Forequarter cuts:-

• Rib

Just back from the shoulder is the rib section and this is the home of the prime rib roast, and not surprisingly, the rib steak and the rib eye. Very well marbled and flavourful, the rib section is about the tastiest of all the steaks and is tender and succulent enough for a quick treatment on the grill.

Some common cuts of the rib are:

• Rib steak, which if you can imagine is just a slice with the bone of a prime rib.
• Rib eye steak, which is just the boneless interior of the rib steak

• The Chuck is the source of bone-in chuck steaks and roasts (arm or blade) and boneless clod steaks and roasts, most commonly. The trimmings and some whole boneless chucks are ground for hamburgers.
• The Foreshank or shank is used primarily for stews and soups; it is not usually served any other way due to it being the toughest of the cuts.
• The Plate is the other source of short ribs, used for pot roasting and the outside skirt steak, which is used for fajitas. The remainder is usually ground, as it is typically a cheap, tough and fatty meat.

• The tenderloin, the tenderest cut, the most expensive and some say less flavourful.
• Short loin, from which club, T-bone, and Porterhouse steaks are cut if bone-in, or strip loin (N.Y. strip) and filet mignon if boneless,
• Sirloin, Directly behind the loin is the sirloin. Less tender and cheaper than the loin, sirloin steaks are very tasty. Try to pick sirloin steaks as cut close to the loin if possible (if the bone is flat that means close to the loin and round means farther back). The correct cut is more flavorful and can be further divided into top sirloin and bottom sirloin (including tri-tip)
• Tenderloin, which is the most tender. It can be removed as a separate subprimal, and cut into fillets, tournedos or tenderloin steaks or roasts (such as for beef Wellington), or can be left on wedge or flat-bone sirloin and T-bone and Porterhouse loin steaks.

Other Hindquarter cuts:-

• T-Bone, A bit of everything, the T bone has a T shaped bone which sub divides a small section of tenderloin, with a larger section of strip steak.
• Porterhouse, similar to the T-bone, but with a larger section of tenderloin.
• Strip loin (NY steak), a rectangular strip of very flavourful steak, like a T-bone without the bone or tenderloin!
• The Round contains lean, moderately tough, lower fat (less marbling) cuts, which require moist cooking or lesser degrees of doneness. Some representative cuts are round steak, eye of round, top round and bottom round steaks and roasts. 'The Round' section is the hind leg of the cow and although some of these can be very flavourful, all are less tender than even the sirloin. Some common cuts from the round are:
  • Top round is an acceptable steak for the grilling.
  • Bottom round is OK for the grill and is best marinated.
  • Eye of round is best slow cooked.

• Flank is used mostly for grinding, except for the long and flat flank steak, best known for use in London broil, and the inside skirt steak, also used for fajitas.
  
  
• Flank steaks were once one of the most affordable steaks because they are substantially tougher than the more desirable loin and rib steaks. Many recipes for flank steak use marinades or moist cooking methods, such as braising, to improve the tenderness and flavor. This, in turn, increased the steaks' popularity; when combined with natural leanness, increased prices have resulted.