CUTS OF BEEF
METHOD OF OBTAINING CUTS
35. With the general characteristics of beef well in mind, the housewife is prepared to learn of the way in which the animal is cut to produce the different pieces that she sees in the butcher shop and the names that are given to the various cuts. The cutting of the animal, as well as the naming of the pieces, varies in different localities, but the difference is not sufficient to be confusing. Therefore, if the information here given is thoroughly mastered, the housewife will be able to select meat intelligently in whatever section of the country she may reside. An important point for her to remember concerning meat of any kind is that the cheaper cuts are found near the neck, legs, and shins, and that the pieces increase in price as they go toward the back.
36. The general method of cutting up a whole beef into large cuts is shown in Fig. 3. After the head, feet, and intestines are removed, the carcass is cut down along the spine and divided into halves. Each half includes an entire side and is known as a side of beef. Then each side is divided into fore and hind quarters along the diagonal line that occurs about midway between the front and the back. It is in this form that the butcher usually receives the beef. He first separates it into the large pieces here indicated and then cuts these pieces into numerous smaller ones having names that indicate their location. For instance, the piece marked a includes the chuck; b, the ribs; c, the loin; d, the round; e, the flank; f, the plate; and g, the shin.
37. The cuts that are obtained from these larger pieces are shown in Fig. 4. For instance, from the chuck, as illustrated in (a), are secured numerous cuts, including the neck, shoulder clod, shoulder, and chuck ribs. The same is true of the other pieces, as a careful study of these illustrations will reveal. Besides indicating the various cuts, each one of these illustrations serves an additional purpose. From (a), which shows the skeleton of the beef, the amount and the shape of the bone that the various cuts contain can be readily observed. From (b), which shows the directions in which the surface muscle fibers run, can be told whether the cutting of the pieces is done across the fibers or in the same direction as the fibers. Both of these matters are of such importance to the housewife that constant reference to these illustrations should be made until the points that they serve to indicate are thoroughly understood.
NAMES AND USES OF CUTS
38. So that a still better idea may be formed of the pieces into which a side of beef may be cut, reference should be made to Fig. 5. The heavy line through the center shows where the side is divided in order to cut it into the fore and hind quarters. As will be observed, the fore quarter includes the chuck, prime ribs, and whole plate, and the hind quarter, the loin and the round, each of these large pieces being indicated by a different color.
To make these large pieces of a size suitable for sale to the consumer, the butcher cuts each one of them into still smaller pieces, all of which are indicated in the illustration. The names of these cuts, together with their respective uses, and the names of the beef organs and their uses, are given in Table II.
TABLE II
CUTS OBTAINED FROM A SIDE OF BEEF AND THEIR USES
| NAME OF LARGE PIECE | NAME OF CUT | USES OF CUTS |
| Chuck | Neck | Soups, broths, stews |
| Shoulder clod | Soups, broths, stews, boiling, corning | |
| Ribs (11th, 12th, and 13th) | Brown stews, braizing, poor roasts | |
| Ribs (9th and 10th) | Braizing, roasts | |
| Shoulder | Soups, stews, corning, roast | |
| Cross-ribs | Roast | |
| Brisket | Soups, stews, corning | |
| Shin | Soups | |
| Prime Ribs | Ribs (1st to 8th, inclusive) | Roasts |
| Whole Plate | Plate | Soups, stews, corning |
| Navel | Soups, stews, corning | |
| Loin | Short steak | Steaks, roasts |
| Porterhouse cuts | Steaks, roasts | |
| Hip-bone steak | Steaks, roasts | |
| Flat-bone steak | Steaks, roasts | |
| Round-bone steak | Steaks, roasts | |
| Sirloin | Steaks | |
| Top sirloin | Roasts | |
| Flank | Rolled steak, braizing, boiling | |
| Tenderloin | Roast | |
| Round | Rump | Roasts, corning |
| Upper round | Steaks, roasts | |
| Lower round | Steaks, pot roasts, stews | |
| Vein | Stews, soups | |
| Shank | Soups | |
| Beef Organs | Liver | Broiling, frying |
| Heart | Baking, braizing | |
| Tongue | Boiling, baking, braizing | |
| Tail | Soup |
39. As will be observed from Fig. 5, the ribs are numbered in the opposite direction from the way in which they are ordinarily counted; that is, the first rib in a cut of beef is the one farthest from the head and the thirteenth is the one just back of the neck. The first and second ribs are called the back ribs; the third, fourth, fifth, and sixth, the middle ribs. To prepare the ribs for sale, they are usually cut into pieces that contain two ribs, the first and second ribs being known as the first cut, the third and fourth as the second cut, etc. After being sawed across, the rib bones are either left in to make a standing rib roast or taken out and the meat then rolled and fastened together with skewers to make a rolled roast. Skewers, which are long wooden or metal pins that may be pushed through meat to fasten it together, will be found useful to the housewife in preparing many cuts of meat for cooking. They may usually be obtained at a meat market or a hardware store.
40. Certain of the organs of beef are utilized to a considerable extent, so that while they cannot be shown in Fig. 5, they are included in Table II. The heart and the tongue are valuable both because they are economical and because they add variety to the meat diet of the family. The tongue, either smoked or fresh, may be boiled and then served hot, or it may be pickled in vinegar and served cold. The heart may be prepared in the same way, or it may be stuffed and then baked. The tail of beef makes excellent soup and is much used for this purpose.
COOKING OF BEEF