Primal, Subprimal and Fabricated, Cuts of Beef- Including Diagrams.

Beef is the meat of domesticated cattle- bull, cow, heifer, or steer ( all bovines) that are raised principally for (formerly, mainly human, now mainly our pets) consumption.

A beef carcass is first divided into primal cuts. Each primal cut is then reduced into subprimal cuts. Individual portions derived from subprimal cuts are referred to as fabricated cuts.

 Diagram of Meat Cuts - Beef Skeletal Diagram

This PUBLIC DOMAIN diagram shows the skeletal view of a side of beef.

          The Beef (cuts) consists of:

·         Tail Bones

·         Sacrum

·         Back Bones (lumbar vertebrae 1-6)

·         Back Bones (thoracic vertebrae 1-13)

·         Neck Bones (cervical vertebrae)

·         Atlas Joint (1st cervical vertebra)

·         Carpal Joint

·         Fore Shank Bones (radius)

·         Arm Bone (humerus)

·         Elbow Joint

·         Blade Bone (scapula)

·         Elbow Bone (ulna)

·         Shoulder Joint

·         Ridge of Blade Bone

·         Breast Bone (sternum)

·         Blade Bone Cartilage

·         Ribs 1-13 (most, not all, bovine and, therefore beef producing, animals have 13 ribs).

·         Rib Cartilage

·         Pin Bone (ilium)

·         Rump Knuckle Bone (head of femur/acetabulum)

·         Flank Lymph Node (prefemoral)

·         Aitch Bone (ischium)

·         Leg Bone (femur)

·         Knee Cap (patella)

·         Stifle Joint (tibio-femoral articulation)

·         Hind Shank Bone (tibia)

·         Tarsal Joint

Beef- Diagrams of Meat Cuts -

The above PUBLIC DOMAIN diagram shows the meat cuts from a side of beef. 

As you can plainly see; the Hind Quarter consists of the Hip, Long Loin and Flank- PRIMAL cuts .

·         The Hip consists of the following SUB PRIMAL cuts:

o  Hind  Shank

o    Heel of Round

o    Round - which consists of Inside Round, Outside Round, Eye of Round

o    Rump

o    Sirloin Tip

·         The Long (SIR) Loin consists of the following SUB PRIMALcuts:

o    Sirloin

o    Short Loin - which consists of Porterhouse, Tenderloin, Strip-(ped) Loin, T-Bone, and Wing (traditionally known, in Canada, and, the rest of North America, as the Club Steak).

The Front Quarter consists of Rib, Chuck, front or fore Shank, Brisket, Full Brisket, and Plate- PRIMAL cuts.

·         The Rib consists of the following SUB PRIMALcuts:

o    Standing Rib- calling the Primal Rib Sectrion prime rib is, simply put, fraudulent Amerifictation, corruption of the proper term, scam--OK, if you prefer, United States of the Americas colloquialism, still fraudulent.

o    Short Ribs

o    Rib Eye- can not be boneless
    Faux(false) fillet Rib steaks-bone in(would not be a fillet, entrocote, or ribeye) or bone removed (entrecôte)

·         The Chuck consists of the following SUB PRIMAL cuts:

o    Blade

o    Cross Rib

o    Neck

o    Shoulder

·         The Plate consists the Short Ribs- SUB PRIMAL cut.

·         Alternative Chuck SUB PRIMAL cuts consist of the following:

o    Blade

o    Chuck Short Rib

o    Neck

o    Shoulder

Again,The Primal Front Quarter Cuts of Beef: Chuck, Brisket, Shank, Rib [This primal cut consists of the ribs, and (formerly) a portion of the backbone. The centre muscle portion of the rib (rib-eye) is quite tender. It also contains large amounts of marbling and produces fairly well flavoured roasting cuts and/or steaks. Marbling is intramuscular fat. It increases nutritional value, and tenderness, in meat; and, gives it a marbled look]. Short Plate, Long Sirloin[Actually, in most modern, mass processing, meat department, butcher shops, The Long Sirloin will be divided into two sub primal cuts, and then referred to as the short loin and sirloin-separate], and  Flank, and Round.

The Sub Primal Cuts of Beef:

The primal and sub primal cuts have distinctive characteristics, based on the amount of muscle tissue, which give meat its characteristic appearance. The amount of connective tissue usually also Determines, The Nutritional Value, As Well As, The Tenderness Of The Meat.

Muscle tissue, composed of cells held together by connective tissue, contains, approximately, 72% water, 20% protein, 7% fat, and 1% minerals. The cells of muscles which are in more frequent use contain more connective tissue. Therefore, cuts of meat from the chuck or shoulder, which are in constant use, are tougher than those from the loin, or back, which have less muscle.

Connective tissue contains collagen (a membrane) or elastin (tendons and ligaments) which connect the muscle to bone. Collagen breaks down into gelatine and water when cooked using moist heat.

 Elastin, on the other hand, remains stringy and tough so, it is best to remove these tendons and ligaments before cooking.

Sub Primal and Fabricated, Front Quarter Cuts of Beef

Chuck

Often thought of as being is very tough; however, Six Of The Tenderest Cuts Of Meat Come From The Chuck, which means; of course-- and once again proving how very little the average North American consumer knows about the food they are eating-- just the opposite is often true. It is, also, one of the most flavourful cuts of beef. The primal chuck is the animal’s shoulder; because this is a well-used muscle, the chuck contains a high amount of connective tissue and Therefore Nutritive Value.

Fabricated cuts:

•       Cross rib- braising cut

•       Chuck short ribs

•       Stew meat

•       Ground chuck- for hamburgers, meat loaf etch.

•       Flat-iron steak

Brisket and Shank

The brisket (steer’s breast) and fore shank (arm) are located beneath the primal chuck on the front half of the animal.

The brisket is very tough and contains a substantial percentage of fat. It is typically pickled to produce corned beef brisket or pastrami.

Beef Fore Shank is very flavourful, high in collagen and nutritive value.

Typically, it is used in foodservice for making soups and stocks. Rarely, in some old fashioned, more caring neighbourhood retail markets, even in some equally such, commercial kitchens it may be ground for INEXPENSIVE, Low-Fat, Highly Nutritious, ground beef.

Rib

Fabricated cuts:

•       Roastable standing ribs of beef

•       Boneless ribeye roast

•       Ribeye-roastable cut or steaks

•       Beef short ribs

Recommended cooking method: Broiling/Roasting/Dry Heat- most commonly however, because many cooks and self-identified “chefs” don’t know the difference, a rib “roasting cut” will be braised.

Short Plate

The short plate; which is not really a primal cut, comes from the rib section. It, of course, contains rib bones and is located directly below the primal rib cut.

Fabricated cuts:

•       Short ribs

•       Skirt steaks

Hind Quarter-The long sirloin is the primal cut taken from the hind quarter and produces the most prized cuts of beef.

Fabricated Long Loin Cuts:

·         Short loin

·         Sirloin

·         Tenderloin/Filet mignon-really the same thing only a different name

·         Strip- short loin after the prize fillet has been stripped off.

·         Porterhouse

·         T-Bone

·         Club[or in the United States of the Americas and therefore, now, of course Canada-global scam—pardon me--economy, you know—wing steaks.

·         Sirloin steak

·         Sirloin butt roasting cut

Recommended cooking method: Dry Heat, baking, broiling/roasting.

Flank

The flank is located directly beneath (would have been seen as lower on the living animal) the loin. The flank contains no bones, is very tough, but very flavourful and of course, therefore, nutritious.

Fabricated Flank Cuts:

·         Flank steak

·         London broil

Recommended cooking methods: braising and if not over cooked, dry heat.

Round

The primal round is the hind leg of the animal and contains the round, aitch, shank, and tail bones.

Fabricated cuts- from the round:

•       Round steaks

•       Round roasts
©Al (Alex-Alexander) D. Girvan. All rights reserved