Guide to Beef Cuts

1½kg sirloin or rump of beefHeat the oven to Gas Mark 7, 220°C (425°F).

Place the garlic, pepper and mustard in a small bowl, add in the oil and mix to a paste.  Rub the mixture all over the beef, then place it in a roasting tin along with the carrots and onion.  Season with a little salt.

Roast for 25 minutes, then lower the heat to Gas Mark 4, 180°C (350°F). Roast for another hour for rare and 1½ hours for medium rare.  Take the meat out of the oven, transfer to a carving board, cover with foil and allow to rest for 15-20 minutes before carving.

TIPS FOR ROASTING BEEF

Let the meat come to room temperature before you cook it. Roast the beef at  a high temperature (240°C/fan220°C/gas 9, or as high

as your oven will go) for about 15 minutes to get the heat through to the centre of the joint. Then reduce the temperature to 190°C/fan170°C/gas 5 and continue to roast for 12-13 minutes per 500g for rare, 17-18 minutes per 500g for medium, or 22-24 minutes per 500g for well done.

Rest the meat before carving. This allows the meat fibres – which contract in the oven – to relax again, so the meat will be more tender.

From rib eye to rump steak, sirloin to silverside, get to know your cuts of beef and what to do with them with Celia Plender's guide

BUYING BEEF

Quantities: When shopping for roasting joints allow 100-175g of raw meat per person for boneless joints and 225-350g for bone-in joints.

What to look for: Buy your beef from a decent butcher if you can and try to get well matured meat as this will have a lot more flavour.

A well-aged piece of meat should be dark red in colour. It should smell meaty, but not unpleasant or sour. Any fat on the meat should be white or cream and feel firm and waxy.

DIFFERENT CUTS FOR DIFFERENT DISHES

A cow is divided into two forequarters and two hindquarters. As a rule the forequarters are a little tougher than the hindquarters so cuts from that part of the animal are good for stewing, braising and slow cooking as these methods help to tenderise the meat. Hindquarter cuts are ideal for quicker cooking and roasting.STEWING AND SLOW COOKING

Shin

Shin comes from the foreleg and is usually bought in medallions with the bone in or out. It's perfect for rich stews, casseroles or braised dishes.Recipe suggestion: Kate and Wills's wedding pie

Brisket

Taken from the belly and rolled into a joint, brisket is economical and ideal for slow roasting, or pot roasting with melt-in-the-mouth, tender results.

Recipe suggestion: Slow-roasted beef brisket

Chuck and blade

Chuck and blade come from the fore ribs. They are usually sliced or diced into chunks for stewing or slow cooking.

Recipe suggestion: Pot roast beefROASTS

Topside/Silverside

Taken from the hindquarter, topside is lean and very tender. Topside and silverside are often sold rolled with a sheet of fat around them to stop the meat from drying out. Silverside is slightly tougher than topside, so it can also be used to make salt beef or corned beef.

Recipe suggestion: Roast beef with all the trimmings

Rib of beef

Marbled with creamy fat, roast rib eye is a juicy joint as the fat helps to keep it moist. You can choose if you want yours bone in or bone out. 

Recipe suggestion: Roast mustard crusted rib of beef

Sirloin

Hailing from the hindquarters, sirloin is usually boned and rolled. It's leaner than the rib eye and makes for another very tender roast.Recipe suggestion: Hugh's roasted sirloinSTEAK

Rib eye 

Cut from the eye of the fore rib, rib eye steaks have a little more fat than other steaks, which helps to keep them moist. They're ideal for char-grilling or frying.

Recipe suggestion: Butter roasted rib eye steak

T-bone 

Cut across the bone of the sirloin, T-bone steaks are fillet on one side and sirloin on the other, making them both tender and tasty. They work well simply fried with a little seasoning. 

Recipe suggestion: T-bone steak with parsnip and wasabi ice cream

Fillet steak

Considered the most lean and tender steak of all, fillet is ideal for quick cooking, and lends itself well to cooking rare in dishes like carpaccio.

Recipe suggestion: Fillet steak with watercress pesto

Rump

Although rump is a little firmer in texture than fillet, it's said to have more flavour. It is usually quite a large steak, and can be cut into strips or chunks for frying too.

Recipe suggestion: Jamie's steak Indian Style

Flank/bavette 

Flank is commonly used for minute steaks. It's cheap, tends to come cut thinly, and responds well to very quick cooking. Be careful not to overcook it as it can end up a little tough. Flank can also be stewed or braised. 

Recipe suggestion: Shredded beef tacosImages and advice provided by EBLEX

The round is the rear leg of the cow. A frequently used muscle, the meat from this area is lean but tough. Bottom Round: One area is tougher than the other, and it's usually divided into two smaller cuts -- bottom round roast and rump roast (the end that comes to a point).

Bottom Round Roast: Roasts from the bottom round. A bit tough and best suited as corned beef or pot roast. This is called beef silverside in the UK, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand.Eye Round Roast/Steak or Eye of the Round: A boneless roast that looks like tenderloin, but it is much tougher. Used as a roast or cut into steaks. Steaks cut from the roast are used in stews or processed into cube steak. Also called breakfast steak, wafer steak, sandiwch steak, minute steak.London Broil: The name of the finished dish, not the cut of meat. Butchers will use the name London Broil for flank steak, top round steak or top blade steak. Top Round Steak or Butterball Steak: Thick steaks from the top of the round. Usually broiled, braised or cooked in liquid. Round Steak: Very lean, but not as tender and juicy as other cuts. Served broiled, braised or cooked in a liquid.Round Tip Roast or Tip Roast or Sirloin Tip Roast or Tip Sirloin Roast: A cut away from the sirloin section, this roast is tender enough to be oven roasted or used as kabobs. When trimmed it's called a trimmed tip roast or ball tip roast. Round Tip Steak: A steak cut from the untrimmed round tip roast. Rump Roast: Cut from the bottom round. When the bone is left in, it is called a standing rump roast. Top Round Roast: A lean and fairly tender cut as compared to the other cuts from the round.

Read more: <a href="http://www.food.com/library/beef-round-cuts-818?oc=linkback">http://www.food.com/library/beef-round-cuts-818?oc=linkback</a>

The meat guide: beefBritish beef is regarded as some of the best in the world. The experience and knowledge of the farmers, together with our climate and rich pastures, produces first-class meat. This guide includes advice on how to buy and cook every cut – and some delicious recipes to try.

Beef should be hung after slaughter for an optimum period of two weeks, although some prefer to leave it for four or more. Hanging beef gives the enzymes and bacteria in the meat time to start breaking down the fibres, which, in time,

makes the meat more tender and gives it more flavour. It helps the meat lose moisture – making it better for cooking – and darkens the flesh to a deep-red colour. To ensure you are buying good beef, always buy from a reputable butcher and don’t be afraid to ask how long the meat has been hung.

BUYING TIPS: WHAT TO LOOK FOR

Beef from a good-quality, independent butcher is more likely to be worth eating.

Beef should be deep, dark red in colour. Look for marbling: the little streaks of fat running through the leaner

muscle. Marbling enables the beef to ‘baste’ itself from within during cooking. A layer of firm, creamy-white fat around the outside of a nicely marbled

joint is a sign of a properly reared, good-quality animal. After it has basted the meat and added flavour during cooking, fat can be drained away or cut off.

Good-quality, properly hung beef should look dry and be slightly sticky and yielding to the touch, but not flabby or without form.

BEEF CUTS

Because of a cow’s size, it is first divided into four: two forequarters and two hindquarters.

The FOREQUARTER runs from the neck to the last rib bone. These muscles have had to work hardest, so cuts tend to be less tender. They require slower methods of cooking, such as stewing, braising, mincing and pot-roasting. 

The NECK is usually made into best-quality beef mince for slow cooking.

The RIBS are roughly sub-divided into three:The CHUCK AND BLADE is from the first two ribs and is usually sliced or diced for braising.The MIDDLE RIBS often carry more fat than the chuck. Boned and rolled into a joint for slow cooking, or sliced and diced for braising.The FORE RIBS are shaped like a long line of large beef chops, and are considered one of the prime cuts for roasting on the bone. Can be boned and rolled into a neat joint, or sliced across into RIB-EYE STEAKS.

The BRISKET is from the belly. Usually boned and rolled and ideal for slow or pot-roasting. 

The SHIN is often sliced to give neat, medallion-shaped pieces of meat. Ideal for stewing.

The HINDQUARTER is the back end of the animal. These cuts are more tender – ideal for roasting and quicker cooking methods. 

The SIRLOIN is boned and rolled into a neat joint or sliced across into SIRLOIN STEAKS. But if the sirloin muscle and the underlying fillet are left on the bone, it can be sliced across to produce T-BONE STEAKS. A PORTERHOUSE STEAK is a large, chop-shaped steak, cut from the rib end of an unboned sirloin. 

The FILLET or UNDERCUT can be rolled into a joint or sliced intoFILLET STEAKS. Very lean and tender, with less flavour than cuts from the rump or sirloin but more expensive. 

The FLANK is what butchers usually trim of excess fat and use for cheaper beef mince. 

SKIRT refers to various muscles near the flank, rump and inner thigh. It is very lean and tasty but also tough, so requires long, slow cooking. 

The RUMP is a very lean, tender cut that is always sliced into steaks. 

The TOPSIDE is a large, lean cut of beef, rolled and divided into two or three boneless joints. 

The SILVERSIDE is very similar to topside, but requires slower cooking. Used to make salt beef or corned beef.

The TOP RUMP or THICK FLANK is a lean cut that is ideal for roasting, or can be thinly sliced to provide an inexpensive FRYING STEAK.

The LEG is the top of the back leg, which is usually sliced and has similar qualities to shin. Best suited to slow, moist methods of cooking.

CUTS OF MEAT

 

RIB

 

BRISKET

 

SHIN

 

SIRLOIN

 

SIRLOIN STEAK

 

T-BONE

 

FILLET STEAK

 

SKIRT

 

RUMP

 

TOPSIDE

 

 SILVERSIDE

 

TOP RUMP

 

FRYING STEAK

 

 MINCE

 

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