this a project, using this thread.  Let's start from the shoulder and give information about how to use various cuts.  Then we can move to the loin, the short loin, the belly, etc, until we get to the rump and even the shanks.

I'll start with the area next to the neck, the chuck. Chuck meat can be either very tender and well flavored, to rich, but very tough.  The muscles of the chuck are well exercised as they are used to move the animal around.  The exercise makes the meat flavorful, but more tough.  As you move through the chuck toward the rib, you get the best of both worlds, great flavor, plus a more tender piece of meat.  Chuck roasts inclued - the chuck arm and chuck shoulder pot roast.  Both are best cooked with slow, moist heat, that is, covered, with a bit of water added to the pan, along with herbs and spices, and cooked in a relatively low temperature, i.e. 300 - 320' F. and for several hours.  These are also great when cooked in a slow cooker on the low setting.  First, brown the meat in a very hot pan on the stove top, then place in the primary cooking vessel, add onions and other veggies, if desired, season with salt, pepper, and other flavorings of choice, and cover.  Place into the oven and let it go for several hours.

You can also get wonderful results in less than an hour if you cook this kind of meat in a pressure cooker with at least 10 lbs. of pressure.

If you are willing to massage, pound, or use other means for mechanically tenderizing the meat, then you can cut it into steaks and pan fry, broil, or grill it.  You will then need to slice it against the grain to help make it tender on the plate.

You can slit these roasts and stuff them, then roast long and slow in a moist environment as well.

The meat must be either cooked long, slow and moist to about 195' F., or quickly to no more than medium rare.  Anything in between will give you tough meat.

Ok, now, someone else, take the more tender parts of the chuck.

Seeeeeeya; Goodweed of the North


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## joesfolk (Nov 15, 2010)

When you look at those cow charts remember that the parts that do the most work will be the tougher cuts.  Now by work that also includes work like breathing.  As a general rule a cut labled "top" will be a more tender cut than a cut labled "bottom".  The closer the meat is to the working parts like legs the tougher the meat will be.  Hope this helps.  Oh, tougher cuts work best with long slow cooking like braising but I am sure you have already been told this.  Also those tougher cuts, if not cooked long and slow should be cut across the grain or you can end up with shoe leather.


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## Chief Longwind Of The North (Nov 18, 2010)

Bumping this to keep it going and ask for more participation.

Seeeeeya; Goodweed of the North


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## Bigjim68 (Nov 18, 2010)

Chuck also makes some of the best stew meat.  Also remember that the last cut of chuck is adjacent to the first cut of the rib, so the farther to the rear your meat, in general, will be the most tender.


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## Bolas De Fraile (Nov 19, 2010)

We have different names over here, do you have the equivalent of skirt?

My favorite steak for the grill is Rib-eye, we have very good meat over here. These two steaks were bought in a store called "Wild Oats" Miami and for me they were very very good


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## snickerdoodle (Nov 19, 2010)

I struggle with cuts of meat too so this is an educational post for me to read.  I try to buy 1 cut of meat every couple weeks that I'm not familiar with (usually whatever is on sale).  Then I research that cut and attempt to properly prepare it.  For me, I learn best by doing.  Like GW suggested, making a project out of this is a great idea!  I'm looking forward to more responses about the other cuts on a cow.  Also, I hope we can move on to pork once we cover all of the cow.


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## buckytom (Nov 19, 2010)

Goodweed of the North said:


> I have a plan. Many of us know the humble cow, ...
> 
> *ZZZZZZZZZZZZZ*
> 
> ...


 
sorry ol' buddy, i fell asleep in the middle there. what was that again?



(lol, geez, g-dubya's gonna kill me. well, he asked for more participation.)


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## Bigjim68 (Nov 19, 2010)

One of the problems with identifying cuts of meat is that vendors can get creative with the names in the interest of bumping prices.  Restaurants would rather create a gourmet dish from a $1.00/pound cut than a prime steak at $15  I have seen tenderloin roast and Chateaubriand laying side by side in a market.  The tenderloin roast is $2.00 cheaper.  Stew meat is almost always higher in price than chuck or bottom round.  Generally speaking, the more specific the name, the higher the price.  London Broil is a good example.
It does pay to learn to recognize the various cuts of meat.

Bolas, around here skirt steak is cut from the plate.


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## Andy M. (Nov 19, 2010)

At the market recently, I saw a cryovac seal package of marinated beef.  It was labeled filet of beef.  I asked the meat manager what cut it was.  He answered that it was eye round.  I was stunned they are selling a round cut disguised as a tenderloin.


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## Bigjim68 (Nov 19, 2010)

Andy M. said:


> At the market recently, I saw a cryovac seal package of marinated beef.  It was labeled filet of beef.  I asked the meat manager what cut it was.  He answered that it was eye round.  I was stunned they are selling a round cut disguised as a tenderloin.


I see this type of labeling often, and is the reason I think that recognizing cuts of meat is one of the more important cooking skills.
This thread is to me a good idea.


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## msmofet (Nov 19, 2010)

The problem is there are WAY to many different names for the SAME cut of meat form region to region.

One example: My favorite cut of steak is a NY Strip but and even in the same market that cut can be found under different labels: strip and shell.

I have also seen T-Bone and Porterhouse interchangeable.


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## PrincessFiona60 (Nov 19, 2010)

I either buy beef for braising or a Rib-eye and the odd T-bone (<once a year) so I'm sorry, I don't pay much attention to the other cuts.  I'm really good at Etouffe', soups and stews, I tend to buy whatever is on sale.

Thanks for the education!


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## Bigjim68 (Nov 19, 2010)

Moving back on the animal, the next two primals are the rib (upper) and plate.  Once again, there is a big difference in the two ends of the rib.  As I said, the first cut rib steak and the last cut chuck are a knife cut apart.  The rib is cut into prime rib or rib steaks.  Market names vary, but almost all have rib in the name.   Prime rib is no longer a grade, but instead a cut.  I have seen select grade prime rib. The cut nearest the chuck has much more fat than the back portion.  
The lower cut off portions are short ribs, good for braising.  If the rib is boned, you also get the equivalent of pork spare ribs.  Good for low and slow cooking much like pork ribs.

With rib steaks, you want a good amount of marbeling, a fat cover of a half to an inch.  Overly lean rib portions will be dry, tough, and lacking in taste.  
The plate is a hard fatty portion of the animal.  Deli style corned beef and pastrami often come from here.  It is also the home of the skirt steak, a relatively tough lean cut,  As GW said, low and slow or quick and hot are the preferred preparations.  Thin cross grain slicing is a must.  When I worked in the packing house, the plate fat was desirable added to too lean ground beef.  I assume that is still the case.


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## Chief Longwind Of The North (Nov 20, 2010)

Bigjim68 said:


> Moving back on the animal, the next two primals are the rib (upper) and plate.  Once again, there is a big difference in the two ends of the rib.  As I said, the first cut rib steak and the last cut chuck are a knife cut apart.  The rib is cut into prime rib or rib steaks.  Market names vary, but almost all have rib in the name.   Prime rib is no longer a grade, but instead a cut.  I have seen select grade prime rib. The cut nearest the chuck has much more fat than the back portion.
> The lower cut off portions are short ribs, good for braising.  If the rib is boned, you also get the equivalent of pork spare ribs.  Good for low and slow cooking much like pork ribs.
> 
> With rib steaks, you want a good amount of marbeling, a fat cover of a half to an inch.  Overly lean rib portions will be dry, tough, and lacking in taste.
> The plate is a hard fatty portion of the animal.  Deli style corned beef and pastrami often come from here.  It is also the home of the skirt steak, a relatively tough lean cut,  As GW said, low and slow or quick and hot are the preferred preparations.  Thin cross grain slicing is a must.  When I worked in the packing house, the plate fat was desirable added to too lean ground beef.  I assume that is still the case.



Niiiice.  Great info.  As you stated, Prime Rib isn't prime rib any more.  Poor labeling is responsible for that.  That rib roast is a standing rib roast.  It is supposed to be prime rib when the beef grade is USDA Prime.  I saw a package with the bold letters - Prime Rib - blazing from the label.  If you read a bit further down, the USDA rating was choice.  The name - Prime Rib - was the brand name of the product, not the quality of the cut.

Unknown to many a cut from the chuck, sometimes called petite steak, sometimes called sizzle steak, and a few other names, is the second most tender cut from the carcass.  It is recognizable as an oval chunk of meat, well marbled with speckles of fat, and a piece of gristle running down the center.  It has more flavor than the rib steaks, and is more tender than the rest of the meat on the carcass.  Also, it's inexpensive compared to the more recognized steaks such as rib steak, rib-eye, t-bone, etc.

The famous Delmonico steak comes from the rib portion, about the 3rd rib steak back from the chuck, if I remember correctly.  

Seeeeya; Goodweed of the North


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## Bolas De Fraile (Nov 20, 2010)

Thanks Big Jimmy, this might be heresy to a nation of chili experts, one of the things I make with skirt is C/con carne, I dont mince the skirt I chop it into little cubes, I also use it to make beef olives.


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## Bigjim68 (Nov 20, 2010)

Goodweed of the North said:


> Niiiice.  Great info.  As you stated, Prime Rib isn't prime rib any more.  Poor labeling is responsible for that.  That rib roast is a standing rib roast.  It is supposed to be prime rib when the beef grade is USDA Prime.  I saw a package with the bold letters - Prime Rib - blazing from the label.  If you read a bit further down, the USDA rating was choice.  The name - Prime Rib - was the brand name of the product, not the quality of the cut.
> 
> Unknown to many a cut from the chuck, sometimes called petite steak, sometimes called sizzle steak, and a few other names, is the second most tender cut from the carcass.  It is recognizable as an oval chunk of meat, well marbled with speckles of fat, and a piece of gristle running down the center.  It has more flavor than the rib steaks, and is more tender than the rest of the meat on the carcass.  Also, it's inexpensive compared to the more recognized steaks such as rib steak, rib-eye, t-bone, etc.
> 
> ...


When I worked the packing house, the chuck tender, as we called it, was reserved for employees, and we bought it for chuck prices.  You could get one or two 2 inch steaks from it.  Wrapped in bacon, some would say that the filet was the second best steak on the animal.


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## Bigjim68 (Nov 20, 2010)

GW, good call on the Delmonico.  Delmonico is a steak house in NY, and their best steak was from the center of the rib.  The center cut portions are the best mix of fat and red meat.  The name stuck.
There are numerous local and regional names for various cuts, and IMO the best reason for learning to recognize various cuts by sight.


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## buckytom (Nov 20, 2010)

practical experience is priceless. it helps to learn the cuts of meat by starting with butchering smaller animals. i started understanding the various cuts by hacking apart small pigs and lambs at summer barbecues.

now, cows are certainly amped up cuts, but all 4 legged mammals are similar really. 

the only big difference that i can think of is that the spinal muscles are called tenderloin on cows, but backstraps of wild game because of the difference in the size of a cows rear half.

btw, bolas, cubed beef is "de rigeur" nowadays for many chili con carne competitions here. you were in the vanguard on a deeply american cuisine.


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## Bolas De Fraile (Nov 20, 2010)

Big Jim when you worked in the pack house did you prepare the meat for supermarkets, if you did what happened to the off cuts like the tails of fillet steak?


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## Bolas De Fraile (Nov 20, 2010)

buckytom said:


> practical experience is priceless. it helps to learn the cuts of meat by starting with butchering smaller animals. i started understanding the various cuts by hacking apart small pigs and lambs at summer barbecues.
> 
> now, cows are certainly amped up cuts, but all 4 legged mammals are similar really.
> 
> ...


Blimey oh riley, I have used that method for 30yrs.I was taught to butcher in France, the difference between Big Jimmy and I would be the time taken, I would take a lot lot longer.I have de rigeurmortice of the romney.
I dont shoot anymore but I get good game, the two " backstraps" off a saddle of hare that has been properly hung are so good.


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## Bigjim68 (Nov 20, 2010)

When I was working in the packing house, most supermarkets had a butcher shop and cut their own.  There were also stand alone butcher shops.  Markets generally bought primals, Butcher shops often, but not always, bought sides.  The butcher would tag and stamp his own hanging beef, and we would deliver
Restaurants mostly ordered portion control.  A box of rib steaks would all have to be the same weight and the same general appearance. Weighing each one was too slow,  Portion control was the top of the line worker.  Even today I can look at a cut of meat or cheese, and guess the weight to a few hundredths of a pound.  
I also make chile with cubes.  I didn't know I was ahead of the curve.  Chop my own hamburger.  Burgers made with chopped rather than ground beef have a better texture.


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## Bigjim68 (Nov 20, 2010)

Bolas, the off cuts all had a market.  Tender tails were bought by restaurants and made into tender tip stews.  Any portion larger than an inch became stew meat, then ground and/or sausage.


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## taxlady (Nov 20, 2010)

Bigjim68 said:


> ...
> 
> Chop my own hamburger.  Burgers made with chopped rather than ground beef have a better texture.



Hmmm, interesting. How do you do that? Do you mince by hand with a knife?


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## Bolas De Fraile (Nov 20, 2010)

Jim it is diferent here, there is only one supermarket chain that has an instore butcher.I have a local source for the fillet tails, I pay £9.00 for 3lbs, I do not chop it for burgers I pass it through my mincer using the largest holed  plate then I add about 15% minced belly pork to give moisture.
Do you add other thing to your burger?


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## Bigjim68 (Nov 20, 2010)

taxlady said:


> Hmmm, interesting. How do you do that? Do you mince by hand with a knife?


With a knife.  A good sharp large chef's knife is an amazing tool.  Usually use top round, and add fat, or sometimes bacon.  Delicious.


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## Bigjim68 (Nov 20, 2010)

Bolas De Fraile said:


> Jim it is diferent here, there is only one supermarket chain that has an instore butcher.I have a local source for the fillet tails, I pay £9.00 for 3lbs, I do not chop it for burgers I pass it through my mincer using the largest holed  plate then I add about 15% minced belly pork to give moisture.
> Do you add other thing to your burger?


It is almost impossible to find an in store butcher shop or stand alone butcher here now.  Most supermarket meat is packaged at a central location.  It makes it difficult to get bones for stock.
Try those tips in a creme sauce recipe over noodles.  You won't be running them through a mincer any more.  
My packinghouse days are years ago.


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## taxlady (Nov 20, 2010)

Bigjim68 said:


> With a knife.  A good sharp large chef's knife is an amazing tool.  Usually use top round, and add fat, or sometimes bacon.  Delicious.



I'll have to give that a try. I have a good sharp chef's knife. Wouldn't cook very often if I didn't have one.


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## Kayelle (Nov 20, 2010)

Bigjim68 said:


> When I was working in the packing house, most supermarkets had a butcher shop and cut their own.  There were also stand alone butcher shops.  Markets generally bought primals, Butcher shops often, but not always, bought sides.  The butcher would tag and stamp his own hanging beef, and we would deliver
> Restaurants mostly ordered portion control.  A box of rib steaks would all have to be the same weight and the same general appearance. Weighing each one was too slow,  Portion control was the top of the line worker.  Even today I can look at a cut of meat or cheese, and guess the weight to a few hundredths of a pound.
> I also make chile with cubes.  I didn't know I was ahead of the curve.  Chop my own hamburger.  Burgers made with chopped rather than ground beef have a better texture.



This is all so interesting to me Jim.  My Dad started working in a packing house when he was very young.  He would have been 102 yrs old today, so that was a very long time ago.  He ended up with his own grocery and meat market..just he and my mom.  He taught me everything I know as a kid underfoot.  I sooooooo know about top notch old fashioned meat markets, and his refrigerator with sides of beef inside. He would do all the custom cuts himself, and I would load the meat case "just so" and beautiful.  This was circa '40's & 50's.
Pardon my walk down memory lane 
Please carry on with this most interesting thread.


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