(1) The toughness of meat depends on the thickness of the connective tissue holding the muscle tubes together.
Cuts of beef
1. Neck, stews and soup. 2. Chuck ribs, cheaper roasts. 3. Prime ribs, very good roasts. 4. Loin, best steaks or roasts (sirloin, tenderloin, porterhouse). 5. Rump, roasts and steak. 6. Brisket, stews or corned beef. 7. Fore shank, soup. 8. Shoulder, stews or pot-roasts. 9. Short ribs, stews or cheap roasts. 10. Navel, corned beef. 11. Plate, stews or corned beef. 12. Flank, stews or corned beef. 13. Round, steaks. 14. 2nd cut round, stews and soup. 15. Hind shank, stews and soup. 16. Tail, soup.
Bony structure
(2) The connective tissue is made thick and tough by two causes.—
(a) Age—in old animals the connective tissue has grown thick.
(b) Exercise—in certain parts of the body, where muscles are much used, these muscles must be more firmly bound together, as in the neck and legs, etc.