1. Understanding Beef

2. The Definition of Beef Meat from domesticated cattle
Most of the meat Canadians eat comes from steers or heifers specifically raised for beef
Typical carcass weighs between lbs ( kg)
Cattle is the collective name for all domesticated oxen (genus Bos)

3. Cattle Classification
Bulls: male cattle, usually not raised to be eaten
Calves: young cow or bull, prized for their tender meat
Cows: female cattle after their first calving
Heifers: young cow or cows before their first calving
Stags: male cattle castrated after maturity
Steers: Steers are castrated prior to maturity and specifically raised for beef

4. Primal Cuts
After being split into sides, the steer is broken into quarters
This split happens between the 12th and 13th rib
The forequarter contains square chuck, point brisket, rib, and plate
The hindquarter contains the short loin, sirloin, flank and the hip (round)

5. Skeletal Structure of a Steer

6. Primal Cuts of Beef

7. Primal Cuts of Beef Square Chuck
This is the shoulder of the steer, it makes up 28% of the total carcass weight
It contains ribs 1 through 5
It is very high in connective tissue which makes it very tough but flavorful, it benefits from low, long moist heat cooking
Some of the sub-primals include the shoulder clod, chuck roll, chuck tender, stew meat and ground meat

8. Primal Cuts of Beef

9. Primal Cuts of Beef

10. Primal Cuts of Beef Point Brisket and Shank
This lies beneath the chuck and is 8% of the total carcass weight
It is very tough and contains intramuscular and subcutaneous fat; moist heat must be used
If brisket is pickled/corned it is corned beef, if it is cured and peppered it is pastrami
Fore shank is high in collagen and is good for soups, stocks and ground for consume

11. Primal Cuts of Beef

12. Primal Cuts of Beef

13. Primal Cuts of Beef
Rib
The rib makes up 10% of the carcass weight and contains ribs 6 through 12
It is best known for the Prime Rib Roast
The eye meat is very tender with rich marbling
The roast can be boneless to produce rib eye roast, or it can be cut into rib eye steaks
The ribs can be used for BBQ beef back ribs, and if the ends are trimmed off they are beef short ribs
*as with any ribs, they must be cooked using moist heat

14. Primal Cuts of Beef

15. Primal Cuts of Beef

16. Primal Cuts of Beef Plate
Located under the rib, it makes up 9% of the carcass weight
Some of the sub primals include short ribs and skirt steak
The ribs are high in connective tissue and must be cooked use moist heat methods
Skirt steak is full of flavor but not very tender, therefor it is cooked quickly and sliced thinly

17. Primal Cuts of Beef

18. Primal Cuts of Beef

19. Primal Cuts of Beef Short Loin
Although it is a small primal, only 8% of the carcass weight, it contains the most tender and most expensive sub primals
It contains the 13th rib
A cross section gives the club steak which has no tenderloin, further down is T-bone steak which has some tenderloin and striploin, further along is porterhouse which has more tenderloin and more striploin
If striploin is boned out, it can be cut into steaks called striploin or New York Steaks

20. Primal Cuts of Beef
If the tenderloin is boned out, it can create the chateaubriand, filet mignon or tournadoes
The butt tenderloin is in the sirloin primal, so if you want the whole tenderloin, it must be boned out before separating the shortloin from the sirloin

21. Primal Cuts of Beef

22. Primal Cuts of Beef

23. Primal Cuts of Beef Sirloin
Accounts of only 7% of total carcass weight
It can produce bone in and boneless roasts
Except for the tenderloin portion, it is not as tender as the shortloin
Some of the cuts include the flap, the ball tip, tri tip, tenderloin roll
*The shortloin + sirloin = longloin

24. Primal Cuts of Beef

25. Primal Cuts of Beef

26. Primal Cuts of Beef Flank
Only makes up 6% of carcass weight and has no bones
It is a very flavorful cut, but is tough and fatty
It can be trimmed and used to make ground beef, or it can be seared, served rare, cut thinly across the grain to make London Broil

27. Primal Cuts of Beef

28. Primal Cuts of Beef

29. Inspection and Grading
Primal Cuts of Beef
Inspection and Grading
Hip
This is the largest primal being 24% of the carcass weight (app 200lbs)
The flavor of the primal is good, and it is ‘fairly’ tender
It can be broken down into the inside round, outside flat, eye of round (outside flat + eye of round = bottom round), the knuckle and the shank

30. Primal Cuts of Beef
Cross Cut of Muscles in a Whole Round

31. Primal Cuts of Beef

32. Primal Cuts of Beef