WHOLESALE CUTS OF BEEF
Objective: Students will be able to name and identify 8 wholesale cuts of beef, demonstrated by labeling a blank diagram
Wholesale cuts: also known as primals, the larger cuts of meat that are shipped to grocery stores and meat markets
Retail cuts: the family sized or single serving cuts that are purchased at the store
chuck, rib, loin, and round
- 75% of the carcass weight.
- 90% of the carcass value.
CHUCK
LOIN
RIB
ROUND
- From the neck region
- Most economical cuts
- 26% of the carcass weight
Retail Cuts:
Boneless Chuck Roast
Pot Roasts
- Consists of the short loin, sirloin, and tenderloin
- Very expensive cuts
- Very tender meat
- Contains 7 ribs and part of the vertebral bones
- One of the most desirable in terms of tenderness.
- The top round, bottom round, eye round, rump, and tip muscles.
- Versatile and fairly inexpensive
Retail Cuts:
T-Bone Steak
Porterhouse Steak
Retail Cuts:
Rib Roast
Back Ribs
Retail Cuts:
Round Steak
Rump Roast
FLANK
SHANK
PLATE
BRISKET
- The flank is the area between the body and the hind legs
- Flank steak is commonly used for fajitas and/or beef jerky
- AKA "foreshank"
- Leg portion of a steer/heifer
- Constant use of this muscle leads to tough, dry meat
- Best when cooked for a long time in moist heat
- Lean
- AKA "short plate"
- The section that is separated from the Rib
- Breast or lower chest
- Cattle do not have collar bones, these muscles support about 60% of the body weight of standing/moving cattle
- Meat has significant amount of connective tissue
- Slow, moist heat to tenderize
Retail Cuts:
Skirt Steak
Short Ribs
Retail Cuts:
Shank crosscuts
Lean ground beef
Retail Cuts:
Brisket Whole
Brisket Half