Experienced and friendly
Our experienced butchers in the shop offer service with a smile along with excellent advice, but if you do not have time to pop in then hopefully this advice page will help!
Beef Cuts: lions, shanks, briskets and chuck – if all the different cuts confuse you when deciding what to cook, this will help you buy the right cut of beef for the right job, whether that’s grilling, stewing, braising or roasting. Follow this beef cuts guide and you’ll be acting like a butcher in no time.
Tongue & Cheek
The hardworking cheek muscle of the cow. Cooked slowly over time it becomes tender. Also great for making a thick gravy, perfectly absorbing flavours of braising liquid like wine or ale.
The tongue is one of the fattiest cuts of beef. Simmered on a slow heat and usually in a broth it turns quite tender.
Neck
This lesser-used cut of meat comes from an area of muscles that the cow uses daily. Due to this it can be quite tough. Cooked properly the neck and clod can be surprisingly rich and tender.
Chuck
Much like the the Neck cut, the Chuck comes from a hard-working set of muscles on the cow’s shoulders. The fat and tissue content needs a slow cook to break down so this cut is traditionally used in pies, casseroles and stews.
Rib
Exceptionally tender, the beef rib is one of the most popular choices around the world. Known for having an ‘eye’ of fat in the centre, and ribbons of fat throughout the meat.
Brisket
Beef Brisket comes from between the shoulders of the cow, a working part of the animal that moves around a lot during its lifetime. With fat marbled throughout the meat, brisket is usually slow roasted until it’s meltingly tender, falling off the bone.
Shank
Beef shank much like the Neck is an area the cow uses quite often. Because of this the meat tends to be quite dry and tough. Cooked for a long time in a moist heat however, this cut can turn very tender.
Plate
Beef plate can contain a lot of cartilage, which makes it ideal for braising. Being fairly fatty, it’s frequently used for ground beef.
Short Loin
Traditionally the most desirable cuts of meat come from the Short Loin. These include: T-bone steaks, porterhouse steaks, strip loin and strip steak.
Sirloin
Beef Sirloin is cut from a section between the cow’s back rib and back of the hip bone. The complete sirloin is subdivided into bottom and top sirloin.
Tenderloin
The softest and most tender meat comes from within the loin. The tenderloin is where we get filleted beef like filet mignon and Chateaubriand.
Top Sirloin
The whole Sirloin is separated into top and bottom sirloin. These meats benefit most from dry heat cooking.
Bottom Sirloin
The bottom sirloin is then normally divided into the ball tip, flap and tri-tip. These cuts are suited best to being roasted or barbecued.
Flank
The Flank is a flavoursome, fatty and (thankfully) inexpensive cut of beef. It can be cooked on the grill or used for making ground beef.
Round
Steaks cut from the Round are known in Scotland as ‘Popes Eye Steak’. Like beef Sirloin the Round is typically further cut into the: top round, bottom round, and the knuckle. Slowly roasted and cut thinly against the grain, this cut is perfect for meaty sandwiches.
Ox Tail
Arguably the most flavoursome beef cut, Oxtail is also fairly inexpensive. It can be stewed for hours until beautifully soft and tender.
