Whats the Best Way to Have a Beef Cut

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When getting your beefiness from a local farmer or raising it yourself, you need to know when butchering a moo-cow (technically a bovine and usually a steer or heifer) cuts of meat that are essential to brand sure you're getting the most from the fauna and the cuts that volition serve you and your family best.

This is part 2 of our raising grass fed beef and what you demand to know about butchering. If yous missed part one where we talked nigh What You Need to Know About Butcher Day, you definitely want to cheque it out. It's all about what you demand to know on butcher day and focuses on the cuts that you can only get on butcher solar day too as how to instruct the butcher to handle them. This office of the series volition focus on what you need to know for your cut and wrap order.

Listen in below to the full podcast,Episode #216 When Butchering a Cow the Best Cuts of Meat to Become of thePioneering Today Podcast, where we don't just inspire you, only give you the clear steps to create the homegrown garden, pantry, kitchen and life y'all desire for your family and homestead.

As promised nosotros're getting into everything you lot need to know to tell your butcher to brand sure that yous are getting the about out of the animal also as the cuts that yous and your family are going to use. This may vary some and I'll walk yous through this, simply I want to give you lot a proficient overview of all the different cuts. Then I will share with you the cuts that we get and those that are available. Too to be covered are those items that you must request to be given to you that is not function of the normal cut and wrap unless specifically requested. The butcher won't ask you if you want them and so information technology's up to you to ask for them. Many people don't necessarily desire them nor will they apply them but us homesteaders like to become the most out of the animals and then we practice utilise them.

Update: Technically a cow is a female bovine who has had a calf, a heifer is a female bovine under ii years of age that hasn't had whatsoever calves, and a steer is male bovine that has been castrated, a bull is a male bovine that can reproduce. Commonly you lot'll exist getting a steer or heifer every bit your beef animal.

You'll Need to Cull Packet Sizes

I of the things the butcher will enquire you is what size package you want your hamburger in. Typically, it comes in one, 1 and a half, or ii pounds. That of course depends on your family unit size and how much meat you usually use when cooking.

With our family of four we commonly just do a i-pound parcel with our ground meat like hamburger and sausage. If I need ii pounds in the event of a potluck, hosting a dinner, or batch cooking and doubling a recipe, then I'thou able to simply grab two packages out and know that that's two pounds. For the majority of the time, particularly when doing hamburgers, spaghetti, meatballs, or something similar that, ane pound is very sufficient for us.

The adjacent decision you'll need to make is how many steaks yous'll desire per bundle. For our family of four, usually, I like to accept two steaks per package. My girl is still young while my son is starting to hit those teenage years and eating more, merely fifty-fifty with that nosotros unremarkably are able to separate upwards the ii steaks betwixt the iv of use. That gives us i repast with no leftovers. Again, this all depends on your family size.

As mentioned in episode 214 Raising Grass-Fed Beef – What You lot Need to Know on Butcher Day, you want the meat to be dry out-aged for at least 14 days, preferably 21 days. Only before that time menses is up the butcher will want your cutting and wrap lodge so that they can go information technology washed as presently as possible, especially when it's a busy season. They'll put that order with your beef then that on the day that they actually cut and wrap everything, they already have the order information right there ready to become. So, only know that within the first couple of days of kill twenty-four hour period, they want you to call in with your gild. If y'all don't call them, they'll call you lot.

Understanding Beef Cut Terminology

When looking at the cow, the USDA divides information technology into eight regions. These are referred to as the primal or main cuts. They are:

Chuck
Rib
Loin
Round
Flank
Curt Plate
Brisket
Shank

A few of them you may recognize such as the rib. And you lot've probably heard of chuck roast, flank steaks, and brisket, only we're going to go into the nitty-gritty. The butcher looks at the main eight areas. If y'all're a visual person I've included a link for a cuts chart in the resource section beneath.

These cardinal cuts get farther divided into sub-primal cuts. These are cuts that are a cut of meat that is larger than a steak or roast merely definitely smaller than one-half or quarter side of beef. From there they are they're cut into individual size and portion cuts.

The most expensive cuts, which you're not paying more for (equally explained in episode 214) when you butcher or purchase a whole brute, you pay the same per pound for all the cuts), but the most expensive cuts are in the center – the loin and rib section. They are more tender than the outer sections.

If you think nigh information technology, the out section, legs, and cervix which they move take more muscles and muscles mean firmer. Therefore usually they're tougher. If yous have them aged as I recommended, information technology does aid tenderizes the firmer cuts of meat.

How Does Beef Get Priced When Buying from a Farmer

You pay the farmer per pound of the hanging weight, significant that after the animal has been gutted. In that location is a divide fee that goes to the butcher. There's a impale fee. If you do half the beefiness, and then you pay half the kill fee, and and so on. And then in that location'due south a per pound cut and wrap. To requite you an thought, our fee to the butcher was $0.65 per pound.

At present that we've covered what the primal cuts and sub-central cuts are, we'll become into the bodily cuts of meat that are available to you. You have a lot of different cuts that yous tin become from the center, but normally, there are more cuts per area of meat than you'll be able to get. This might be a fleck disruptive but a butcher volition walk you through if y'all take questions when you're doing your cut and wrap order.

A Cutting By Whatsoever Other Name

To make things a little more confusing, sometimes the same cut can accept unlike names. The short loin is a great example of this. The T-os and porterhouse steak are both from the brusk loin and really are the same steak. But hither's the difference: The porterhouse is a bigger version of the T-os. Near people are familiar with a T-bone steak because information technology has that bone that looks similar a T which divides the meat. 1 one side y'all have the filet while the other side has a strip steak.

A strip steak has a lot of unlike names likewise such every bit NY strip, KC strip, and hotel steak. And so you tin have different variations of the name, but they mean the aforementioned thing.

The tender cuts from the center are usually a:

T-bone steak
Strip steak
Porterhouse steak
Rib center
Rib steak
Filet mignon

We no longer get the T-bone steak because we all want the super tender side and none of us want the tougher side. Instead, we go the rib steak which is our favorite because the flavor and texture are but amazing. Nosotros also get the New York steak for our family size. Can't beat the flavor and texture either.

Just in case you were curious, if y'all're buying a half or a quarter of a beef, it's not like you just get the front quarter and only get cuts from that section, such every bit the chuck. They take all the eight different areas then divide them up evenly between two or iv.

Which beefiness butchering cuts do you demand to know?

There are 8 key cuts on beef and and so your subprimal cuts for individual cuts of steak, roasts, etc.

1. Chuck

Chuck is the meat that comes from the shoulder and tin can sometimes be considered tough but super flavorful. Types of cuts y'all'll see from the chuck region:

Ground chuck (hamburger)
Apartment-iron steak
Chuck short ribs
Shoulder tender medallions
Chuck pot roast
Blade roast
Boneless chuck short ribs
Stew meat – Try our favorite Old-fashioned Beef Stew Recipe – Instant Pot or Slow Cooker
State style ribs
Meridian bract steak
Chuck eye roast
Arm post roast
Shoulder pot roast
Mock tender roast
Under blade roast
7-bone pot roast
Flanken-style ribs
Cross rib roast

But because all those cuts come up from the same area does not mean that you're going to get every single one of them. In fact, most times y'all tin't get every single i because some cuts take specific areas of the meat to go ane type of cutting, while some other type of cut could also include that area. It just depends on what yous want as to how the butcher is going to cut up the area.

I'll give y'all an example. We love pot roast considering they are the most tender and have the almost flavor, melt with the most consistently cook in your oral cavity flavor and texture. Nosotros don't really similar flat iron steaks, height bract steaks, or any steaks from the chuck region because they're going to be tougher. They're not as tender so we don't want them. I definitely do like to get stew meat to put in stews, or brand barbecued beef (it works very well).

So I'll get stew meat and pot roasts from the chuck area and annihilation that is left I have them grind into hamburger.

two. Brisket

Next up is the brisket, which is the breast of the fauna, exist it a steer or a moo-cow. Most of the time information technology'll be a steer because it gives more meat per animal considering steers grow larger and faster than a cow. A two-year-former steer is going to outweigh a ii-year-old moo-cow by a lot. They're more advantageous for the farmers because they're more cost-effective. We brood our own and two years in a row our calves have been heifers (unbred cow). It'south non worth it to try to take that heifer to market and to auction and sell and then endeavor to buy a steer. And then nosotros do butcher our cows and have never noticed a difference in flavor.

The brisket expanse has a lot of fat in it simply tin exist kind of tough. This part commonly gets tenderized: barbecue brisket, corned beef, pastrami are all examples of the chief uses for this cut of meat. We don't ordinarily get the brisket and have it ground up into hamburger instead. We apply a lot of burger because information technology's so versatile.

3. Shank

The tertiary area is the shank. This is the beast's forearm, which falls in front of the brisket. Usually, this is considered the toughest cutting of meat.

This is the expanse that soup bones come from, which you definitely want to get. The meat is really actually good on a soup bone and you'll be surprised at the amount of meat that is on the bone. It's not only a bone.

I brand broth with it which cooks the meat. Once that'south done, I remove the bone from the broth, let information technology cool a flake so that I can take the meat off the os. So I'll take the meat and put information technology dorsum in the broth and brand soup with information technology.

Any actress meat that I don't get as soup bones, I have ground upwards into hamburger.

four. Ribs

Ribs are next upward. I think we're all pretty familiar with the rib department on an animal, cow's ribs and backbone. At that place are 13 pairs of ribs, but it'south the last section – 6 through 12 – that is in the central department of the ribs. The others are in what nosotros consider the chuck department.

Within the ribs, there is a lot of marbling which gives it groovy flavor. They're one of my favorite things. Barbecued ribs…oh you guys, that's 1 of my favorites! Need a barbecue sauce recipe? Endeavor this Homemade Barbecue Sauce or my Sweetness and Smoky Barbecue Sauce.

The types of cuts available from the ribs section:

Delmonico steak
Boneless ribeye roast
Cowboy steak
Ribeye steaks
Beefiness short ribs
Rib roast
Back ribs

That marbling non merely gives astounding flavor, but we know that information technology as well helps give us bully tender cuts.

At present, the back rib cutting is the big affair of ribs that you're used to seeing. I don't get the ribeye roasts because I want the ribeye steaks, which tin can take the bone or be boneless.

5. Plate

The plate section is the other source of curt ribs and is found near the abdomen. It's a little scrap fattier. The meat is usually used for:

Fajitas
Pastrami
Skirt steak (cutting into carne asada cut)
Philadelphia steak
Curt ribs

Have I mentioned I really like ribs? And then I definitely request ribs. We also order the carne asada cutting (aka skirt steak) because we love a good Carne Asada.

6. Loin

The loin expanse contains what are typically the almost expensive cuts if purchasing in a store. It's located at the elevation, directly behind the ribs. Since these muscles here aren't heavily used, the meat is very tender.

The loin department is cleaved downward into two subsections: the short loin and the sirloin. Popular cuts from the brusque loin are:

Filet mignon
Tenderloin steak
T-bone steak
Porterhouse steak
Strip steak
New York strip steak
KC Steak
Top loin steak

The sirloin area is thought to be a niggling less tender than the brusk loin, only it has more season. Some common cuts are:

Sirloin steak
Center cutting sirloin steak
Summit sirloin
Bottom sirloin
Ball tip steak
Tri-tip steak

7. Circular

Area number seven is the round. This is your lean and inexpensive cuts typically by then hind end and at the hind legs and so can sometimes be tough just non normally super tough. Once again, with the leg and shoulder areas, you'll encounter basis beef from them. Some of the cuts that y'all get from this area:

Circular steak
Eye of round
Tip steak
Tip roast
Top circular
Lesser circular roast
Boneless rump roast

I've tried cooking rump roast in a tedious cooker but I tin never become that son of a gun to e'er get super tender and good and so I don't even bother. We have all made into hamburger. That's simply personal preference though. If you know how to cook a melt in your rima oris, succulent, boneless rump roast, please practice share information technology with me because possibly I'm missing out on something.

viii. Flank

The last area is the flank. It's located beneath the loin and has no bones. It'southward lean, flavorful, but tough. It used to exist pretty inexpensive but people at present desire more than lean meat. Probably not us homesteaders though since we all like our lard and tallow. The two chief cuts from the flank surface area are:

Flank steak
London broil

Like I said, with those tougher areas that we aren't having made into steak cuts or roasts they tin can plough them into ground beefiness and ground beef patties, stew meat, kabob meat (more than evenly cutting and a trivial bit smaller than stew meat), and strips such every bit fajita or carne asada cuts.

Those are your eight areas and how they're broken down into different cuts.

How to Find a Local Source

If you can't find a local farmer you can contact your local butcher. Oftentimes they volition sell meat independently too, but they should also be able to bespeak yous in the direction of some local farmers.

Non-Standard Cuts

Marrow/Femur Bones

Now nosotros're going to talk well-nigh the cuts that aren't normal that oasis't been covered yet that yous might not be familiar with. First upward, are the marrow and/or femur basic. This is the big leg of the moo-cow and not what your soup bones come from. Frequently people presume that's what the soup basic are but as we talked nearly earlier, the soup bones accept meat on them.

But when yous inquire for the marrow or femur bone at that place will exist no meat attached to them. They will be merely basic. Y'all can request that the butcher cutting them upward into three-inch pieces.

The reason yous want this is that it makes cute broth because the basic have been cut open so you lot have all that marrow from that large leg os. Because of all that marrow,you'll get a gel like no tomorrow. It's gorgeous and you'll love information technology.

Some other way that you tin can use them is by roasting them. My son and husband love the marrow from roasted bones. It'south similar a delicacy. A lot of other nations and cultures love bone marrow and will utilize them this way too.

Be sure to ask the butcher to chop them upwards for yous though. You lot desire to make sure you tin admission and go the most marrow out of the basic equally possible.

Tallow

The other thing that you may or may want to go, totally up to you lot, is the tallow. Tallow is the fat from a cow. When information technology'southward pig fatty, it's called lard. With beef, information technology's chosen tallow. Some people think that tallow is a lot smellier and it'south a lot harder.

Unlike lard, tallow is non something that you lot'll desire to use to make your pie crusts and things similar that.

At present, you can definitely use tallow for frying and cooking, only what most people like to employ tallow for is for salves, balms, and soap making.

Y'all'll need to render it down just like you would lard. Back in the pioneer days, they also used the fat as their candles. Now, a lot of people feel tallow is smellier than lard and and then they don't like to employ it for candles because of the odor. It's very nourishing to the skin so information technology's great to use in your soaps, balms, salves, and ointments.

If y'all're interested in making soak and learning how to make your own homemade herbal balms and salves, and fifty-fifty candles then you are going to desire to bank check out my Homemade Soap, Bathroom & Body Organization. It walks you through making your ain bootleg soap, making your own candles, and making your different whipped trunk butters, salves, balms, and ointments.

There are a couple of unlike ways you can inquire for the tallow to be given to you. Some people ask for the fat to be basis up considering the smaller the pieces the easier it is to melt evenly when rendering it down to get the impurities out. I really prefer mine to be in chunks and then I'll chop it up into cube form. When it's ground-up in that location's more meat in the fat. When I ask for it in strips I don't become as much meat on it. I don't want the meat on it because that's what I'm trying to become out. I want pure fat.

If you don't ask for them, you won't get the femur bones nor the tallow. So definitely equally for them if y'all want them.

Resources:

Cuts Nautical chart
Pioneering Today Academy

Order theFamily Garden Program: Raise a Year'south Worth of Sustainable and Salubrious Food and all the bonuses to grow your ain nutrient here . You'll acquire cold frames and season extenders, composting, and then much more!

I hope yous enjoyed learning when butchering a cow cuts of meat you need to know to get the most from your beefiness!

Ligertwood Whoustatich