{"id":7203,"date":"2022-10-30T08:03:03","date_gmt":"2022-10-30T08:03:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pitmastercentral.com\/?p=7203"},"modified":"2023-06-03T10:15:58","modified_gmt":"2023-06-03T10:15:58","slug":"side-of-beef","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pitmastercentral.com\/side-of-beef\/","title":{"rendered":"What’s a Side of Beef? Breaking Down the Cow Into Two Sides"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The side of beef is exactly what it means. It’s the lateral or one-half of the animal cut transversely from the neck across the backbone to the rump<\/strong>. This is not entirely a biology class but we’ll deal a bit with the anatomy of the cow<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I’m not a butcher, but I know every part of the cow<\/a>, thanks to my time in cooking school and experience in the meat industry. So I’m here to show you what you can make from a side of beef. If you’re ready to stock your freezer space with enough whole beef and ground beef, this is how you start. <\/p>\n\n\n

\"Side<\/figure>\n\n\n

What Is a Side of Beef?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The side of beef is a primal cut you see after the carcass has been dressed and cut in two. The side of beef is further broken down into different cuts. Here, you can now have cuts like the brisket, foreshank, chuck, ribs, short ribs, short loin, plate, sirloin, flank, hand shank, rump, and round. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

How Is a Side of Beef Derived?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

First, a cow is slaughtered. Then the neck and tail are cut off, and the cattle is skinned. That skin portion goes to the leather industry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Next, the legs are cut from the knees downward with the meat saw<\/strong>, leaving the shanks. Then, the carcass is sliced open on the belly and the offal taken out. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

What’s next for the butcher is to take his saw and hack the carcass along the sacral vertebrae or backbone from the pelvic bone <\/strong>into two sides. The carcass is hacked all the way to the front and into two. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The two large cuts of beef derived from this process are what you call the side of beef<\/strong>. If you’re looking to buy a side of beef, this is it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What’s Included in a Side of Beef?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

When purchasing beef from my butcher, I don’t get the tongue, tail, or organ meats. However, if you want the organ meats, you can request them when making your half beef orders.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I briefly mentioned what the side of beef contains in general earlier. These are what you get from a half beef:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Rump and Round <\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The rump is a cut obtained from the hindquarter of the leg <\/strong>and muscle above the bovine’s hip bone. You can find it at the upper side of the round or where you can call the lap.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is high-quality beef. You won’t find fat caps or a lot of intramuscular fat here. It’s an all-lean, fully flavorful <\/strong>tender piece of beef<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This cut is larger than the filet or short loin cut but it’s not as meaty as the round where you have the lap flesh. The rump has a lot of bones under it (the pelvis bone). <\/p>\n\n\n

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\"Beef<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

Filet Mignon<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The fillet is one of the most precious (and consequently the most expensive<\/u><\/a>) cut of all. It’s obtained from the area between the loin and the round steak. The filet mignon also houses several cuts such as sirloin, tenderloin, top sirloin, and bottom sirloin<\/strong>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

These beef cuts are famous for their texture and absence of fat. It’s all but the perfect marbling<\/a> and tenderness. It’s a restaurant-quality cut and costs a lot as I mentioned. <\/p>\n\n\n

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\"Raw<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

Short Loin <\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The short loin comes next to the filet on the side of the beef. The tip of the tenderloin <\/strong>from the filet cut runs into it. You can find really special cuts such as the T-bone steaks <\/strong>and porterhouse steaks<\/strong> from the short loin. Both the porterhouse and T-bones are similar except that the porterhouse is a bit thicker. The T-bone steak is a beef cut that contains a tenderloin on one side and a strip steak on another. This is the same with the porterhouse.<\/p>\n\n\n

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\"Beef<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

Ribs <\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Next on the side of the beef after the short loin comes the ribs. I’m talking about the main upper ribs and the lower part where you have the short ribs. Again, the upper ribs are what we call the prime ribs or standing rib roasts <\/strong>and the beef back ribs<\/strong>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The beef back ribs are meaty and flavorful. The rib primal is where you take the ribeye steaks<\/strong>. By the way, the ribeyes are meat between the ribs. So, it’s boneless ad great for grilling or broiling. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The small ribs<\/strong> beneath the main ribs contain smaller rib bones but these are succulent and tender<\/strong>. They will give you that perfect fall-apart beef when slow-cooked on the grill. <\/p>\n\n\n

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\"Raw<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

Shank <\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The lower legs of the front and rear legs of the cow are referred to as fore shanks<\/strong> and hind shanks<\/strong>. The front shank is the lower leg of the shoulder. The meatier rear shank is the lower leg of the beef leg. However, both front and rear shackles are used in the same way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The lower legs are heavily stressed by the cattle. Accordingly, it is long-fibered and strongly interspersed with connective tissue. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Therefore, the beef shank is only suitable for cooking and stewing<\/strong>. Even with these two forms of preparation, the beef shank needs several hours until it is cooked and tender. In return, the meat and the marrow bones give off an intense taste to the broth or sauce.<\/p>\n\n\n

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\"Beef<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

Brisket <\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The brisket is below the transverse rib from which it is sawn across to the rib bones. In shape, the brisket is high and narrow at the front and flat and wide at the back. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The brisket forms the front part of the beef; it is narrow, fleshier, and less boned than the other parts. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The brisket is cut with or without bones. It is mainly used for cooking meat for broths, soups, and stews. Beef brisket is also a special ingredient for corned beef and is one of the most sought-after by pitmasters for grilling. It’s a tough meat that requires slow cooking to break down the connective tissues.<\/p>\n\n\n

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\"Piece<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

Chuck<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The chuck region is where you have the cross<\/strong> rib<\/strong>, also known as the Boston cut, boneless chuck roast, or thick rib roast. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Other cuts derived from the chuck are the ground chuck, chuck pot roast, shoulder tender medallions, shoulder steak, and even the flat-iron steak<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

All cuts of beef from the chuck are very tough <\/strong>except the flat iron steak<\/strong> which is extremely tender<\/u><\/a> and newly discovered. This is why it’s great for slow cooking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, chuck beef is one of the most versatile cuts of the cow. First, the boneless chuck cut is my go-to cut for my ground beef<\/strong>. Meanwhile, the boned cuts are also used for making soup bones. It’s rich in flavor and has a good balance of meat to fat. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Related Reading<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n