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Know Your Cuts
Below you will find a brief orientation to the characteristics of each of the prime sections of beef and the typical cuts and uses that come from those sections. While the explanation describes multiple uses for each prime section, such as roast, steaks and mince, generally you should only expect one or perhaps two such choices coming from one prime section.
For example, if you want the Rib section to be cut into Scotch Fillet steaks, then the butcher would not be able to get any standing roasts from that section, and vica versa. This is because the steaks and the roast come from the same meat. One simple way to remember this is to keep in mind that steaks are just slices of roasts that are cooked separately.
Mince and sausage meat utilise the small cuts of meat from all sections that are trimmed off to make a steak or roast take on their familiar shapes. In addition, customers generally prefer for the butcher to mince some of the tougher portions of meat, such as the flank, as their families would prefer meatloaves, rissoles, and tasty sausages to chewy meat.
Brisket and Flank
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Rolled Brisket & Diced
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Brisket is traditionally used for corned beef, pastrami or rolled Brisket and is best prepared with moist heat. Brisket’s suitable preparation methods include stewing, braising and pot-roasting.
Flank is lean and very flavorful meat located below the Sirloin section. Flank is used to make the classic London Broil and is also primarily used for minute steaks and rolled flank steaks. It can also be used well for kebabs. Often it is minced for lean and tasty sausage meat.
Mince & Sausage Meat – the Brisket and Chuck prime sections generally contribute the majority of Landtasia’s mince and sausage meats. Unless requested otherwise, we include some of the natural Chuck collagen in the lean mince so that it retains some of the juiciness and flavour that people expect in a great hamburger or meatloaf, even if they are cutting down on fat in their diet.
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Blade and Chuck
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Oyster Blade Steak
and Chuck Steak
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Both Blade and Chuck come from the forequarter and are strong muscle groups. Blade is the tenderer of the two, but happily for Chuck, it favourably contains collagen connective tissues, which melts during cooking, making the meat intensely flavourful. Cuts from these sections benefit from slow, wet cooking methods like stewing, braising or pot-roasting, although both can also make a good steak if marinated or wet-aged and then barbequed.
• Blade Bolar Roast — a cut which lies next to the ribs; tenderer than most Blade; makes an excellent roast. Alternatively, the roast can be cut into cross-cut Blade steaks, or strips for stir-fry dishes.
• Chuck Steak and Diced — as well as a good slow roaster, Chuck is a good choice diced for kebabs, casseroles, and pot pie dishes. As a steak it can be tender enough to grill or broil, provided that you marinate it overnight first.
• Mince & Sausage Meat – the Chuck and Brisket prime sections generally contribute the majority of Landtasia’s mince and sausage meats.
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Eye Fillet or Tenderloin
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Eye Fillet and
Eye Fillet Centre Cut
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The loin yields the most tender and valued cuts of beef. Cuts from the loin require very little work to taste great. Indeed, steak lovers consider it almost a sacrilege to marinate them or to cook them beyond medium rare. The average young steer or heifer provides no more than 1.2-1.6 kg of fillet. Because the muscle is non-weight bearing, it receives very little exercise, which makes it very tender.
The tenderloin runs along either side of the spine and is usually harvested as a long cut of beef. The short choicest portion is exquisitely tender and lean. The top loin and Sirloin are less buttery, but they're a bit more flavourful.
The tenderloin is sometimes ordered whole. If the short end of the tenderloin is cut into portions before cooking, that portion is known as Fillet Mignon, or fillet, from the French boneless meat (mignon meaning "small").
The fillet can be cut into 1.5 - 2.5 cm thick portions, then grilled and served as-is. High heat is the usual method for cooking the fillet.
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Rib
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Rib Cutlet
and Rib Eye Roast
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The entire rib section includes seven ribs, taken from the side of beef. Meat from the rib section is tender and juicier than other cuts of beef. Cuts can be ordered as steaks, roast or specialties on the bone or as a boned-and-rolled joint. Tender and flavourful ribs can be cooked any number of ways. Most recipes call for ribs to be roasted, sautéed, pan-fried, broiled, or grilled.
• Scotch Fillet Steak — cut from a rib roast and also known by the names Rib eye or rib-eye. When cut into steaks, Scotch Fillet is one of the most popular, flavourful, juicy, and expensive steaks available. These steaks can be cut as bone-in or boneless. Many people prefer leaving the bone in as the extra moisture, nutrients and fat alongside the bone will enhance the cooking flavour and nutrition.
• Rib Roast — known as a standing rib roast or prime rib (when the bone is left in) and is excellent when dry roasted. Its bones provide added flavour and nutrition. A seven-bone prime rib roast can be quite a hefty addition to the dinner table. It is great for a crowd, but for a small family a 2 or 4 bone roast will do. Each rib will feed about two people. As Scotch Fillet and Rib Roast come from the same section, selecting one will reduce the availability of the other.
• Beef Spare Ribs— A favourite for braising with wine or stock. Is you wish to have your Rib section cut primarily as boneless Scotch Fillet Steaks then you could also have marinated beef Spare Ribs.
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Round and Rump
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Round Minute Steak
and Rump Centre Steak
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Round and Rump consists of lean hindquarter meat. Round is well-suited to moist, slow cooking methods including braising which tenderise the meat, while Rump is second to tenderloin for customer preference.
• Rump Steak — similar to Sirloin, but slightly less tender. The steak cuts are generally lean, and require care when cooking to achieve a perfect result.
• Rump Roast — a very popular cut for pot roast, but can also be roasted at low temperatures.
• Round Steak — similar to Sirloin, but slightly less tender. The steak cuts are generally lean, and require care when cooking to achieve a perfect result.
• Round Roast — a very popular cut for pot roast, but can also be roasted at low temperatures.
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Shin
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Osso Bucco and
Stew & Gravy Beef
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The Shins are rich in flavour and accessable bone marrow. They are traditionally used with the bone in for excellent stews and stock soups. They are also the staple ingredient for many ethnic slow cooking specialties such as the Milanese, Osso Bucco.
The shin of beef is from the front and hind legs. Both contain connective tissue that make them ideal for stews and casseroles as it melts down during the long, slow cooking and gives extra flavour and nutrition to the broth.
Shin meat is tough and lean, and benefits from long, slow moist cooking, which makes it succulent and gelatinous. The nutritious and eatable marrow is readily accessible from the bone.
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Silverside
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Silverside Minute Steak
Silverside Roast
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Silverside is a cut of beef from the hindquarter, just above the leg. It gets its name because of the 'silverwall' on the side of the cut that is trimmed by the butcher. Silverside is suitable for stewing, braising and pot-roasting.
Silverside is boned out from the top along with the topside and thick flank. In Australia, silverside is the cut of choice for making corned beef, so much so that the name "silverside" is often used to refer to corned beef rather than any other form of the cut.
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Sirloin
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Sirloin Steak
and T-bone Steak
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Sirloin is beef steak cut from the lower portion of the ribs, continuing off the tenderloin from which eye-fillet is cut. Sirloin is considered to be a premium prime cut section. The Sirloin boasts extremely tender cuts that can be prepared without the aid of moist heat or slow cooking. Sirloin can tolerate high temperatures, which makes it ideal to be sautéed, pan fried, broiled, pan broiled or grilled.
The Sirloin can be divided into several types of steak. The Top Sirloin is the most prized of these, closely followed by T-bone and Sirloin/Porterhouse steaks.
• Sirloin Steak – a very popular steak cut from the rear end of the short loin. The meat is tender and can be very juicy and flavourful. Sirloin steaks are usually grilled or broiled and should not be overcooked.
• T-bone Steak— this choice cut is the quintessential steak. It is almost identical to a Sirloin steak, only it doesn't have as much of the tenderloin muscle in it. It's usually grilled, pan-fried or broiled.
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Topside
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Topside Steak
and Topside Roast
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Topside is a fairly tender piece of meat compared to other cuts from the hindquarter. It is also one of the leanest.
Topside is similar to the tender Rump and can be roasted as a boneless joint or cut as steaks. It is less tender than Sirloin, so it can't stand high temperatures as well, but if treated with care, will provide an excellent eating experience.
It is best served rare or medium-rare carved into large, thin slices, which is easy to do as there are no bones.
As with Silverside, Topside is also good for pot roasting which creates a steamy atmosphere inside the closed pot and keeps the joint moist as it cooks. The finished dish should be very tender and succulent.
Try taking the time to age this rich prime section. Prepared well with a good edge of fat, Topside can prove to be a brilliant cut of meat.
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