BEEF CUTS
Beef is considered as meat that is from a cattle that is more than one year old. Beef can come from either cows, heifers bulls or steers. The older the animal the tougher the meat. There are also eight different grades of meat in order from highest to lowest.
HOW TO CHOOSE FRESH BEEF
1.
Bright Red Flesh
Red meat such as beef should be bright red as shown in the photos above, this indicates that the meat is at its freshest. If the meat is slightly purple, it just shows that the meat has been exposed to oxygen but however is still fresh.
2. Fat
Freshness of the beef can also be determined by its fats. Fresh beef have firm fats when touched, and has a white, creamy or even yellowish color.
3. Firmness
To test the freshness of the beef, you may use your fingers to press the meat firmly, and if it springs back, the meat is fresh. Meat that has been kept for long or not fresh will tend to lose its firmness
4. Smell
The beef should not have any foul or unpleasant smell and this would indicate that it is not fresh.
CUTS OF MEAT
Cuts of beef are the first cuts of the beef that is removed from the carcass. These parts of the beef are the basic sections where sub primal and steaks are taken from. Each Main Beef cut is known as a primal cut and smaller cuts of meat taken from these primal cuts are known as Sub-primal.
1. CHUCK
 |
Beef chuck tender from Cold Storage
Cost: $3.20 per 100g |
The chuck is a large chunk of meat located near the neck area of the animal. It extends from the neck to the fifth rib and contains the shoulder blade and upper arm portion. Some sub-Primal cuts of the chuck are the 'Trimmed shoulder clod', 'top blade' and 'chuck roll' . The chuck compared to the other cuts of beef is not considered very tender and requires moist heat cooking to soften and tenderize the meat. Best method for cooking this cut of meat is braising to hence the slow and long heating will slowly soften the meat.
One type of Asian dish that uses the chuck would be the chuck pot roast with vegetable and udon which is a common dish that is made by the Japanese.
2. BRISKET
Beef Brisket at FairPrice
Cost: $1.79 Per 100g
The brisket consist from the point end to the navel end of the animal. one of the retail or sub-primal cuts of the brisket is corned beef.This part of the beef is relatively flavourful but however has a coarse and stringy texture. The brisket contained the breast bone and contain ribs of 1-5. The brisket is tough cut of meat and requires the use of braising cooking method in order to soften and tenderize the meat.
Asian dish that involves this cut of meat is Chinese braised beef with ginger with is a Chinese dish that uses the beef Brisket,due to the fact the the meat is not very tender braising is used to soften and tenderize the cut of meat and is mixed with ginger and other Chinese ingredients such as Chinese 5 spice powder and black peppercorn.
3. RIB
 |
Beef rib eye fillet from the Butcher.
Cost: $6.99 per 100g |
Beef Rib eye from cold storage
Cost $4.80 per 100g
Beef Rib eye from FairPrice
Cosy $3.99 per 100g
The beef ribs is a primal cut. The animal itself contains 13 ribs however not all of the ribs are contained in this cut. some sub-primal cuts from the ribs are short loin, rib eye and rib steaks. The cuts retrieved from this part of the meat are very tender and juicy, containing rich flavour and has fine grains and generous marbling. Common cooking methods are grilling, roasting or pan frying to bring out the flavour of the meat. The cuts of the ribs is also relatively costly I=due to its tenderness and taste.
One Asian dish that can be used with meat from the ribs is Stir-Fried beef with snow peas,the meat is cut into thinly sliced pieces and does not require long heating as it is very tender.
4.SHORT LOIN
The short-loin is the most tender of all the different primal cuts of the beef as the muscles in this portion are the least used. It is quite lean and may have lesser flavour than some of the other cuts despite its tenderness. Some Sub-Primal cuts are the porterhouse steak and T-bone steak. The price of the shortloin is also rather expensive due to its extreme tenderness. It is best to cook the meat in a dry heat cooking method and it very important that the Meat is not overcooked as it could loose its natural tenderness which is the main reason why they are bought.
An Asian dish would be stir-fried beef in oyster sauce as the beef is very tender and does not require a long period of cooking time.
5. ROUND
The round is from the rear back leg of the animal and is usually divided into other cuts such as bottom round, top round, rump roast or even heel of round. The round is a lean cut and is relativelytough and just slightly tender. Due to the lack of fats and marbling, the round becomes dry easily. hence slow moist heat methods are most commonly used to slowly tenderize the meat and retain its moisture.
An Asian dish would be the beef turnip stew which is a classic Chinese stew made with ginger, star anise, garlic, and chu hou, a paste made of soybeans.
6. Flank
Flank Steak
Cost: $2.26 per 100g
beef stew cubs from the flank.
Cost: 1.99 per 100g
The flank cut is a boneless cut located on under area of the animal just below the loin. The sub-Primal cuts are flank steaks, Short ribs, stew Meat which are flavourful but however not as tender but can be tenderized if it is sufficiently and well cooked. Cooking methods such as pan-frying or grilling can be done but done not more than medium, this cut is also commonly cut into strips and stir-fried. It is also commonly made for cooking stew due to it being very flavourful.
One Asian dish is Beef Rendang where the beef is cut into small cuts and mixed with spices. This dish unfortunately is time consuming as the meat has to be cooked for a long period of time in order for it to absorb all the flavour and spices from the gravy and ingredients used. It is of Indonesian origin.
6. TENDERLOIN
Beef tenderloin at FairPrice
Cost: $4.99 per 100g
Beef Tenderloin at NTUC Finest
Cost: $9.95 per 100g
The tenderloin is from the inner area of the carcass along side the backbone, ranging from the sirloin to the rump. The cut of meat is a long shaped tapered towards the rump. This cut does not have any bones and contains very minimal fat. The tenderloin is the most desired cut for beef due to its tenderness but also one of the most costly. Common sub-Primal cuts from the tenderloin are fillet steak, Fillet mignon and chateaubriand steak.
An Asian dish involving this cut of meat is Fried Gochujang (Yak-Gochujang) is a simple and very special dish which is originated from Korea. It uses Korean gochujang which is a spicy, sweet pungent paste. It is then fried with honey, beef, sesame oil and pine nuts.
7.LEG/ SHANK
Corned beef from the shank in cold Storage
Cost: $1.49 per 100g
Beef cuts from the leg also known as the shank are located in the rear portion of the carcass. This includes sub-Primal cuts such as Topside, Silverside which is used for corned beef and minced beef. These cuts are lean but are not necessarily tender, The fats and marbling that the shank consist of helps to provide flavour and tenderize the meat during cooking,however due to the small amount of marbling, cooking methods such as braising are more suitable for this particular cut of meat to achieve a tender and flavourful meat.
Bo-Ho which is a vietamese beef stew is very popular and is deeply flavoured with the sweet spice of ginger, Star Anise and cooked with wintered vegetables.
Another traditional dish of the Chinese cuisine is Ma Po Toufu which is from the Chinese province of Sichuan which has toufu in a spicy and bean based sauce.
8. SHIN SHANK
 |
Shink shank of beef at fairPrice
Cost: $1.69 per 100g
|
The shin consist of a large proportion of bones and a lot of white connective tissues which are collagen hence this cut of the beef is rather tough however is relatively tasteful hence the cost of the Shin Shank is not as pricey. There is no sub-Primal cut for this area however is is common sold as a whole or in cubes for stews. The cooking methods used would preperably be Braising.
Japanese beef curry is one example of an Asian dish which uses the shank, Japanese curry unlike the normal indian curry, is a sweeter version and is thicker and milder and is always served with rice.
9. OXTAIL
The oxtail is a bony and gelatinous meat. It is usually slow cooked and use as a good stock base for soups.
An Asian dish which is of a Chinese origin is braised oxtail with baby bokchoy, it contains star anise which give the meat a characteristic and strong flavour.
10. PLATE
The Plate cut is usually known as the short plate and is of the bottom front belly area of the cow just underneath the rib cut. This cut also has sub-Primal cuts such as skirt steak and hanger steak however is not very common and popular. It is considered as a relatively cheap, tough and fatty cut of meat. This cut is also commonly used to make minced meat.
One example of this cut of meat used in a dish is known as ground beef rice bowl which is from the Sichuan provenance which consisit of ground beef stir-fried in chilli pepper, soy sauce green onion and vinger. This dish is most commonly eaten with steamed rice and different variations are also made.
.JPG)
.JPG)
.JPG)
.JPG)
