A Guide To All The Cuts Of Beef - The Spruce Eats

At some point, anyone who cooks beef is curious about where the major cuts come from on the cow. This handy guide will show you the location of major beef cuts, like chuck, rib, loin, and brisket. You'll also discover which cuts are considered the best and the most reliable ways to cook each one.

The Basics of Beef Cuts

Beef is divided into large sections called primal cuts, which you can see in our beef cuts chart. These primal beef cuts, or "primals," are further broken down into subprimals, or "food-service cuts." These are then sliced and chopped into individual steaks, roasts, and other retail cuts.

A side of beef is one side of the beef carcass that is split through the backbone. Each side is then halved between the 12th and 13th ribs, forming the forequarter (front of the cow) and hindquarter (back of the cow).

The most tender cuts of beef, like the rib and tenderloin, are located farthest from the horn and hoof. The toughest areas of the animal are the shoulder and leg muscles, as they are worked the most.

What Is Beef Tallow?

Forequarter Cuts: Beef Chuck

Beef chuck comes from the forequarter. Consisting of parts of the neck, shoulder blade, and upper arm, beef chuck produces tough but very flavorful cuts of meat.

This primal cut contains a significant amount of connective tissue, making chuck a good choice for braised dishes like beef stew or pot roast, both of which tenderize tough cuts. Its fat content also makes beef chuck excellent for making ground beef that produces juicy burgers and ground beef stew.

The classic 7-bone roast comes from the beef chuck, as do the increasingly popular flat iron steak and Denver steak.

With conventional butchering, the beef chuck is separated from the rib primal between the fifth and sixth ribs. This means that it also contains a few inches of the longissimus dorsi muscle, which is the same tender muscle that rib-eye steaks are made from.

Forequarter Cuts: Beef Rib

Made from the top part of the center section of rib—specifically the sixth through the twelfth ribs—the beef rib primal cut is used for the traditional standing rib roast (also called prime rib). It's also the source of the delectable ribeye steak and the classic French entrecôte.

Since they're already tender, steaks and roasts from the beef rib primal can undergo various forms of dry-heat cooking and remain tender.

It's nearly impossible to describe a beef primal cut without discussing adjacent cuts. In this case, the beef rib primal is situated directly above the beef plate. Exactly where it's divided is somewhat arbitrary. Nevertheless, the lower parts of those ribs—whether we attribute them to the rib primal or the plate primal—are where beef short ribs come from.

Forequarter Cuts: Beef Plate

Also called the short plate (or "long plate," depending on where it's separated from the rib primal above it), the beef plate primal includes the short ribs. It is also where the skirt steak is located, which is used in carne asada.

Skirt steak is the diaphragm muscle. It's attached to the inside abdominal wall by a system of thick connective tissue, which needs to be carefully trimmed away. This steak is extremely flavorful. It's also a thin piece of meat, allowing you to cook it quickly over high heat. Just don't overcook it. Since it has coarse muscle fibers, be sure to slice it against the grain or it will be chewy.

Beef plate contains a lot of cartilage, especially around the ribs, which is why beef short ribs are ideal for braising. This process of cooking with moist heat at a low temperature will dissolve cartilage and turn it into gelatin.

The beef plate is also fairly fatty, so it can be used in making ground beef. 

Forequarter Cuts: Beef Brisket

Beef brisket is one of the most flavorful cuts of meat, although it is tough and needs to be cooked just the right way. It's also a moderately fatty cut of beef, but this can work to your advantage because it tenderizes into succulent, meaty perfection.

Taken from the area around the breastbone, the brisket is basically the chest or pectoral muscle of the animal. The characteristically thick, coarse-grained meat needs a lot of time and low-temperature cooking to break down and tenderize. 

Brisket is frequently used for making pot roast, and it's the traditional choice for corned beef. Another very popular technique for preparing brisket is to slow cook it in a barbecue or smoker.

Forequarter Cuts: Beef Shank

The beef shank is the leg of the animal's thigh. Each side of beef has two shanks, one in the forequarter and one in the hindquarter. It is extremely tough and full of connective tissue.

Beef shank is used in making the luxurious Italian dish osso buco.

Hindquarter Cuts: Beef Short Loin

Moving on to the beef primal cuts from the hindquarter, or back of the animal, the short loin is where we find the most desirable cuts of meat. These include T-bone and porterhouse steaks, as well as the strip loin or strip steak.

The beef short loin is about 16 to 18 inches long and will yield anywhere from 11 to 14 steaks, depending on the thickness.

The steaks from the short loin are cut starting at the rib end and work toward the rear. The first-cut steaks are club steaks or bone-in strip steaks. The center-cut steaks are T-bones, of which there may be six or seven. Finally, a butcher may be able to get two or three porterhouse steaks at the sirloin end.

The tenderloin extends from the short loin back into the sirloin. Interestingly, if the tenderloin is removed, there can be no T-bone or porterhouse steaks, as both of these include a section of the tenderloin muscle.

Dry-heat cooking methods work best for the tender cuts from the short loin.

Hindquarter Cuts: Beef Sirloin

Beef sirloin is a large section of the carcass that extends from the 13th rib back to the hip bone, reaching from the backbone down to the flank (or belly).

The full sirloin is subdivided into top sirloin and bottom sirloin. Top sirloin is typically turned into steaks suitable for grilling. As the sirloin is located near the rear leg of the animal, the muscles can be tougher. However, a first-cut sirloin steak—often referred to as a pin-bone steak due to its inclusion of a section of the hip bone—is quite similar to a porterhouse.

Once separated from the top sirloin, the bottom sirloin is typically divided into three main components: the tri-tip, ball tip, and flap, which are ideal for roasting and barbecuing (and sometimes used for ground beef). Although not immediately obvious in a two-dimensional diagram, the back end of the tenderloin, known as the butt tender, is located within the sirloin. This part is either removed when fabricating a whole tenderloin or sold as a roast. Be cautious of butchers who label a butt tender as filet mignon, as the latter comes from the opposite end of the tenderloin.

Hindquarter Cuts: Beef Tenderloin

The most tender cut of beef is the beef tenderloin located within the loin. This is where filet mignon comes from, made from the very tip of the pointy end of the tenderloin. Chateaubriand from the center cut of the tenderloin.

The tenderloin stretches from the short loin into the sirloin. The pointy end lies within the short loin, and the section in the sirloin is often referred to as the butt tenderloin. Nonetheless, butchers frequently remove the entire tenderloin to sell it whole or as individual steaks and roasts.

Beef tenderloin should exclusively be cooked using dry-heat methods, like grilling and broiling. Since the meat is already very tender, long cooking times are unnecessary. Keep it quick, with the heat high.

Hindquarter Cuts: Beef Flank

Beef flank can also be grilled. With its tough muscle fibers, it risks becoming even tougher if overcooked, so handle with care.

The best way to prepare flank steak is by grilling it quickly at a high temperature. Marinating the meat first can help prevent it from drying out, but avoiding overcooking is the most effective strategy. When you're ready to serve, remember to slice the steak thinly against the grain to ensure it's not chewy.

Beef flank is also good for braising and it's often used for making ground beef.

Hindquarter Cuts: Beef Round

The beef round primal cut basically consists of the back leg of the steer. Muscles from the round are fairly lean, but they're also tough because the leg and rump get a lot of exercise.

Just as the sirloin primal is divided into two subprimal cuts—top sirloin and bottom sirloin—the beef round also consists of multiple subprimal cuts: the top round (inside round), bottom round (outside round), and the knuckle. From the bottom round, we get cuts like rump roast and eye of round.

While you may occasionally braise a piece of beef round out of necessity, chuck consistently yields a more delicious result, and there's a good reason for this.

The top round and bottom round are lean and lack much collagen. Collagen is the protein that transforms into gelatin when braised slowly, which means that a braised rump roast isn't as succulent as a braised chuck roast.

Typically, the best use of round roasts is to cook them slowly to a perfect medium-rare. Once cooked, they can be sliced thinly for sandwiches or served as a main dish. Remember, slicing thinly and against the grain is crucial.