How to Understand Cuts of Meat
Understanding different cuts of meat requires knowing where they originated on the animal. Most meat is muscle and its qualities--tenderness, toughness, fat content, etc.--depend on how the animal used that muscle. Does this Spark an idea?
Instructions
-
Locating Cuts of Meat
-
1
Look at a diagram of the animal online (see resources below) or displayed at the butcher counter. Cuts from the shoulder and rump get more of a workout when the animal is grazing and will be leaner and tougher than the parts in the middle. Round steak comes from the rump of the cow; chuck comes from the shoulder. These cuts will need more cooking or tenderizing.
-
2
Examine the cuts in the middle along the back. They will be tender since the muscles are used less and they'll also have more fat, or marbling. Fat melts during cooking and adds flavor. Sirloin, tenderloin, and chops come from this middle portion.
-
-
3
Look on the diagrams for the sections marked ribs. Much of the animal's muscle meat is wrapped around a bone and the cuts will often include the bone, called bone-in. Bone-in cuts add to the flavor and keep the meat from drying out because cooking is slower along the bone. Ribs are flavorful because of bones. Other parts of the animal, such as the shank or hock, also contain bone.
-
4
Notice the area labeled loin. Some cuts here are naturally boneless. The tenderloin, for instance, a strip of muscle below the sirloin along the back toward the rump, is not attached to a bone. Other cuts can be carved away from the bone. A ribeye steak can be cut bone-in, leaving part of the rib attached, or boneless, cutting the meat away from the rib. Similarly, pork and lamb chops can be bone-in or boneless. Boneless cuts will cook faster and may be drier, but can be easier to serve and to eat.
-
5
Look for the section on the diagram labeled flank or belly where some muscle meat holds the inner organs. The inner organs such as the liver, kidneys and intestines (tripe) are used in a number of dishes. The texture is markedly different from muscle meat since there are no bones or fat. Calf's liver and sweetbreads (the thymus gland of a calf) are delicacies used in many traditional cuisines.
-
1
