Beef cuts and how to cook them

Primal

Cut

Best cooking methods

Irresistible annotations

Blade

Blade (roast)

Slow – wet braise, stew

Boeuf Bourguignon!!!

Oyster blade

Quick & delicious

It where the flat iron steak is seamed off from either side of the thick connective tissue down the middle of the oyster blade.

Just sear this one in pork fat, season & devour.

Flat iron

Quick & delicious

Flat iron is the second most tender cut off a beef carcass, but because the muscle does some work (the sinew does most of it), it is far more flavoursome than the eye. Just sear this baby in pork fat, season & devour.

Underblade or pavé

Quick & delicious

It is not the same as what the Americans call the underblade, which is the delicious cut off the chuck that is the Denver steak.

Just sear this one in pork fat, season & devour.

Chuck tender

Novice Level Slow

Amazing cylindrical muscle on the opposite side of the curly hook of the scapula (shoulder blade) from the oyster blade. While it has ‘chuck’ in the name, you should listen to the ‘tender’ bit, as this baby will give you a lovely curry or stew in a short hour or two (unlike its mate ‘chuck’, which wants Serious Level Slow).

Brisket

Brisket

Slooooooow & low

Brisket is brilliant for smoking, but if you don’t have a smoker, it’s also versatile to cook dry or wet in a very low oven (100-120°C) for 12-24 hours. Bits with less fat do better in a wet braise, but if you get the delicious fatty navel end a slow dry cook is brilliant. You can brine it first, which not only seasons it but also helps tenderize it, which will shorten the cooking time.

Chuck

Chuck

Slow – wet braise, stew

When you get the entire chuck in a big steak, the best thing to do is dice it and slow cook it in a wet braise – in the oven or on the stove top.

Chuck eye roll

Novice Level Slow

The eye roll can be slow cooked for a shorter time than the whole chuck steak – it’s the group of muscles that ultimately run into the scotch – the most delicious set of muscles on a beef carcass. I give this one around 3 hours at a medium low heat (140-160°C).

Denver steak

Quick & delicious

In a similar way to how the flat iron is a tender muscle from the hard-working blade primal, the Denver is pulled from the chuck but is a great steak to fry quickly in a pan of pork fat or on a high grill. It has more texture than the flat iron, but is worth sinking your teeth into for the intense flavour.

Gravy beef

Slow & low

Gravy beef isn’t only from the chuck – essentially it’s any slow cooking cut that has more silverskin than is worth our time to remove for mincing, and better left in as collagen for a delicious stew in your home. As it’s diced, it doesn’t have to be cooked all night, but if you have the hours available, longer (at a very low heat like 120°C) can only be better.

Rib/Scotch

Short ribs

Sloooooow & low

Beef ribs are a favourite at Jonai, and nearly always put on at breakfast (or overnight for 24 hours) in a wet braise (100-120°C), then finished with the cover off and the temp up to around 180°C to crisp the edges.

Hanger (onglet)

Quick

The dorsal portion of the diaphragm, the hanger is actually two muscles (that I often leave as one with the thick connective tissue in the middle) with deep flavour. The hanger is one of a few ‘butcher’s steaks’, along with the pope’s eye, the outside skirt, and the bavette, meaning we butchers often pinch it for our own tables. Quickly sear and rest before enjoying this one.

Rib eye / Standing rib roast

Quick or slow

With a #fuckyeahribeye in your bag, just sear that baby hard on both sides (preferably in a cast iron pan), toss in some butter and let it just about brown before popping the entire pan in the oven to finish the centre to your preferred done-ness (obvs rare to medium rare) – the time will depend on how thick it is, but expect anything from 10 minutes to say 25.

If you get a standing rib roast – note that it’s chined (for easy carving) so you can easily slice it into rib eye steaks if you prefer. But for a roast, it typically wants around 60 min (again depending on size and how juicy you like your meat) at 200°C. Coated in butter & herbs – boom.

Scotch fillet

Quick or slow

You do realise that the scotch is in fact just a boned rib roast, right? See above.

Depending on the size, this will typically only need 30-60 minutes for a beautiful medium rare roast. I start mine around 180°C and crank it to 220°C right at the end to get the crackling.

If the scotch hasn't already been sliced into steaks and you feel like steaks, get your knife out!

Skirt (outside)

Quick

It’s weird that this is called the outside skirt as it sits inside the rib cage… it’s a portion of the diaphragm, so frequent use means it’s got a deep flavour – not too different to the hanger (onglet) steak. A quick sear is all it needs. Great for fajitas.

Striploin

Eye fillet

Quick

The eye fillet sits inside the rib cage and does very little work, hence its extreme tenderness. It can make a great carpaccio or Beef Wellington, or cut into steaks and wrap it in bacon to notch up the flavour and make a classic filet mignon! (And note there are just two eye fillets per carcass, typically weighing under 1kg each, so don’t be surprised if you rarely see one in your bag!)

Porterhouse

Quick

You can bash out the porterhouse for a more tender steak – great for Steak Diane – or leave it thick and cook it medium rare for a juicy, toothy treat.

Rump

Picanha (rump cap)

Quick

The rump cap is known as the picanha in Brazil and Argentina and prized for its juicy flavoursome profile. We typically just roast it on a high heat for 15-30 minutes depending on its size, but you can also slice it into thick steaks and grill it.

Tri-tip

Quick

I cook the tri-tip much like a rib eye – salt & sear the fat cap in a hot cast iron pan, flip it and place in the oven for 5 or 10 minutes.

Rump steaks

Quick

Not only a tasty, quick steak, but a great one to cut into stir-fry strips (remembering to always cut across the grain).

Spider steak (pope’s eye)

Quick

This delicious little morsel with a coating of suet on one side is rather amusingly called the pope’s eye in Australia & the UK (though the poms also oddly call a thinly cut rump steak the pope’s eye) – amusing because the muscle controls the sphincter. It sits just inside the aitch bone opposite the rump. Just pop it suet side down on a hot cast iron pan, salt, and flip after just a short minute. Sear for a minute on the other side, rest, and nom. 

Flank

Bavette

Quick

The bavette is the queen of the flank, and a cut you probably won’t come across often. Quickly seared at a high heat, popped in the oven for 10 minutes or so to cook inside, and then rested for a good 10 minutes, slice thinly against the grain and enjoy.

Flank steak

Quick

Great for fajitas, you can either slice this against the grain and cook the slices, or cook it whole quickly on a high heat and then slice after resting.

Inside skirt

Quick

A delicious muscle for quick searing, resting, and slicing against the grain.

Knuckle

Knuckle (round)

Quick or Novice Level Slow

While you’ll usually get thick slices of knuckle from me for slow cooking in a wet braise – we cook it like a shorter-time-frame osso bucco – you can also cut this more thinly against the grain for minute steaks and then cut smaller and made into beef stroganoff or similar.

Topside

Topside roast

Novice Level Slow

A great pot roast that doesn’t take 12 hours to be cooked tender, topside is an all-rounder. On the stove top or in the oven, it loves a wet braise as it’s quite lean, but only needs 2-3 hours to produce a tender and flavoursome dinner.

Minute steaks

Quick

Minute steaks can come from any cut just about, but I usually cut them from the topside as it’s more tender than some of the other options. Great for steak sangers or to cut down into smaller pieces for stir fry or similar.

Silverside

Silverside (fresh)

Slow

Like the topside, this is best as a pot roast, but give it a bit more time in the braising liquids as it’s a tougher muscle.

Silverside (corned)

Slow

If it doesn't come already corned, brine these with just salt, brown sugar, and stout. Boil the corned silverside in water with apple cider vinegar, carrots, onion, celery, bay leaves, peppercorns, and garlic.

Girello

Quick

The girello (or top round as the Americans call it) is a lean cylinder that you can cut into minute steaks or schnitzel, or leave whole and roast for just 30-45 minutes at medium high heat (160°C) for a simple roast beef. I drizzle it with rendered pork fat before cooking, but olive oil will do.

Shank

Osso bucco

Slow & loooow

This one wants to be forgotten for 6-12 hours in a low oven (100-120°C) in red wine and beef bone broth with onions, garlic, carrots, and whatever else tickles your fancy. The result of all those lengths of silverskin in these hard-working muscles is loads of collagen that convert to gelatin, and as a bonus there’s a marrow bone in each slice.