CUTS OF BEEF DESCRIPTION - Sirloin to Tenderloin
SIRLOIN, LOIN END: (Also known as: hip/short
hip/head loin/rump/K-style butt/sirloin butt bone-in/sirloin butt/sir butt/family
steak)A beef roast cut from the top butt muscle, which is one of two main muscles
of the sirloin. The top butt is a bit better in quality than the bottom butt and
is very suitable for oven roasting if it is not overcooked.
SIRLOIN TIP/KNUCKLE: (Also known as: short
sirloin/top sirloin/sirloin butt/crescent/veiny/bell of knuckle/face/face rump/
round/boneless sirloinlround tip/ball tip/loin tip/family steak/sandwich steak)Sirloin
tip is a nice mid-range piece of meat that roasts really nicely. It is actually
does not come from the sirloin section of a cow but from the round section directly
to the rear of the sirloin section. In its untrimmed form, it is called beef knuckle.
Another popular cut of meat comes from the knuckle: the London broil.
SHORT RIBS: (Also known as: middle ribs/English
short ribs) Short ribs (UK cut: Thin Rib) (Commonly known in UK as 'Jacob's Ladder'
) are a popular cut of beef. Beef short ribs are larger and usually more tender
and meatier than their pork counterpart, pork spare ribs. Short ribs are cut from
the rib and plate primals and a small corner of the square-cut chuck. A full slab
of short ribs is typically about 10 inches square, ranges from 3-5 inches thick,
and contains three or four ribs, intercostal muscles and tendon, and a layer of
boneless meat and fat which is thick on one end of the slab and thins down to almost
nothing on the other. There are numerous ways to butcher short ribs. The ribs can
be separated and cut into short lengths (typically about 2 inches long), called
an "English cut"; "flanken cut" across the bones (typically about 1/2 inch thick);
or cut into boneless steaks (however, these are not to be confused with "boneless
country-style short ribs," a cut recently introduced in the United States as a cheaper
alternative to rib steak, which are not ribs but cut from the chuck eye roll.
SHOULDER CLOD: (Also known as: scalped
shoulder/shoulder roast/boneless shoulder/cross rib/rolled cross rib/clod roast/
boneless clod roast/London broil) The beef clod or shoulder is one of the cheapest
cuts of beef and is taken from the shoulder region of the cattle. This is why it
is sometimes called chuck or shoulder clod. Beef clod consists of a large muscle
system and some fat that covers the muscles. Beef clod can be prepared in a variety
of methods both dry and moist, but the most recommended method to cook beef clod
is to cook it with moist heat or braising. Long slow smoking also provides acceptable
results.
SKIRT STEAK: (Also known as: skirt steak
filet) Skirt steak is a cut of beef steak, from the plate. It is a long, flat cut
that is prized for its flavor rather than tenderness. Sometimes flank steak is used
interchangeably with skirt steak, but it is a different cut of meat. The outside
skirt steak is the trimmed, boneless portion of the diaphragm muscle attached to
the 6th through 12th ribs on the underside of the short plate. This steak is covered
in a tough membrane that should be removed before cooking. The inside skirt steak
is a boneless portion of the flank trimmed free of fat and membranes.
T-Bone Steak: (Also known as: porterhouse
steak/small T-bone steak/club steak/tenderloin steak) A T-bone steak is a thin slice
of meat cut from the sirloin, the lower portion of a beef cow's back. T-bone steaks
receive their name from the T-shaped bone that runs through the center of the meat.
A tiny section of tenderloin steak is located on one side of the bone, and the other
side contains a New York strip. Butchers frequently create two steaks out of these
particular cuts of beef because of the high price that tenderloin steak usually
will bring.
TENDERLOIN: (Also known as: filet mignon/petite
filet/tenderloin roast/tenderloin tips/tips) A beef tenderloin, known as an eye
fillet in New Zealand and Australia, filet in France and Germany, is cut from the
loin of beef. As with all quadrupeds, the tenderloin refers to the psoas major muscle
ventral to the transverse processes of the lumbar vertebrae, near the kidneys. The
tenderloin is an oblong shape spanning two primal cuts: the short loin and the sirloin.
The tenderloin sits beneath the ribs, next to the backbone. It has two ends: the
butt and the "tail". The smaller, pointed end - the "tail" - starts a little past
the ribs, growing in thickness until it ends in the "sirloin" primal cut, which
is closer to the butt of the cow. This muscle does very little work, so it is the
tenderest part of the beef. The tenderloin can be cut for either roasts or steaks.
Tenderloins from steers and heifers are most common at retail, but those from cows
are common in foodservice applications, such as less expensive steakhouses.
Back To Beef Diagram |
Arm Pot Roast - Club Steak |
English Cut - Round |
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