Meat Cut Identification

Beef Top Round Steak

Beef Top Round Steak The Top Round Steak is the most tender of the various round steaks. This boneless steak consists of a large muscle called the top or inside round. Note the cover fat on the curved top surface, the cut surface on the left side, and connective tissue along the bottom.

Beef Bottom Round Steak

Beef Bottom Round Steak The Beef Bottom Round Steak contains muscles which are less tender than the top round muscle. Note the heavy band of connective tissue separating the muscles.

Beef Eye of Round Steak

Beef Eye of Round Steak The Beef Eye of Round Steak is a small round boneless steak. It usually has a layer of external fat on two sides.

Beef Round Tip Steak

Beef Round Tip Steak The Tip Steak is cut from the tip roast. Like the roast this steak is identified by four individual muscles within.

Beef Sirloin Steak

Beef Sirloin Steak The boneless Beef Sirloin Steak is an excellent steak for broiling and is made by removing all of the bones from any of the other types of sirloin steaks.

Beef Porterhouse Steak

Beef Porterhouse Steak The Porterhouse Steak is similar to the beef loin T-bone steak. However the tenderloin muscle is much larger and an extra muscle is located in the center of the porterhouse steak on the upper side.

Beef T-Bone Steak

Beef T-Bone Steak This steak has the characteristic "T" shaped vertebrae and the large eye muscle. The smaller muscle located below the T-bone is the tenderloin.

Beef Top Loin Steak (boneless)

Beef Top Loin Steak (boneless) The boneless large eye muscle from the T-bone steak is called the boneless Beef Top Loin Steak.

Beef Chuck 7-Bone Steak

Beef Chuck 7-Bone Steak The Beef Chuck 7-Bone Steak is similar to the beef chuck blade. It is usually cut less than one inch thick. The blade bone shown in this slide has the typical shape of the "seven-bone", a term frequently used in the meat trade.

Beef Chuck Blade Steak

Beef Chuck Blade Steak The Beef Chuck Blade Steak is similar to the Chuck 7-Bone Steak. It is usually cut less than one inch thick. The blade bone is very easily seen in this slide.

Beef Flank Steak

Beef Flank Steak The Beef Flank Steak is the only steak in the carcass containing an entire large muscle. Also, although most other steaks are cut across the muscle fibers, the flank steak fibers run the full length of the steak. Since the flank steak is one of the less tender steaks, it should be cooked with moist heat cookery.

Beef Rib Eye Steak

Beef Rib Eye Steak The Beef Rib Eye Steak comes from the large end of the beef rib and is made by removing back and rib bones.

Beef Rib Steak

Beef Rib Steak This steak contains a rib and portion of the backbone. This cut will also contain one or more smaller muscles.

Beef Short Ribs

Beef Short Ribs Short Ribs are small cubes containing a section of the rib bone and thin layers of muscles. The muscles of the chest perform considerable work and are therefore not very tender.

Beef Boneless Chuck Steak

Pork Blade Chop

Pork Blade Chop This cut comes from the blade end of the loin. It contains several muscles and the blade bone.

Pork Shoulder Arm Steak

Pork Shoulder Arm Steak This cut comes from the Pork Shoulder Arm Picnic Roast by slicing across the picnic. The round arm bone is located in the upper center.

Pork Shoulder Blade Steak

Pork Shoulder Blade Steak This cut is from the Pork Shoulder Blade Boston Roast. It contains the blade bone and several muscles.

Pork Shoulder Arm Picnic

Pork Shoulder Arm Picnic This roast contains the shank bone, the arm bone, and a portion of the blade bone. The arm bone will not be visible on the cut surface. This cut comes from the lower portion of the shoulder.

Pork Loin Chop

Pork Loin Chop This cut has the same muscle and bone structure as the Beef T-Bone steak.

Pork Rib Chop

Pork Rib Chop This steak contains a rib and portion of the backbone. This cut will also contain one or more smaller muscles.

Pork Sirloin Chop

Pork Sirloin Chop The pork loin sirloin chop contains portions of the hipbone and backbone.

Pork Smoked Ham Center Slice

Pork Smoked Ham Center Slice This cut is sliced from the center area of the pork ham. The cut is seldom more than one inch thick. It contains the leg bone and top, bottom, and eye muscles.

Lamb Leg (whole)

Lamb Leg (whole) The American leg of lamb cut is boneless and is most often used as a roast. The Frenched leg of lamb is the same except it has the bone.

Lamb Leg Center Slice

Lamb Leg Center Slice This cut is similar to both the beef round steak and the ham center slice in that it has the same muscles.

Lamb Shank

Lamb Shank The shank is the bottom part of the leg of lamb with many of the same muscles as the center sliced leg at the top portion of the cut.

Lamb Loin Chop

Lamb Loin Chop Loin chops are cut from the loin roast. These contain the T- bone, top loin and tenderloin muscles.

Lamb Sirloin Chop

Lamb Sirloin Chop The lamb sirloin chop contains portions of the hipbone and backbone just like the pork sirloin chop.

Lamb Rib Chop

Lamb Rib Chop The rib chops are cut from the rack of the lamb carcass and contains the backbone and rib bones. The large muscle in the middle, surrounded by smaller muscles, is the rib eye.

Lamb Blade Chop

Lamb Blade Chop The blade chop is cut from the blade of the shoulder of the lamb carcass. It contains part of the blade bone, ribs and backbone.