Different Cuts of Meat

There are two major types of meat cuts, wholesale and retail. Prior to reaching the supermarket, a carcass is divided into about seven wholesale or primal cuts. Although the carcasses of each species are sectioned slightly differently, the basic wholesale cuts are similar to each other and are identified by the major muscles and by bone “landmarks”. These wholesale cuts are then divided into the retain cuts purchased by consumers.

Terminology of Retail Cuts. The use of the standard system of naming retail cuts is not mandatory, so consumers often face confusion at the market. The same cut of meat may be called by different names, depending on the retailer or the part of the country in which it is sold. Beef chuck cross-rib pot roast is variously known as Boston cut, bread and butter cut, cross-rib roast, English cut roast, and thick rib roast. A system of standardized names and specifications for over 300 cuts of beef, veal, pork, and lamb has been established and is known as IMPS (Institutional Meat Purchases Specifications). “The Meat Buyers Guide” containing these IMPS is published by the National Association of Meat Purveyors (NAMPS), and it serves as a key reference for those responsible for the pre-consumer purchase and for the sale of meat. It is adhered to by most retail meat markets. Under this system, meat labels include the species (beef, veal, pork, or lamb), primal cut, and retail cut. Hence, rib-eye steak would be labeled “Beef, rib, rib-eye steak”.

Beef Retail Cuts. Rib, short loin, and sirloin wholesale cuts lie along the back of the animal and are usually the most tender and expensive cuts of beef. Rib roasts are the most tender roasts, and tenderloin the tenderest steak. Filet mignon is the small end of the tenderloin, but some retailers incorrectly, perhaps deliberately, label any cut from the tenderloin as filet mignon. Although less tender, chuck and round wholesale cuts provide many popular retail cuts. The least tender wholesale cuts are flank, short plate, briskets, and foreshank.

About 44 percent of all fresh beef is sold in the form of ground beef and used extensively in fast-food restaurants, schools, military programs, and homes. The terms “ground beef” and “hamburger” are often used interchangeably, but there is a difference. The USDA classifies ground beef as beef that has been ground. Hamburger is ground beef that is often combined with ground fat; seasonings may be also added. Neither ground beef nor hamburger may exceed 30 percent fat by weight. Regular ground beef contains 30 percent fat, lean ground beef about 23 percent, and extra lean ground beef does not exceed 15 percent fat. Draining the fat off hamburger or ground beef during and after cooking lowers the fat content appreciably. Consumer preference studies have shown that ground beef containing 15 to 20 percent fat is preferred. Reducing the fat content below 20 percent decreases the flavor, tenderness, and juiciness of the product.

The fat in ground beef can be reduced by adding extenders such as nonfat dry milk solids, texturized vegetable protein (TVP), plant starches, soy proteins, oat bran or fiber, modified food starches, maltodextrins (starches), and vegetable gums (carrageenan). Many of these extenders enhance the flavor as well as lower the fat content.

Veal Retail Cuts. As will also be seen with pork and lamb, the retail cuts of veal are fewer in number than those of beef because the carcases are smaller. The hind legs of these animals are suitable for roasts, but veal roasts are usually tender regardless of their wholesale cut origin.

Pork Retail Cuts. Pork is usually tender, regardless of the cut, because it comes from animals under one year of age. When compared to beef, veal, or lamb wholesale cuts, the wholesale loin and spare rib cuts of pork are much longer because there is no separation of the rib and sirloin as in other carcasses. In addition, modern breeders have developed an even longer swine with fourteen ribs (as compared with thirteen in beef and lamb). These two wholesale cuts provide the majority of fresh pork retail cuts:

• Loin: Pork loin chop or roast, Canadian-style bacon, pork loin tenderloin
• Spare rib: Spare ribs, bacon, salt pork

Lamb Retail Cuts. Lambs are smaller than either cattle or swine, so the leg wholesale cuts are usually cut into roasts, with leg of lamb being the most common. A rack of lamb consists of seven or eight rib chops; the backbone is usually removed to make carving easier. A fancier cut is crown roast of lamb, which consists of two rib sections or racks attached to the backbone. Formed into a circle or crown, it can be stuffed and is often decorated just before serving by covering the bone tips with paper frills, making a very handsome main dish for any table. Lamb chops are frequently cut from the loin, rack (rib), or shoulder. Loin chops are the most tender.

Kosher Meats. Kosher meats are from animals (cattle, sheep, and goats, but not swine) designated as “clean” that have been slaughtered according to Jewish religious practices dating back more than 3,000 years. The animal must be slaughtered in the presence of a rabbi or other approved individual; with a single stroke of a knife; be completely bled; and have all its arteries and veins removed. Blood, which is synonymous with life in the Jewish tradition, must not be consumed. The hidquarter is rearely used for kosher meats because it is so difficult to remove the blood vessels in this area.

Variety Meats. Variety meats, also known as organ, offal, sundry, or specialty meats, can be divided into two categories: organ meats and muscle meats. Organ meats such as liver, kidneys, and brains from young animals are generally very soft, extremely tender, and require only very short heating times. Sweetbreads can be obtained only from calves or young beef, because the thymus gland disappears as the animal matures.

The meat of heavily exercised muscles such as the tongue and heart is quite tough and requires long, slow cooking. Tripe, the inner lining of the stomach, can be smooth or honeycombed. Smooth tripe originates from the first stomach, and honeycomed tripe, which is more popular, comes from the second stomach. Both types are extremely tough and strong in flavor. Similarly to the tongue and heart, they require long, slow cooking.