Cuts of beef are first divided into primal cuts, pieces of meat initially separated from the carcass during butchering. These are basic sections from which steaks and other subdivisions are cut. The term "primal cut" is quite different from "prime cut", used to characterize cuts considered to be of higher quality. Since the animal's legs and neck muscles do the most work, they are the toughest; the meat becomes more tender as distance from hoof and horn increases. Different countries and cuisines have different cuts and names, and sometimes use the same name for a different cut; e.g., the cut described as "brisket" in the US is from a significantly different part of the carcass than British brisket.
The American cultural anthropologist Margaret Mead wrote in the American Anthropological Journal of the American Anthropological Association, "cultures that divide and cut beef specifically to consume are the Koreans and the Bodi tribe in East Africa. The French and English make 35 differentiations to the beef cuts, 51 cuts for the Bodi tribe, while the Koreans differentiate beef cuts into a staggering 120 different parts."
The following is a list of the American primal cuts (in boldface), and cuts derived from them. Beef carcasses are split along the axis of symmetry into "halves", then across into front and back "quarters" (forequarters and hindquarters). Canada uses identical cut names (and numbering) as the U.S.
The chuck is the source of bone-in chuck steaks and roasts (arm or blade), and boneless clod steaks and roasts, most commonly. The trimmings and some whole boneless chucks are ground for hamburgers.
The rib contains part of the short ribs, the prime rib and rib eye steaks.
Brisket, primarily used for barbecue, corned beef or pastrami.
The foreshank or shank is used primarily for stews and soups; it is not usually served any other way because it is the toughest of the cuts.
The plate is the other source of short ribs, used for pot roasting, and the outside skirt steak, which is used for fajitas. The navel is the ventral part of the plate, and is commonly used to make pastrami. The remainder is usually ground, as it is typically a tough and fatty meat.
The loin has two subprimals, or three if boneless:
the short loin, from which the T-bone and porterhouse steaks are cut if bone-in, or strip steak.
the sirloin, which is less tender than short loin, but more flavorful, can be further divided into top sirloin and bottom sirloin (including tri-tip), and
the tenderloin, which is the most tender, can be removed as a separate subprimal, and cut into filet mignons, tournedos or tenderloin steaks, and roasts (such as for beef Wellington). They can also be cut bone-in to make parts of the T-bone and porterhouse loin steaks.
The round contains lean, moderately tough, lower fat (less marbling) cuts, which require moist or rare cooking. Some representative cuts are round steak, eye of round, top round, and bottom round steaks and roasts.
The flank is used mostly for grinding, except for the long and flat flank steak, best known for use in London broil, and the inside skirt steak, also used for fajitas. Flank steaks were once one of the most affordable steaks, because they are substantially tougher than the more desirable loin and rib steaks. Many modern recipes for flank steak use marinades or moist cooking methods, such as braising, to improve the tenderness and flavor. This, combined with a new interest in these cuts' natural leanness, has increased the price of the flank steak.
The most important cuts of beef in the Argentine cuisine are:
Asado: the large section of the rib cage including short ribs and spare ribs
Asado de tira: often translated as short ribs, but also sold as long, thin strips of ribs. Chuck ribs, flanken style (cross-cut).
Bife de costilla: T-bone or porterhouse steaks
Bife de chorizo: strip steak, called NY strip in US
Ojo de bife: ribeye steak
Bola de lomo: tenderloin
Chinchulín: upper portion of small intestines
Colita de cuadril: tri-tip, or the tail of the rump roast
Cuadril: rump
Entraña: skirt steak
Falda: navel
Lomo: tenderloin
Matambre: a long thin cut that lies just under the skin and runs from the lower part of the ribs to belly–or flank area
Mollejas: sweetbreads (thymus gland)
Pecho: brisket
Riñones – kidneys
Tapa de asado – rib cap
Tapa de nalga – top of round roast
Vacío – flank, though it may contain the muscles of other near cuts
The most important cuts of beef in the Brazilian cuisine are:
Acém (2): neck
Alcatra (9): top/bottom sirloin
Contrafilé (7): tenderloin
Coxão duro: round (upper)
Coxão mole: round (lower)
Filé Mignon (6): part of the tenderloin
Lagarto (10): round (outer)
Maminha (15): bottom sirloin/flank
Patinho (16): confluence of flank, bottom sirloin and rear shank
Picanha: rump cover or rump cap
Cupim: hump (zebu cattle only)
Fraldinha: confluence of short loin, flank and bottom sirloin
Paleta (3): chuck/brisket
Tongue
Necks and clod
Chuck steak & blades
Sirloin
Rump
Silverside
Topside
Top rump
fore rib
Rib eye steak
T-bone steak
Thick rib
Thin rib
Brisket
Shin and leg
Flank
Thick flank
Feather blade
Fillet
Neck
Rib
Sirloin
Tenderloin – Considered to be the premium cut, highly prized. It is called 'ossenhaas' in Dutch. It tends to be cut slightly smaller than its American counterpart.
Top sirloin
Round – Mainly used for kogelbiefstuk ('hip joint steak') considered to be the basic form of steak in Dutch and Belgian cuisine.
Flank
Chuck – Best cuts are used for stoofvlees, lesser bits are used in hachee.
Brisket
Shankle
Beef tongue is considered the cheapest piece of beef; it is used in certain styles of sausages such as the frikandel, though not as the main ingredient.
Tail, though not on the image shown, is used extensively in stews.
Basses côtes (1)
Côtes, entrecôtes (2)
Faux-filet (3)
Filet (4)
Rumsteck (5)
Rond de gîte (6)
Tende de tranche ; poire, merlan (7)
Gîte à la noix (8)
Araignée (9)
Plat de tranche, rond de tranche, mouvant (10)
Bavette d'aloyau (11)
Hampe (12)
Onglet (13)
Aiguillette baronne (14)
Bavette de flanchet (15)
Plat de côtes (16)
Macreuse à bifteck (17)
Paleron (18)
Jumeau à bifteck (19)
Jumeau à pot-au-feu (20)
Macreuse à pot-au-feu (21)
Queue (22)
Gîte (23)
Flanchet (24)
Tendron, milieu de poitrine (25)
Gros bout de poitrine (26)
Collier (27)
Plat de joue (28)
Langue (29)
Cachaço (1)
Coberta do acém, acém comprido (2)
Pá, peito alto (3)
Maçã do peito (4)
Peito (5)
Chambão (6)
Mão (7)
Lombo (8)
Rosbife, acém redondo, vazia, entrecôte (9)
Prego do peito (10)
Aba grossa (11)
Alcatra (12)
Chã de fora (13)
Rabadilha (14)
Pojadouro (15)
Gerdan (1): neck
Antrikot (2): rib steak
Kontrfile (3): Steak
Bonfile (5): fillet Steak
Sokum (4): rump
Nuar (7): round of beef
Kontrnuar (8): the lower left side of nuar
Tranç (6): the upper left side of nuar
Kürek (13): shoulder
Kol, incik: mutton leg
Döş (12): brisket
Pençata (11): flank
Yumurta (beef) (10): the section between kontrnuar and pençata
UNECE standard for bovine meat carcases and cuts
The UNECE standard offer for the first time internationally agreed specifications written in a consistent, detailed and accurate manner using anatomical names to identify cutting lines
