When selecting your meat at a butcher or an online meat supplier, it can be difficult to know what you’re ordering. The different cuts of beef are numerable and therefore hard to remember. This guide is aimed at helping you understand the main cuts of beef so that next time you go shopping for meat, you know what you’re buying.



Brisket:
The brisket is a cut of beef from the lower chest (just above the front legs). It can be cooked in multiple ways including the obvious: baking, roasting and boiling. Brisket is normally a tough cut of meat due to its location in the cattle and the collagen fibres that make up the connective tissue. In the UK especially, Brisket is rolled as a roasting joint. It’s also known to be a low cost option for a casserole. Often cooked very slowly in a slow cooker, is often served with a selection of vegetables.

Rib Eye:
The rib eye is a steak cut from the flavourful rib area of the cattle. It is succulent and tasty as it comes from the upper rib cage which is only lightly worked in the cattle, explaining why it is so tender. Its marbling makes it great for a quick meal as it cooks easily as well as swiftly.

Sirloin:
The sirloin steak is from the back of the cattle. The sirloin is often divided into many types of steak with the top sirloin being the most revered. This is known to be extremely flavourful and tender, like the aforementioned rib eye. This area is also barely worked making it a favourite of meat eaters. It’s one of the more expensive cuts of meat but is well worth the price if you like tender and tasty.

Flat iron:
Flat iron is a piece of meat cut from the should of the animal. The flat iron is a palatable cut but also tough due to the amount of work that area of the animal does. It contains a gristly fascia membrane until removed. It doesn’t normally appear on a restaurant menu but if it does, it is cheaper than the more popular steaks such as rib eye. Flat iron steaks traditionally have a noteworthy quantity of marbling. The steak is normally sold commercially with the fascia removed.

Rib:
A rib steak is a steak that’s taken from the rib area of cattle with the bone attached. It is often considered the most flavourful of all the steaks. It’s marbling means that it is suitable for slow roasting or grilled cooking. It can be cooked at a range of speeds from very slow to speedily. It’s extremely tender and therefore succulent.

T-Bone:
The T-Bone is a steak cut from the sirloin area of the steak. The steak has a T-shaped bone with different cuts of meat on either side. T-bone steaks have both tenderloin meat and strip steak for a unique piece of meat. The T-bone contains meat of the two most valued cuts of Beef so it is generally classed as one of the highest-quality steaks so it is one of the most expensive. The T-bone contains only a small amount of collagen so cooking times don’t need to be lengthy for a tender piece of meat. This means that the T-bone is generally more suited to fast cooking methods such as boiling or grilling. The bone conducts heat which is a good quality as this stops your meat from shrinking during cooking.

That’s our guide to cuts of beef – We hope that we’ve helped you get a wider understanding of what cuts of Beef are available. Another benefit is that these cuts of Beef are available with online meat suppliers meaning they can be delivered to your doorstep. It’s the perfect opportunity to have an excellent meat feast!