The following is a list of the American primal cuts, and cuts derived from them.
Beef carcasses are split along the axis of symmetry into "halves", then across into front and back "quarters" (forequarters and hindquarters). Canada uses identical cut names (and numbering) as the US, with the exception of the "round" which is called the "hip". The British designation 'rump' is also common in Canada.
Forequarter • 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 ground beef. • The rib contains part of the
short ribs, the
prime rib and
rib eye steaks. • The
brisket is primarily used for barbecue,
corned beef or
pastrami. • The front leg or shank is used primarily in stews and soups; since it is the toughest cut, it is not usually eaten in other ways. • The
plate is the other source of short ribs, used for pot roasting, and the outside
skirt steak, which is used for
fajitas. The navel is the ventral part of the plate and is commonly used to make
pastrami. The remainder is usually ground, as it is typically a tough and fatty meat.
Hindquarter • The loin has three subprimals. • the
short loin, from which the
T-bone and
porterhouse steaks are cut if bone-in, or
strip steak. • the
sirloin, which is less tender than short loin, but more flavorful, can be further divided into
top sirloin and
bottom sirloin (including
tri-tip), and • the
tenderloin, which is the most tender, can be removed as a separate subprimal, and cut into
filet mignons,
tournedos or tenderloin steaks, and roasts (such as for
beef Wellington). They can also be cut bone-in to make parts of the
T-bone and
porterhouse loin steaks. • The round contains lean, moderately tough, lower fat (less
marbling) cuts, which require moist or rare cooking. Some representative cuts are
round steak, eye of round, top round, and bottom round steaks and roasts. • The 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 modern recipes for flank steak use marinades or moist cooking methods, such as braising, to improve the tenderness and flavor. This, combined with a new interest in these cuts' natural leanness, has increased the price of the flank steak. ==Argentine==