Beef Cuts

Melissa · #1 10/08/12, 09:44 PM

What are your favorite cuts of beef and how do you cook them? We have been buying a half for several years and it is very good, but I feel like I don't know enough about what to order. I was not feeling 100% and did not do enough research and I feel like I am missing cuts we would probably enjoy. If you have any ideas, please post here.

MO_cows · #2 10/08/12, 09:59 PM

I really enjoy the round steaks. We get ours tenderized, then they can easily become chicken fried steak, swiss steak, smothered steak with mushrooms slow simmered in red wine, you name it. Ground beef is the number one for convenience. It is so versatile and ours is always nice and lean. Also really like the roasts and stew meat. I make two kinds of stew - one with just carrots, onion, celery and potatoes, or the other kind also gets tomatoes, cabbage, corn, green beans, EVERYTHING goes in it. And jerky, don't forget jerky! I love liver and onions, but DH despises it and even complains about the aroma when it cooks. So if he isn't going to be home for dinner, that's when I indulge in liver n onions. The short ribs are rich, sear them and then braise low and slow and they melt in your mouth. Brown the oxtail and soup bones in the oven, then put in the stock pot with water and aromatics and make beef stock to die for. I mean really, what isn't good on a beef??? Beef, it's what's for dinner!

Awnry Abe · #3 10/08/12, 10:04 PM

I'll 2nd the round steak. Easily our family's favorite for its flavor. Sirloins are a close 2nd. Any roast is good, IMO. I like arm roast and arm steak. Actually, I think we prefer the cuts that don't have curb appeal because they tend to be packed with more flavor.

Yvonne's hubby · #4 10/08/12, 10:34 PM

I've never met a cut of beef I didnt like. Different cuts just need to be prepared differently to bring out their best. Ribeye steaks like the grill... roasts prefer the slow cooker while the oxtail makes an excellent soup base. There are many different ways to cook each cut too depending upon your personal tastes and available ingredients.

MO_cows... have you tried cooking that liver with peaches instead of onions? Your DH just might change his entire attitude towards it fixed that way.

MO_cows · #5 10/08/12, 10:48 PM

Sirloin is my favorite for a stir fry. Or, marinate and grill the whole thing, then slice and serve it and it goes way farther than giving everybody a slab of their own. One cut I wish I would have remembered to get the last time, tri-tip. It is really good marinated, grilled, also served by the slice. I believe it comes from the sirloin.

Oggie · #6 10/08/12, 11:41 PM

I used to love the tenderloin. I'd usually wrap inch-thick slices of it in bacon and grill it. It was tender. But, it dawned on me that perhaps I liked it because it was rarely on my table and pretty expensive. I reality, it doesn't have much flavor.

Now, I like a smoked brisket or a browned and braised shoulder or rump roast more because of the more-developed flavor.

But, then again, it's difficult to argue with a New York steak on the grill (Mainly because no matter what you say, it will just sort of hiss at you.)

kasilofhome · #7 10/09/12, 12:23 AM

brisket smoked, corned, cured, roasted or ground.

Jenn · #8 10/09/12, 05:40 AM

I'm like Melissa but all I like are NY strips, filet mignon, and hamburger. (I DO enjoy stir fry now and then but dislike the idea of the butcher cutting meat up so small and am lazy so rarely have stir fry, and also I am unclear which cut is best for that.) So I'm a bit hesitant to buy 1/4 or 1/2 beef and say "strip steaks, filet mignons, and all the rest 95% lean ground hamburger please, keep the fat for yourself". I once tried cooking a roast and no one here liked it- became dog food!!!

sewsilly · #9 10/09/12, 06:44 AM

Melissa, I have found that the butcher is a good resource. After several years taking deer to a processor, we happened in one night where the guy did an amazing job explaining what came from where (thereby what was actually possible) to get the most meat that we wanted to use from the deer.
I have lots of friends who do their own but the local guy is so good and inexpensive when you give that we are all working. Picking it up, packed and ready to go is wonderful and his sausage (with no added fat) is amazing.
By considering what he said, we do feel like we got better value and cuts that we prepared more.

dawn

nandmsmom · #10 10/09/12, 06:50 AM

It depends on what you like. We aren't huge roast fans, but love steaks in summer and braising/stewing meats in the winter. My slaughterhouse has a fabulous cut sheet to help you along. We get ribeye steaks, with one 3-4 bone roast for Christmas dinner. Brisket is great as a braised meal, or you can smoke it or corn it. I like rounds for making jerky or the occasional roast. Short ribs for braising. A few filets, t-bones etc for the grill. Stew meat from various places. Chuck can be great for steaks, braising or roasts, depends on what you like to do. I usually end up with 50 pounds or so of hamburger, but would love to cut that down even further. Every year I get better at ordering. The key is to look at how you cook, because we're all different.

Rainy · #11 10/09/12, 06:53 AM

love my Beef!!! but my favorite is the ribeye steaks.. we have this stuff we marinate them in and then grill them...they are awesome...

mommathea · #12 10/09/12, 06:54 AM

I would eat a good roast every day of the week. Having 4 kids we go through a TON of ground beef. And it's hard to dislike any steak - except a T-Bone, hubby loves it, but I have an aversion to bone in my steak, don't know why.

The one thing we could do without is the round steak. I usually turn it into jerky, but I don't do a lot of frying, so this last order of beef we got I ended up grinding it up for more ground beef, and didn't miss not having the round steak at all.

strawberrygirl · #13 10/09/12, 06:56 AM

One of our favorites is cube steak. We make chicken fried steak with it. Once and a while we will marinate it in speidie sauce and throw it on the grill.

oldmania · #14 10/09/12, 07:16 AM

My favorite is tri-tip steak. As we have gotten older, we no longer eat our beef rare. I season tri-tip with Montreal Steak Seasoning and garlic salt, then sear in a little oil in an iron skillet. I then wrap in foil and bake at 350 for an hour. Melt in your mouth tender.

gwithrow · #15 10/09/12, 07:26 AM

I just did a rump roast last night...it was wonderful, slow cooked in covered with a little red wine and broth....then added carrots and potatoes at the end....it will make fabulous leftovers as well.....then if there is anything left it can become beef vegetable soup....

beaglebiz · #16 10/09/12, 07:48 AM

we always get some of the round cut into minute steaks (paper thin, like a philly cheese steak) . these are to die for. dont forget to ask for the tallow. you can render it, and use it for soap, make suet for the birds. mix with your chicken scratch to give the hens extra calories. lots of people use it to cook, I prefer lard. It makes a really nice plain white lye soap

Allen W · #17 10/09/12, 08:20 AM

I'll eat any of it but ths chuck roast or steaks, chuck that in the hamburger.

Tirzah · #18 10/09/12, 11:25 AM

Finally after 5 years of purchasing half a cow we know what we like and have it narrowed down

~We found that we like our steaks 3/4 inch thickness and get all cuts of steak.
~Roasts w/bone, I found that we like that better than boneless and tied - more flavor.
~I like to get at least 5 pounds of Italian Sausage for my Marinara Sauce.
~This year we tried Beef Breakfast Sausage, you know I wasn't sure if I would like it but it made great Biscuits and Sausage Gravy.
~I do use Stew meat especially in the winter so I like to have 5 pounds or more of that.
~After those cuts plenty of ground beef.
~Soup bones for making stock.
~Short Ribs. At first I wasn't too sure about these but found a wonderful recipe for Barbecued Beans and Short Ribs (goes great with homemade cornbread)

This year we asked for the tongue. I had heard that it was tasty so I tried making Lingua (Tongue Tacos) this weekend. The butcher actually gave us two so my husband asked if because there were 2 tongues in the crockpot if that made it 'bi-Lingua'

The dog loved it! Tongue is not for us.

My Mom lives with us now and has always loved Liver and Onions (not something we enjoy) but we asked for the liver so I can make that for her.

Melissa · #19 10/09/12, 12:56 PM

We like pretty much everything. I am getting as many soup bones as possible. I found this chart and I think I am going to order a little of everything.

Beef Cuts - Countryside Families

StaceyS · #20 10/09/12, 01:34 PM

Wow, what a great chart!