The numerous beef cuts don’t have to be intimidating. We delve into the eight most common beef cuts and explain which part of the animal they come from and how they are meant to be cooked.
TENDERLOIN
The beef tenderloin is a long, narrow muscle called the psoas major, which comes from high up inside the beef loin, beneath the spine and directly behind the kidney. It extends from the hip bone up to the thirteenth rib, and it doesn’t get much exercise, which is why it’s so tender. The tenderloin is where high-end items like filet mignon is found, and it’s a component of the popular T-bone and porterhouse steaks.
It can be roasted whole, or divided into smaller roasts. You want to cook it quickly over high heat, so that its exterior becomes nicely browned while its interior is left juicy and medium rare. The lack of fat on the tenderloin can make cooking it more difficult because fat is an insulator which slows down the rate of heat transfer. The faster a piece of meat cooks, the larger the temperature gradient within that piece of meat. This means that it’s very easy to end up with a roast that is well-done on the outer layers while the centre is barely medium-rare.
RIBEYE/CUBE ROLL
Ribeye steaks are cut from the rib primal portion of the rib section typically spanning ribs six through twelve. It lies in the upper rib cage which is not weight-bearing and gets little exercise. Steaks closer to the head have more abundant marbling and generally have a layer of fat around the leaner portions. During the cooking process, the fat melts (renders) and bastes the meat from the inside. It can be grilled, pan-fried or barbecued.
STRIPLOIN
Anatomically, the striploin muscle is part of the short loin. One side of the short loin is the tenderloin; the other side is the striploin. The striploin is a muscle that does little work when the animal moves, and so it remains relatively tender. It is an extremely versatile cut of beef used for roasts or cut into steaks. Though not as tender as rib eyes or tenderloins, striploins are very flavorful due to consistent marbling. According to Andre Huber, Executive Director at Huber’s Butchery, the degree of marbling determines the level of flavour of a piece of meat. He said, “The more grain you feed the animal, the more marbling you will have on the meat. Marbling basically means fat tissues. You don’t normally get a lot of that in grass-fed meat. Fat is flavour, so the more fat you have on the meat, the more flavourful the meat is supposed to be.”
RUMP
Rump steaks are a lean cut with little fat, which can make it a little less tender than others. The traditional slice of rump steak, cut across the whole primal, yields a cross section of several muscles with the grains running different ways. This results in varying degrees of tenderness across the meat. The fat border, which runs along the curved side, is easily removed if desired. It is perhaps because of these factors that this versatile beef primal cut is passed over for more expensive and tender prime cuts of beef by many chefs and restaurants.
The beef rump is cut from the hindquarter and is a boneless piece of beef that covers the hip bone of the animal. There are two rumps per carcass. An extremely versatile cut, it can be roasted, pan-fried, barbecued, stir-fried or slow-cooked in a braise or casserole. It is a great full-flavoured piece of beef.
SHORT LOIN
The short loin is made up of the front part of the loin primal cut, which runs from the thirteenth rib, all the way to the very top of the femur, or leg bone, where it joins the hip bone. The reason steaks from the short loin are so desirable and also the most expensive is that they’re made from muscles that don’t get much exercise, so they’re tender, and they have superb flavour and juiciness. A typical short loin will have (starting from the front and working toward the back) maybe two club steaks (or bone-in strip steaks), six to seven T-bones, and two to three porterhouse steaks.
PRIME RIB
A standing rib roast, also known as prime rib, is a cut of beef from the primal rib, and is one of the nine primal cuts of beef. While the entire rib section comprises ribs six through twelve, a standing rib roast may contain anywhere from two to seven ribs. It is most often roasted “standing” on the rib bones so that the meat does not touch the pan. An alternative cut removes the top end of the ribs for easier carving.
SHIN SHANK
Also known as the shank, this is a cut of beef taken from the lower leg of the animal. The shin is a highly worked muscle that is supported by high levels of connective tissue. This connective tissue is broken down through slow cooking over a low heat and results in a moist, tender meat with rich flavour. The shin shank is cut from the leg.
CHUCK
The chuck is the area of the animal that extends from the neck to the fifth rib of the chest cavity. Because of the high amounts of connective tissue here, the chuck is typically stewed, slow-cooked or braised to make it more tender and flavourful. The connective tissue breaks down in the cooking process. This adds flavour, gelatinous texture and also helps to tenderise the meat. The chuck is usually used for mince or stewing beef. “We usually use the chuck for grinding because it has a good fat-to-meat ratio of about 15%. For our lean mince, we use the beef knuckle, which has hardly any fat in it,” Andre explained.
