Cuts of Meat

This list includes the American terminology for the primal cuts (large, major cuts) of beef, and a few sub-primal cuts.

Brisket

Brisket contains a large amount of connective tissue, and hence is naturally tough. It is used primarily for barbeque, pastromi, and corned beef. Slow cooking by smoking, roasting, or boiling allows for the collagen fibers to disolve, resulting in a more tender brisket.

Chuck

Source of chuck steak, roasts, and ground beef.

Club Steak

Filet [Mignon]

See Tenderloin.

Flank

The flank is the rear portion of the belly behind the plate. It is used mostly for grinding, except for the long and flat flank steak, best known for use in London broil, and the inner skirt steak which is used in Fajitas. Flank steak is usually marinaded to improve tenderness and flavor, and then prepared with moist cooking methods such as braising. Flank is quite lean compared to other cuts.

Hanger

This is a cut of beef steak from the plate area that's prized for its flavor. It is also known as a butcher's steak, hanging tenderloin, or "bistro steak". The hanger steak is usually the most tender cut on an animal second only to the tenderloin. There is only one per cow, so hanger steaks are expensive.

Plate

The plate area is the front portion of the belly in front of the Flank. The meat is one source of short ribs, also used for pot roasts and pastrami. The outer "skirt steak" is used for fajitas. The remaining tough and fatty portions are usually ground.

Porterhouse

A bone-in steak cut from the rear of the short loin. This is a highly prized steak as it contains both a tenderloin portion and a sirloin portion. Under USDA regulations, the tenderloin of a porterhouse must be at least 1.25 inches (32 mm) wide at its widest. A Porerhouse contains more tenderloin than a T-Bone.

Prime Rib

Also known as a standing rib roast, this is a large cut of meat containing 2 to 7 ribs. A rib roast is generally dry-roasted "standing" on one rib so that the meat does not touch the pan. Note that the word "Prime" refers to "primal cut", and a Prime Rib is not necessarily USDA Prime grade beef. The grade reflects the age and amount of marbling.

Rib Eye

A steak from the same cut as Prime Rib. The "eye" is the hole left from where the rib bone was removed.

Roast

This is just a generic term for a large cut of meat that, of course, is suitable for roasting.

Rib

General term for any cut from the rib area including Prime Rib, Rib Eye, and Short Ribs.

Round

The round area is near the top rear of the cow, and contains lean, moderately tough, lower fat (less marbling) cuts. Round requires moist or rare cooking. Round cuts include round steak, eye of round, top round, and bottom round steaks, as well as roasts.

Shell Steak

A bone-in Strip Steak with no tenderloin.

Short Loin

This is the area immediately behind the ribs used for top loin, tenderloiin, T-Bone, Porterhouse, and Strip Steaks. The meat is generally very tender.

Short Rib

Short ribs are a cut of beef taken from the brisket, chuck, plate, or rib areas of beef cattle, and contain just a short section of rib bone(s). Rib meat is naturally tough, and must be cooked slowly to tenderize the meat. From lowest to highest quality, the choices are: plate, brisket or chuck, and finally premium ribs such as "back ribs" from near the spine.

Shank (fore and hind)

Shank is the toughest cut of beef, so it is used only for inexpensive, low-fat ground beef, or in stews and soups that are cooked for a long time.

Sirloin

Sirloin is cut from an area behind the short loin, and is classified as Top Sirloin, Bottom Sirloin (usually just labeled "sirloin"), and Sirloin Tip Roast. Sirloin is more flavorful but less tender than Tenderloin.

Skirt

A cut of meat from the plate area. This is covered by a tough membrane that should be removed before cooking. The meat is then typically first marinated, and then pan-seared or braised. Although the meat is still a bit tough, it is very flavorful, and is used in Fajitas, Chinese stir-fry dishes, and other.

Strip Steak

Essentiallly a boneless T-Bone or Porterhouse cut. It is very tender, but not quite as much as a tenderloin. Strip Steak can be substituted for most recipes calling for T-Bone or Porterhouse. A "New York" Stip Steak is just a strip steak with a premimum price—they don't raise cattle in New York City.

T-Bone

A bone-in steak cut from the front of the short loin. This is a highly prized steak as it contains both a tenderloin portion and a sirloin portion. Under USDA regulations, the tenderloin of a T-Bone must be at least 0.5 inches (13 mm) wide at its widest point. See also Porterhouse.

Tenderloin

A cut taken from below the ribs and spanning the Short Loin to the Sirloin. Tenderloin is much more tender than Sirloin, but less flavorful. There are three sections: (1) the butt, which confusingly is near the front; typically used for the thinly pounded meat in carpaccio (2) center cut, which is sufficiently large so that it can be cut into consistently-sized steaks, and (3) the pointed tail which is too small for consistent portions, so it is usually used in recipes such as Beef Stroganoff. Steaks are generally taken from the center cut, and called Tenderloin, Filet, Eye Filet, Filet Mignon, or Tournedo, depending on the cuisine. The center cut is also used for Chateaubriand steak and beef Wellington.

Veal

Veal is the meat of calves, generally male dairy cows that can not of course lactate so are therefore "surplus" unless they are to be used for breeding. Veal production is controversial with animal activists. Veal can be very tough, so it is usually pounded into thin cutlets and served in dishes such as Wiener Schnitzel, or served with sauce in dishes such such as in Veal Parmesan. There is no legal definition of Veal in the US.

Wagyu

Wagyu is not a cut of beef, but included here for your information. It refers to any one of four different Japanese breeds of cattle. Blacks make up roughly 90% of the fattened cattle in Japan, while the other breeds are Red or Brown, Polled, and Shorthorn. Some areas apply their own local names including Matsusaka beef, Kobe beef, Yonezawa beef, Mishima beef, Omi beef, and Sanda beef. Quality Wagyu has a large amount of marbling.

Grades of Beef

There are eight grades of beef in the USDA grading system. One criteria is maturity, where the highest ranking "A" is 9 to 30 months, and the lowest ranking "E" is greater than 96 months. Another important factor is marbling, which is the amount of fat interspered in the lean meat. From these criteria come the following grades:

• Prime. Beef from young, well-fed cattle with an "abundant" amount of marbling. It is generally sold in restaurants and hotels. Prime roasts and steaks are excellent for dry-heat cooking such as broiling, roasting or grilling.
• Choice. High quality, but marbling than Prime. Choice roasts and steaks from the loin and rib will be very tender, juicy, and flavorful and are suited for dry-heat cooking. Less tender cuts can also be cooked with dry heat if not overcooked, but will be most tender if braised, roasted or simmered with a small amount of liquid in a covered pan.
• Select. Uniform in quality but leaner than the higher grades. It is fairly tender, but due to lack of marbling may lack some of the juiciness and flavor of the higher grades. Only tender cuts should be cooked with dry heat, while other cuts can be marinated before cooking or braised to obtain maximum tenderness and flavor.
• Standard and Commercial. These grades are often sold as ungraded or as store brand meat.
• Utility, Cutter, and Canner. These grades are generally not sold at retail but are used instead to make ground beef and processed products.

You may also see something called "Yield Grade", which is a measure of the proportion of the dressed carcass that can be turned into trimmed, closely cut meat products. The USDA defines yield grades: YG1 (> 52.3%) through YG5 (< 45.4%).

The Japanese beef grading system defines Yield Grades A (>= 72%), B (>= 69%), and C (< 69%). The system also defines 12 quality levels that reflect marbling (and a few other qualities), where 1 is "scarce marbling", 3 is "standard", and 5 is "very abundant". The best steak you can buy has an "A5" grade.