How to Cook the Most Common Cuts of Beef

[Music] when it comes to cooking proteins it's about more than just following the recipe knowing which cooking method to choose is going to make the difference between a dish being delicious and you not being able to eat it now with beef that starts with knowing where on the animal the cuts come from how do i identify where they come from and how does that inform the cooking method i choose beef is cut into primals you may have heard that word those refer to the large sections of the animal those primals are cut into subprimals and the subprimals are butchered into the stakes and roasts that you recognize now how do i learn how to cook those so today we're going to look at the entire animal and identify where the cuts come from and how to cook them let's start with a map of the whole animal we'll end up here but maybe we should start at the beginning at either end we have the two largest primals chuck and round and in the middle we have the sirloin short loin and rib and then moving underneath we have brisket plate and flank and of course the legs or shanks as a general rule the more well used the muscle the longer it needs to cook to be tender let's take a look at the round the bottom round roast is a relatively lean cut it needs low temperature and plenty of time to be tender but the payoff is this awesomely concentrated flavor next we have the london broil the name typically refers to the cooking method and the cut itself is usually lean and butchered to be able to cook very quickly the eye round is generally used for roast beef lean and with a finer grain cooking it very slowly to medium rare gives you a tender delicious product moving on to the sirloin shortland and rib subprimals these areas contain the least used muscles and are generally quick cooking fattier and more tender okay first we have the culotte or top sirloin cap and also known as pecana now this is a super popular cut in brazilian cooking it has a beautiful fat cap and the meat is tender at nearly every temperature it does have a distinct grain so be sure to cut against it the top sirloin steaks are just close enough to the round primal to have some serious flavor and just far enough away to still be tender and the sirloin steak tips are excellent as kebabs they should be marinated before cooking and while you're eating it slicing against the grain will make it that much more tender stir-fry beef often cut from sirloin trim because it's cost effective but it's super flavorful and really tender now we have some of my favorite cuts tri-tip and vivette now the tri-tip is a super popular california barbecue cut it's terrific smoked should be cooked to medium rare really really delicious the bavette which has this unattractive name flat meat is actually phenomenal it's packed with flavor tons of texture in every bite and it makes a really good bistro steak these are typically hard to find because restaurants grab all of them now we get into the luxury cuts the short line subprimal is home to the most exclusive cuts starting with the tenderloin the tenderloin is crazy tender buttery texture mild flavor although tenderloin from grass-finished cattle tend to have a more exceptional flavor it can be cooked whole or broken down into steaks we call those steaks filet mignons these tend to be pretty expensive because there's only one tenderloin per animal then we have the steakhouse cuts porterhouse and new york strip the porterhouse is a thick cut cross section it contains both new york strip and filet best of both worlds plus a bone which i think adds a ton of flavor to the eating experience the new york strip a steakhouse favorite is characterized by that visible strip of fat on one side it is the perfect balance of tenderness and flavor now premium steak tips are cut from trim from the luxury steaks and they often include new york strip ribeye and fillet and finally we reach my personal favorite the rib the ribeye roast is a special occasion favorite super easy to cook and slice massive flavor always tender and from it we get the ribeye steak which is rich fatty and tender although the fat when cooked properly should absolutely melt in your mouth shave steak which is cut from rib eye trim is awesome for sandwiches works great in stir fries too the flankin short rib popular in korean bbq is a cross section of the rib bones so it contains the most tender part of the short rib and all the flavor from the bones cooks really quickly now we've reached the chuck primal the chuck is a magical place it's filled with beautiful roasts some steaks plenty of marbling the classic chuck roast is the pot roast king of course cooked low and slow it will become incredibly tender and flavorful scotch tender is a barrel shaped cut nicely marbled pretty rare to find these days and best cooked slowly then we have the denver steak it comes from a mussel with grains running in two directions and it can be cooked slowly or quickly and works pretty well either way like the other chuck cuts it has a deeply beefy flavor here we have two cuts from the chuck that are actually quick cooking steaks first we have the ranch steak it's a popular cowboy cut it has a distinct grain an awesome flavor but be sure to slice it thinly for maximum tenderness and then we have the flat iron a recently invented cut it's extracted from between two hard-working muscles it's incredibly tender and delicious and it's quickly becoming a high-end steakhouse favorite if you see one on a menu definitely try it the holy grail of the chuck is of course the short ribs cut from where chuck and rib primals meet they are slow cooking items but arguably have the best flavor of all the cuts and they come in two varieties we have bone in and boneless the best stewing beef of course comes from chuck adding flavor and just the right amount of fat to your stew and finally we have the grind ground beef is incredibly versatile it comes in a variety of fat contents ranging from extra lean to pretty fatty and of course burgers everyone's favorite but not all burgers are created equal and the quality of the grind makes a very big difference moving to the underside first we have the brisket now this is one of the hardest working muscles and cooking it properly reflects that super low super slow that's the name of the game in brisket land and i learned something new every time i cook one and here we have the beef asabuko a cross section of the shank it's the perfect balance of beef and bone it's absolutely delicious in soups or stews and it's packed with rich and healthy collagen moving on to the plate we have two special cuts we have the skirt steak which is really popular in central and south american cuisine it's tender it cooks super fast and it has awesome flavor and then we have the hanger steak commonly served as steak freaks in bistro style restaurants it's delicious and both of these steaks have distinct grains and should be sliced perpendicular for maximum tenderness and finally we have the flank steak this is the perfect party steak easy to cook cooks fast does great with marinades it's tender and it serves a crowd definitely one of my favorites so no more guesswork now you know where the cuts come from how to identify them and the best way to cook them next lesson we're going to take a similar look at chicken and pork see you then

Channel: ButcherBox

Views: 33,361

Keywords: meat education, kitchen info, chef info, how to cook meat

Id: sVZNJKNSlgE

Length: 7min 12sec (432 seconds)

Published: Sat Oct 24 2020