Cuts of beef

[bethzaring]

I just found out we are to receive 1/2 of a beef, now this is not as overwhelming as that may seem, it is a minature cow, Dexter cow, may be around 200 pounds of processed beef. I have extremely little experience with beef, basically no experience outside of ground beef. About the time I left my parents home, I embraced a house wife sponsored week long boycott of beef to protest a spike on beef prices and just never stopped boycotting beef! I have had a fair amount of this Dexter meat, and it is a bit tough and chewy and flavorful. Combined with no experience of cooking steaks, I am inclined to get NO steaks. I have been looking at a Hormel beef cuts web site, and it looks like if i get roasts, that eliminates the steak potential, is that correct? I'm thinking of getting all the chuck, rib, short loin, sirloin and round all in roasts. And what about the tenderloin, how should that be cut? the ends cut off and packaged separately? If I would get some steaks, what would you recommend and what roast would that eliminate? Besides roasts, I want the rest ground. This Dexter has more fat than I would like. I need to find out if I can specify that fat content of the ground meat. I know I will not be dealing with a very sophisticated butcher. I guess I am looking for comments about the wisdom of ordering so many roasts. Thanks for any comments.........

 

[thumpershere2]

You could grind your own burger meat.Don't have to add any fat to it. An electric home grinder works great. I make all my own venison burger with my grinder and that way I can add what I like as far as the fat is concerened.

 

[urmaniac13]

I am not a big "beefeater" myself, but there are a few favourites, and one of them is "Boeuf Bourguignon". The great thing is, it is not only very tasty, but also works well with tougher pieces of meat, comes out wonderfully tender and moist!!

This is my approximate recipe, sorry I usually eyeball everything, but I trust you are also pretty good at that too... at least this should give you a good idea.

Roughly 700g/1lb & half of beef, sliced in small pieces.
2 medium size onion, roughly sliced
1 large or 2 smaller garlic cloves, chopped or crushed
1 small stalk of celery, finely chopped (or you can chop up some leaves and mix them into the liquid during the boiling process)
2 med. or 1 big carrot, sliced
500ml(1/2 pint +) of red wine, or preferably burgundy wine
1 bayleaf
thyme, majoram, black pepper
100ml/3,5 oz tomato puree, or more as needed
200g mushrooms, roughly chopped
150g smoked bacon or pancetta, diced
2 bunches of green onion, chopped
handful of fresh flat leaved parsley, chopped.

In an ample pot/skillet sautè meat, onion, garlic and celery until the onion and the surface of the meat are golden brown. (Usually onion takes longer to cook, so I sautè the meat separately then put everything together just before adding the liquid)
Pour the wine, add the carrot, the herbs and pepper, bring to boil then cover, turn down the heat and let it simmer for 2 - 2 1/2 hours, stirring occasionally. During this process, add tomato puree as needed.
Sautè mushrooms, bacon and green onions together in a separate skillet.
At the end of the two hours of cooking add this mushroom mixture to the main pot. Let it cook for another half an hour.
Garnish with the parsley.

Great served with a fresh baguette and tossed salad.

 

[Andy M.]

The best steaks are from the rib and surrounding areas. Ask for rib-eye or sirloin strip steaks. The rib-eye is the same cut as a standing rib roast (prime rib) without the bones. Either of these steaks can be cut as very good oven roasts.

Fore and hind quarters are better suited for pot roasts and stew meats as they are muscles that work harder so are tougher. This is where you'd get chuck roasts and beef shanks.

You can specify the fat content of the ground meat you get. Tell the butcher you want lean or very lean ground meat. He'll have to do some extra trimming.

The tenderloin is a long tapered piece of meat. The bigger end can be used for a roast (Chateaubriand for two), the center cuts for filet mignon and the small end for things like stir-fry.

Also look for flank steaks and skirt steaks. Tough but delicious cuts. Great for fajitas, grilling or a stuffed roast (Flank)

Ask the butcher to cut you short ribs for braising.

You can make a corned beef from the brisket or BBQ it.

You have lots of opportunities for stew beef and pot roasts rather than all ground beef. Try to get some variety. You can always grind it up later.

 

[bethzaring]

The best steaks are from the rib and surrounding areas. Ask for rib-eye or sirloin strip steaks. The rib-eye is the same cut as a standing rib roast (prime rib) without the bones. Either of these steaks can be cut as very good oven roasts.

Fore and hind quarters are better suited for pot roasts and stew meats as they are muscles that work harder so are tougher. This is where you'd get chuck roasts and beef shanks.

You can specify the fat content of the ground meat you get. Tell the butcher you want lean or very lean ground meat. He'll have to do some extra trimming.

The tenderloin is a long tapered piece of meat. The bigger end can be used for a roast (Chateaubriand for two), the center cuts for filet mignon and the small end for things like stir-fry.

Also look for flank steaks and skirt steaks. Tough but delicious cuts. Great for fajitas, grilling or a stuffed roast (Flank)

Ask the butcher to cut you short ribs for braising.

You can make a corned beef from the brisket or BBQ it.

You have lots of opportunities for stew beef and pot roasts rather than all ground beef. Try to get some variety. You can always grind it up later.

thumpershere, I have an old, old 1/3 hp GE grinder that we use for chevon and venison. I had not considered doing any of my own grinding of this Dexter, but it would be easy. And Andy M, stew meat, of course. I would just as soon have the butcher do a lot of the fat trimming, I am a bit worried about freezer space too. Thanks for the steak, plus, tips....

 

[JMediger]

... I am a bit worried about freezer space too. Thanks for the steak, plus, tips....

You might be surprised on how compact they can wrap things ... we stored a 1/4 beef (full size heifer) in our refrigerator freezer with lots of room to spare. We had primarily roasts, stew meat and ground meat ... Even if you don't want the steaks now, just remember that you can slice up your roasts to become steaks if the notion strikes you later (since that's what they are - cut roasts). You can also serve a roast like steaks by grilling the whole roast and slicing it thickly before serving. This is a good way to ensure you get them done the way you want. It does look like prime rib when you serve it but tastes like steak if you are grilling.

I wouldn't recommend grinding it yourself unless you know how much fat you need to keep on the meat to prevent it from being too lean. Like was previously stated, ask for lean (generally 10%) or extra lean (8% or less) and you should be fine. If you find it is too lean after you get it, you can always take it back to your butcher and ask him to add back fat. I would recommend frying some up before you freeze it all just in case you need to do this.

Good Luck!
JMediger

 

[ChefJune]

Beth, the site I rely on for beef and veal issues is www.beef.org. To reach the cuts of beef... click on the box labeled "Beef for Foodservice Professionals." There's lots of good info on that site.

 

[thumpershere2]

Grinding your own meat is the Best way to get it right. It also saves money and if you grind your own venison then you can grind your own beef. I just ground up some pork to make my own breakfest sausage. Grinding your own meat is a good way to know what goes into it.