What beef cuts should I make?

Silvercreek Farmer · #1 08/16/10, 02:34 PM

So, this winter we are going to attempt to process our steer at home. This is the plan for the cuts. I usually leave everything bone in for my hogs and sheep, but for the steer, I think that will just be too much bone in the freezer. So I plan on boning almost everything out.

This is the rundown:
Whole ribeyes, ny strips, tenderloins- to be cut into steaks after wet ageing.
Sirloins cut into fahita and Kabob meat.
Brisket cut into 3-4 lb chunks for western stly bbq.
2-3 lb Chucks for pot roasts.
Round, neck, ribs, and other misc ground into burger.

I guess my question is, am I going to waste something really good by grinding the round? I like rare roast beef sandwiches, but I do not have a slicer and figure with all the other stuff, there will be plenty for sandwiches. I might save some for beef jerky though, or is there a better piece for that?

We do not generally use that much burger (but it is not like we won't figure out something to do with it!) but with this plan I think I am going to get a ton of it. I generally like to cook big hunks of meat slowly on the grill (indirect heat), but I think the round may be a little lean for this and come out dry and tough...

farminghandyman · #2 08/16/10, 07:21 PM

I prefer to use the rounds for roasts and the chuck for burger, there are times we use the rounds for steaks as well.

and some times it just depends on how fat the critter is, just did on a few weeks ago and that cow (cow was struck by lighting, and was not getting up) was so fat, that the brisket had fat strips of 3 to 4 inch's thick in it, we cut the meat out and ground it,

but I try to cut the most, in solid cuts as IMO hamburger is cheap, and it seems like we end up with hamburger fairly easy, if a older cow has a problem many times it will all go into burger for the most part.

Oldcountryboy · #3 08/16/10, 09:24 PM

If you got a Dehydrator use it to dehydrate some bones with a bit of meat on it and then use it later for stews, noodles, or broth. Or, de-hair your steer hide and let dry. Then use the bones to make a big pot of broth, cut your steer hide in strips and soak in the broth. Twist it and let dry and you have beef flavored dog chews. The pot lickers will love you.

Silvercreek Farmer · #4 08/17/10, 07:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Oldcountryboy

If you got a Dehydrator use it to dehydrate some bones with a bit of meat on it and then use it later for stews, noodles, or broth. Or, de-hair your steer hide and let dry. Then use the bones to make a big pot of broth, cut your steer hide in strips and soak in the broth. Twist it and let dry and you have beef flavored dog chews. The pot lickers will love you.

Too bad we don't have a dog! They would get a constant supply of lamb, pork and beef bones around here!

CountryWannabe · #5 08/17/10, 09:55 AM

My daughter and I actually just finished cutting up a Dexter steer... We had a processor do the kill, hang for 21 days and cut into 2 x forequarters, 2 x hindquarters, 2 x rib sections and 2 x loin sections. The cost was embarrassingly low - you might want to check that out.

The advantage to that cutting is that the pieces were easier for us to handle than a whole or half beast, and we were sure we got all the animal - including tongue, liver, kidneys and heart. Because of the cuts we also got all the bones. Long bones for the dogs, the rest for making stock. We made sure that the processor knew to leave the fat on - particularly the suet (internal) fat. We wanted that for rendering for cooking and baking.

We boned out pretty much everything. Much easier to find room in the freezer for boneless cuts. We did ribeye, NY strip, filet, sirloin and round steaks (just the tender, inner round-shaped muscle - not sure what it is called). Made several rump roasts, a couple of chuck roasts, a few packs of fajita meat and made as much as possible of what was left into stew meat (we use the slow cookers a lot and so pretty much anything stewed is really tender) We only ended up with about 40# or so of hamburger. We don't eat much hamburger, so wanted to make as little as possible of it.

We have eaten a couple of filets, a couple of NY strips and a pack of fajita strips so far, and it is the best beef I have ever eaten in my life.

Mary