Cuts of Beef: The Ultimate Guide + Tips and Recipes

Ever stood at the meat counter, overwhelmed by choices and unsure which cut to pick? You’re not alone. Beef cuts can be a maze, but we’re here to be your guide.

We’ve all been there – overwhelmed at the market, in sticker shock, and not wanting to buy the wrong cut. Ribeye? Flank steak? Besides the major cuts we see all the time, what in the world’s the difference?

From melt-in-your-mouth filet mignon to bold, flavorful brisket, each cut of beef is a world of potential waiting to be unlocked. In this no-nonsense guide, we’ll break down every major beef primal and their sub-cuts in plain English. No fancy chef lingo here – just straightforward explanations of what makes each cut unique and how to cook it to perfection.

We’ll walk you through the entire cow, sharing our tried-and-true cooking methods and favorite beef recipes. Whether you’re firing up the grill, slow-roasting, or braising, we’ve got you covered. By the end, you’ll navigate the meat aisle with confidence, ready to turn any cut into a mouthwatering meal.

Cuts of Beef

Brisket Sub-primal Cuts

• Brisket Flat: This is the thinner portion at the posterior end. While flavorful, it can be drier due to its leanness.
• Brisket Point: The thicker, fattier end of the brisket. It boasts more marbling for better moisture retention, but the abundant connective tissue requires slow cooking methods to become tender.

Chuck Sub-primal Cuts

• Chuck Steaks: Most chuck steaks benefit from slow cooking methods like braising or stewing to break down connective tissue and achieve tenderness. We also love using the sous vide method for cooking chuck steak, like our sous vide chuck steak recipe. 
• Shoulder Roasts: Similar to chuck steaks, these large roasts require slow cooking to prevent dryness and make the meat fork-tender. We love making a smoked chuck roast when we want tender pulled beef. 
• Chuck Eye Steak: Many call the chuck eye steak as the “poor man’s ribeye” for a reason. Located on the shoulder of the cow, near the more expensive ribeye, it offers a good balance of affordability and flavor.
• Denver Steak: Hailing from the shoulder, this marbled beauty offers ribeye-like flavor at a friendlier price. Perfect for grilling or pan-searing, like our pan seared Denver steak. 
• Flat Iron Steak:
• Ranch Steak: Bold beefy flavor from the chuck. Leaner and chewier, it shines with marinades and slow cooking for delicious shredded beef.
• Teres Major Steak: A thin, flavorful shoulder steak. Quick cooking (grilling, pan-searing) is key to prevent dryness. Marinades recommended.
• Sierra Steak: The Sierra steak is a budget-friendly chuck cut with bold flavor. Similar to flank steak, it benefits from marinades or slow cooking for tenderness. Thin cuts can be grilled or pan-seared for a juicy result, but remember to slice thinly against the grain for the best texture.
• Blade Steak: Blade steak, a budget-friendly cut from the chuck near the shoulder, packs a beefy punch. While sometimes chewy, slow cooking or marinades unlock its tenderness, making it perfect for stews, fajitas, or pan searing, like pan seared blade steaks. 

• Tenderloin: As the name suggests, this cut from the short loin is the king of tenderness. It’s a lean muscle with a mild flavor, best enjoyed cooked medium-rare. Here are some of our favorite beef tenderloin recipes – grilled beef tenderloin, roast beef tenderloin, sous vide beef tenderloin, and smoked beef tenderloin.
• New York Strip Steak: A crowd-pleaser with a great balance of tenderness and rich beefy flavor, ideal for grilling, roasting, or pan-searing, like our pan seared New York strip steaks. 
• Kansas City Strip Steak: Often called a bone-in New York Strip, this cut comes from the short loin with the tenderloin still attached to a T-shaped bone. It offers a taste of both worlds: the tenderness of the tenderloin and the rich flavor of the New York Strip.
• Filet Mignon: Filet mignon is the undisputed king of tenderness, a small cut from the cow’s tenderloin known for its melt-in-your-mouth texture and subtle beef flavor. Perfect for quick grilling or pan-searing to avoid drying out this tender treat. For an extra layer of decadence, we make bacon-wrapped filet mignon for a hint of smoky flavor and fat. We also love a low and slow sous vide filet mignon for perfectly cooked filet mignon every time. 
• Porterhouse Steak: Similar to a T-bone steak, the porterhouse features a generous portion of tenderloin on one side of the T-shaped bone. However, the key difference lies in the size. A porterhouse boasts a significantly larger tenderloin compared to the T-bone. Perfect for grilling, like our grilled porterhouse steak recipe. 
• T-Bone Steak: This crowd-favorite combines tenderness and flavor. One side of the T-shaped bone showcases the tenderloin, while the other features a satisfying portion of the strip loin. One of our favorite ways to use this cut is to make grilled T-bone steak. 
• Loin Steak Tail: The narrower end of the tenderloin, often sold as a separate cut. While not as substantial as the center-cut tenderloin, it delivers a similar melt-in-your-mouth texture at a more affordable price point.

Head Cuts

• Beef cheek: This cut comes from the face of the cow and consists of well-worked muscles. However, slow cooking methods like braising transform the collagen within the cheeks into gelatin, resulting in incredibly tender and flavorful meat. We love making Mexican birria and beef cheek ragu with beef cheek. 
• Tongue: A popular cut in many cultures, beef tongue is a lean and flavorful muscle. It requires pre-soaking to remove blood and achieve a pleasant texture. Once prepared, it makes amazing tacos. It can also be enjoyed boiled, roasted, or even sliced for sandwiches.
• Neck: the neck is one of our favorite cuts for braising. A low and slow cook allows the rich, meaty flavor to develop with fork-tender meat perfect for stews and shredded meat.
• Brains: While not for everyone, beef brains are a delicacy in some cuisines. However, careful handling and specific cooking methods are essential due to their delicate nature.

Plate Sub-primal Cuts

• Skirt Steak: Similar to flank steak but slightly thinner and finer in grain, skirt steak excels in quick cooking applications where its intense beefy flavor shines. Thinly sliced fajitas are a classic example.
• Hanging Tender: Often called the “hanger steak,” this triangular cut is nestled beneath the flank proper. While a bit trickier to find, it boasts exceptional tenderness and rich flavor, making it a favorite among chefs. Perfect for grilling or pan searing, like grilled hanger steak and pan seared hanger steak. 
• Plate Short Ribs: Short ribs come in a few variations: “plate” short ribs from the lower rib cage with a higher fat content, perfect for slow cooking or braising for fall-off-the-bone tenderness. Chuck short ribs and beef short ribs from the higher portion, cut from the rib primal, offering a good balance of meat and fat for grilling or braising. We’ve made short ribs in various ways, like smoked short ribs, sous vide short ribs, Korean short ribs, braised short ribs, slow cooker short ribs, and smoked Dino ribs. 

Rib Sub-primal Cuts

• Ribeye Steak: The undisputed king ribeye features exceptional marbling throughout, resulting in incredible juiciness and intense beefy flavor. This cut is perfect for grilling, pan-searing, or roasting for a luxurious steak experience. Go bone-in and make grilled bone-in ribeye steaks , or keep it boneless with pan seared ribeye steaks. 
• Cowboy Steak: This is essentially a bone-in ribeye steak with a long, frenched rib bone. It’s a showstopper cut known for its impressive size and rich flavor from the marbling. Think of it as a ribeye for those who love a bold statement on the plate.
• Tomahawk Steak: Similar to a cowboy steak, it’s a bone-in ribeye with an exceptionally long, untrimmed rib bone that resembles a tomahawk axe handle. This cut prioritizes visual impact and is perfect for a special occasion. Like the cowboy steak, it boasts a rich flavor from the marbling.
• Prime Rib Roast: A true crowd-pleaser, this impressive roast boasts generous marbling and a large rib bone. Ideal for slow roasting, it delivers a flavorful and showstopping centerpiece for any special occasion. This premium cut works well for tons of recipes, like grilled prime rib, reverse sear prime rib, sous vide prime rib, smoked prime rib, and oven roasted prime rib. 
• Back Ribs: Beef back ribs arecut from under the prime rib and offer a budget-friendly option. Enjoy fall-apart tenderness with slow cooking (think tacos!), or juicy results with grilling for thinner cuts.
• Rib Fingers: These thin, finger-like strips are often sold attached to ribeye steaks. While flavorful, they require quick cooking methods like grilling or stir-frying due to their leanness.

Round Sub-primal Cuts

• Top Round: This large subprimal cut is a favorite for roasts or the thick budget-friendly, London Broil. Due to its leanness, it benefits from slow cooking methods like braising or pot roasting to achieve tenderness and prevent dryness.
• Eye of Round: A popular choice for health-conscious cooks, the eye of round is a lean and versatile cut. While it can be roasted whole, it’s more commonly sliced into steaks or thin cuts for stir-fries or quick marinades. Due to its leanness, marinating or tenderizing techniques are recommended for optimal results.
• Bottom Round: Similar to the top round but slightly smaller, the bottom round is another lean sub-primal cut ideal for roasts or stews. Slow cooking methods are essential for achieving tenderness. 

Sirloin Sub-primal Cuts

• Top Sirloin: The king of grilling, this well-marbled cut boasts exceptional juiciness and intense beefy flavor. It’s further divided into a cut known as top sirloin steak, which is ideal for quick cooking methods, like grilled top sirloin steaks. 
• Picanha: Picanha, a prized cut from the rump cap of the cow, is known for its juicy tenderness and intense beefy flavor. This cut is perfect for making rotisserie grilled picanha. 
• Tri-Tip Roast: This triangular marvel offers a good balance of marbling and lean muscle. Perfect for roasting or slow cooking, it delivers rich flavor and can be enjoyed sliced or shredded.
• Sirloin Tip Roast/Steak: Leaner than top sirloin, this cut benefits from marinades or slow cooking methods to achieve tenderness. It’s a budget-friendly option for roasts or flavorful steaks. We love making pan seared tri tip steaks and grilled tri tip steaks with this cut. 
• Sirloin Flap: This thin and flavorful cut is ideal for bavette steak tacos, stir-fries, or quick marinades and grilling due to its rapid cooking time and ability to absorb bold flavors.
• Bottom Sirloin: The bottom sirloin, often overlooked, is a budget-friendly cut with big flavor potential. Nestled in the rear of the cow, it offers a good balance of meat and connective tissue. While this can make it chewier if not cooked right, it also contributes to its rich beefy taste. Thicker cuts excel with slow cooking methods like braising or roasting, resulting in fall-apart goodness for tacos or stews. Thinner cuts like sirloin tip steaks shine with high-heat methods like grilling or pan-searing, delivering juicy results.

This guide has hopefully equipped you with the knowledge and confidence to navigate the world of beef cuts like a pro. So, the next time you stand at the butcher shop, you can make informed decisions and select the perfect cut for your favorite recipes!