How to Butcher Beef Cuts
Learning how to butcher beef cuts is an economical way to provide your family with food that is also likely to be safe for them to eat. Whether you buy a whole beef from the farm, or raise and slaughter it yourself, you will know where the beef comes from and if it is chemical and disease free. It also gives you the ability to decide what cuts you take and what parts you grind for ground beef, thus controlling the fat content as well. Does this Spark an idea?
Things You'll Need
- Diagram of beef cuts
- Hand meat saw
- Electric power meat saw
- Butcher knife
- Wooden topped table
- Clean container to hold scraps before grinding
- Freezer paper & tape
- Permanent marker
- Metal skewers
- Meat grinder
Instructions
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Forequarter
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1
Study the diagram or hang it nearby so you know where to make the appropriate cuts.
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2
Lay the forequarter on the table, inside up, and use the knife to cut as far as you can between the fifth and sixth ribs (counting from the back). Turn the quarter over and use the saw to continue cutting until you divide the shoulder blade, backbone and breastbone into two pieces, one being the rib.
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3
Cut through the rib about 2/3 of the way between the top and bottom to leave the rib and short plate. You may cut the rib into rib steaks or a standing rib roast. Remove the bone, the yellow back strap and the cartilage for a rolled rib roast. Cut the plate into 2-inch strips for short ribs. Cut up the remainder of the meat for stew or leave as a soup bone.
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4
Cut parallel to the backbone to separate the shank and brisket from the remaining forequarter. Bone the brisket for pot roast and cut the remaining forequarter into the arm and block. Bone the arm, trim excess fat and roll the meat for a pot roast. Cut the block from the English cut, leaving two ribs on this cut. Removing these ribs creates a Boston cut or cross rib.
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5
Cut the neck from the shoulder, just above the shoulder joint and the chuck blade. Grind the neck and shoulder meat or use it as stew meat. Cut the chuck blade into steaks or bone and roll the meat as pot roast.
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6
Wrap and label cuts for freezing. Include the name of the cut and the date.
Hindquarter
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7
Lay the hindquarter on the table, inside up. Remove the flank in one long cut. Cut the flank steak, an oval-shaped muscle located in the flank, on the diagonal to form a London broil. The remaining meat is suitable for stew or ground beef.
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8
Separate the rump from the round by cutting parallel to and about an inch away from the pelvis bone. Continue making two parallel cuts to the long bone of the round from the knee joint to the previous cut. Remove the tip of the round by cutting through the stifle joint and pulling the tip free.
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9
Cut parallel to the end of the round, about 1 inch above the stifle, with the knife. Use the saw to cut through the femur bone. Removing the bone exposes the natural division that shows where to cut for a top round and bottom round. Make these cuts into steaks or roasts.
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10
Remove the gambrel tendon with the knife. Continue cutting along the shank bone to remove the heel of the round. Use this for pot roast. Trim the rest of the meat for stew or grinding and save the shank bone for soup.
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11
Separate the rump from the loin by cutting with the knife and saw about 1 inch in front of the pelvis bone. Bone and roll the rump, removing the hip joint. Use metal skewers to hold the rump roast together for wrapping. Cut the rest of the loin into steaks. Working from the smallest end, cut club, T-bone and porterhouse sections. Cut sirloin steak from the final section.
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12
Grind meat scraps for ground beef at a ratio of 4 parts lean meat to 1 part fat for best results, especially for freezing. Wrap and mark all cuts and ground meat for freezing.
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1
Tips & Warnings
Use a sharp knife and saw blades when butchering meat.
Do not freeze or grind any pieces of meat that smell or look funny or that may be dirty, to avoid contamination.
References
Resources
- Photo Credit beef meat image by Maria Brzostowska from Fotolia.com
