this is relevant to me

Beef varieties

• Top grade
• First grade
• Second grade

What is marbled beef

Benefits of beef

Beef calories

Sirloin

Back

Hip

Tenderloin

Sternum

Neck

Overcut

Knuckle, shank

Flank or hem

Blade part

How to choose the optimal piece of beef so that the dish turns out no worse than a restaurant dish? What makes delicious, soft steak and shish kebab? And from which part of the carcass can you prepare a rich broth? Today we will look at all these issues at gunpoint.

Beef varieties

Beef is divided into three grades: highest, first and second. The higher the grade of meat, the less veins it contains.

• Top grade includes the following parts: fillet, back, thigh, rump, sirloin and brisket.
• First grade : neck, shoulder blade, shoulders and flank.
• Second grade : front and back shanks, as well as slaughter.

What is marbled beef

Marbled beef is considered the highest grade of meat. This is a real delicacy, which is distinguished by its bright color and the presence of fatty inclusions in the structure. Externally, the meat is similar to marble stone. Dishes made from it turn out unusually juicy and tender.


Benefits of beef

Beef is a very healthy product. It is an excellent supplier of iron, minerals, proteins and amino acids. Beef meat also contains potassium, sodium, magnesium, zinc, phosphorus, vitamins A, C, E, PP, B1, B2, B6, B12.

Beef liver is high in iron, so it is recommended for people with low hemoglobin (anemia).

Beef calories

Depending on the cooking method, the calorie content of beef may vary. So, beef stew contains about 232 kcal per 100 grams. You can reduce calories by cooking the dish in a slow cooker or in the oven.

Baked beef contains 177 kcal per 100 grams. At the same time, many useful properties are preserved. Roast beef has 384 kcal. It is contraindicated for obesity and digestive problems.

Beef broth contains only 4 calories per 100 grams. It contains no carbohydrates, but contains proteins (about 60%) and fats (about 45%). Beef broth helps with loss of strength, exhaustion, and anemia.

How to determine the freshness of beef

The overall appearance of any fresh cut of meat should be shiny and the edges of the cut should be slightly moist, not dry. Beef meat is juicy red and dark red. The fat is soft and creamy white.

The smell is not specific, fresh and pleasant. When you press the meat with your finger, a small dent is formed, which should quickly return to its previous shape if the meat is fresh.

What to cook from different parts of beef

Sirloin

The definition of sirloin is the thin edge: tenderloin, bone-in, boneless, loin. This part is non-greasy and very tender. It is excellent for making roast beef, steaks, medallions, azu, rolls and chops, and goulash. This meat also makes excellent kebabs.

Back

This is the thick end: rib loin, entrecotes, ribs. The flesh of the back part is suitable for cutlets and chops. It is also good to bake it in large pieces. Ribs are great for making broths.

Hip

It is also called a rump, a rump, a small nut. This meat has little fiber, it is juicy and tender. Suitable for roasts and rump steaks.

Tenderloin

The tenderloin is located in the posterior lumbar part of the carcass (above the kidneys) and is considered very valuable. This meat is softer and more tender.It is obtained from a large cut (sirloin), carefully cutting out from the inside. This part usually costs more than others. You can bake, stew or boil, but small medallions are best made from it.

Sternum

In this part, the film and layers of fat alternate. The entire breastbone can be separated from the bones and the meat can be used to make rolls. Or you can cut it into pieces for boiling and stewing. Brisket makes excellent borscht.

Neck

The neck is ideal for stewing, boiling and baking. Thanks to the presence of fatty layers, the meat does not lose moisture and turns out tender and juicy. However, this part takes a little longer to prepare. It is also good to use minced neck in combination with other types of meat.

Overcut

This is the part of the neck that is closest to the head. It is suitable for broths and stewing.

Knuckle, shank

The knuckle and shank meat can be boiled together (with or without the bone). They make excellent jellied meat.

Flank or hem

Flank is the flesh from the breastbone, which contains a lot of fat and connective tissue layers. It is tougher than other cuts of beef.It is recommended to remove the film from it before cooking. Flank is good for preparing first courses. It can also be used as a filling for pies.

Blade part

Beef shoulder is considered universal. This is meat with a small amount of fat. The shoulder blade has little connective tissue and virtually no tendons.Suitable for preparing chopped cutlets, soups and goulash. Can be served on the bones in a large piece baked in the oven. It also makes a juicy meatloaf. Broths made from shoulder blades are light, transparent and rich in collagen, which has a positive effect on people's nails, hair and joints.

- and now I gathered my courage and decided to write the same one, but about meat. If you search on the Internet, you discover an illogical, although understandable, pattern: there are so many recipes that you couldn’t cook them in your entire life, and you won’t find any sensible information on how to choose the right products for this recipe during the day. Meat is a special product that requires the right approach, and therefore, while by no means considering myself an expert, I will still give some advice that I use myself.

Meat is not yogurt or cookies in standard packaging that you can pick up from a supermarket shelf without looking at it. If you want to buy good meat, it is best to go to the market, where the choice is easier and the quality is often higher. Another reason not to buy meat in stores is the various dishonest tricks that are sometimes used to make the meat look more appetizing and weigh more. It’s not that they don’t do this at the market, but here you can at least look the seller in the eyes.

Those of us who have not taken the path of vegetarianism eat meat more or less regularly. The best thing you can do in this situation is to get “your” butcher who will know you by sight, offer the best cuts, give valuable advice and order meat for you if it is not currently available. Choose a butcher who is pleasant to you as a person and sells decent goods - and do not forget to exchange at least a few words with him with each purchase. The rest is a matter of patience and personal contact.

A butcher is a butcher, but it doesn’t hurt to understand meat yourself. The color of meat is one of the main signs of its freshness: good beef should be confidently red, pork should be pinkish, veal is similar to pork, but pinker, lamb is similar to beef, but of a darker and richer shade.

A thin pale pink or pale red crust from drying out meat is quite normal, but there should not be any extraneous shades or spots on the meat. There should be no mucus either: if you put your palm on fresh meat, it will remain almost dry.

As with fish, smell is another reliable adviser in determining the quality of a product. We are carnivores, and the subtle fresh smell of good meat is pleasant to us. For example, the beef should smell so that you would immediately want to make a steak tartare out of it or. A distinct unpleasant smell indicates that this meat is no longer the first or even second freshness; under no circumstances is it worth buying. An old, proven way to smell a piece of meat “from the inside” is to pierce it with a heated knife.

Fat, even if you intend to cut it off and throw it away, can tell a lot by its appearance. Firstly, it must be white (or creamy in the case of lamb), secondly, it must have the correct consistency (beef must crumble, lamb, on the contrary, must be quite dense), and thirdly, it must not have an unpleasant or rancid odor. Well, if you want to buy not only fresh, but also high-quality meat, pay attention to its “marbling”: a cut of really good meat shows that fat is dispersed over its entire surface.

The same as with fish: fresh meat springs back when pressed and the hole you left with your finger immediately smoothes out.

When buying frozen meat, pay attention to the sound it makes when tapped, the smooth cut, and the bright color that appears when you put your finger on it. Defrost the meat carefully, the longer the better (for example, in the refrigerator), and if it was frozen correctly, then when cooked it will be practically indistinguishable from chilled meat.

When buying this or that cut, it’s good to know where in the animal’s carcass it is located and how many bones it contains. With this knowledge, you will not overpay for bones and will be able to correctly calculate the number of servings.

Well, we traditionally share our secrets about how you personally choose meat, where you try to buy it, what you love most, and everything else in the comments.

Beef is valued both among gourmets and among just food lovers. This is a tasty, high-calorie meat that is perfect for preparing main dishes and for mixing with other ingredients to create dishes with complex recipes.

Beef in retail

Before going on sale, beef meat goes through several stages of preparation. Pre-sale procedures include cutting, deboning and cleaning.

Cutting

1. Half of the carcass is cut into two parts - front and back. Or, if the carcass was whole, into four parts. The place of the cut runs approximately in the center - between the thirteenth and fourteenth vertebrae, this line will go along the last rib. They start cutting from the bottom, from the flank. First, an incision is made at the level of the thirteenth rib, then it is passed through the soft tissues framing the rib from the back to the spine. The articulation of these vertebrae is cut.
2. Then the cutting of the beef carcass continues in parts. The front half of the carcass is divided into five cuts.
3. The neck is cut along a line that runs between the beginning of the sternum and the last cervical vertebra. Moreover, the incision should pass between the last cervical and first dorsal vertebrae.
4. To cut off a shoulder blade, place a quarter of the carcass with the inside down and pull the shoulder blade up by the leg. The first incision is made along the contour that the muscles form, the second incision runs along the line from the elbow to the upper edge of the shoulder blade, and the third is made on the shoulder blade pulled away from the body - the muscles connecting the bones of the shoulder and the shoulder blade itself are cut.
5. The remaining part of the front quarter of the carcass is called the dorsal-thoracic part, it is divided into a thick edge, a subscapular part, a brisket and a trim, which is cut off after deboning the dorsal-thoracic part of the carcass.
6. Let's move on to the back half of the half carcass. Cutting a beef carcass for trade involves separating the following parts: tenderloin, rump, flank, thigh, or rump, shank. The tenderloin is separated first. This is the best and most expensive part of the mascara. The tenderloin is trimmed along the entire length of the lumbar spine, starting from the thick edge - the head. After separating the sirloin and shank (upper leg), the hindquarters are divided into lumbar and posterior pelvic. The remaining cuts are separated during deboning.

Boning

Boning is done after cutting the beef carcass is completed. This process involves removing meat from bones. During this, it is important that there is no meat left on the bones, and that there are no large and deep cuts on the pieces of meat. The maximum permissible depth is 10 mm. The size of the pieces is determined by whoever does the cutting, but do not forget that small pieces will be used as trimmings, and they are valued much less.

The order of deboning is also determined by the cutting scheme of the beef carcass.



Boning of the neck part

They try to remove the meat from the neck in a whole layer, carefully separating it from each vertebra.

Deboning the blade

The boning spatula is placed with the inside facing up. First, the radius and humerus bones are cut and separated. After cutting the ligament tendons, the scapula bone is separated next. The veins are cut off from the remaining piece of meat. The remainder is divided into two parts - shoulder and shoulder.

Boning of the dorso-thoracic part

The meat is cut off from the sternum first, capturing what is attached to the costal cartilages. Next, the meat is removed in one piece from the ribs. This pulp is then divided into a thick edge, a lip and a subscapular part.

Boning of the hip part



The pelvic bone itself is cut out first. An incision is then made along the femur and it is dissected. The inner part is cut off - the flank, then the outer part - the rump. Cuts into pieces are made according to the films and after removing the stringy meat.

Stripping

When the beef carcass has been cut and deboned, the stripping begins. The essence of stripping is to clean the meat from hard tendons and films, as well as to give the pieces of meat a more even shape and presentation.

To do this, thin edges are calved from large pieces, and excess fat is separated from all the pulp.

Appearance of the pieces



After deboning and trimming, the beef pieces should look like this:

• the shoulder part of the scapula is wedge-shaped;
• the shoulder part of the scapula is two oblong muscles connected to each other;
• thick edge - a rectangular piece;
• thin edge (lumbar part) - also rectangular in shape, but, accordingly, thinner;
• neck - square or rectangle;
• edge - a rectangular piece;
• brisket - part in the form of an inflated sail;
• tenderloin - a soft part of a rounded oblong shape;
• rump - round or square shape;
• flank - a thin rectangular layer;
• shank - either chopped oval pieces with a bone, or a rectangular piece with one edge thinned.

Beef meat, taken from different parts of the carcass, has different taste properties, is endowed with its own set of useful substances, each place requires certain processing and is suitable for different dishes. Therefore, this type of meat is usually divided into three varieties:

• the first, which includes the rump, the sirloin, which is also called tenderloin, the entire breast and back parts;
• the second grade includes the thigh or rump, shoulder, shoulder and flank;
• the third grade is leftovers, that is, the cut and shanks (front and back).



There is no doubt that the cost of pieces of meat of different varieties of the same weight will differ significantly. Therefore, it is important for the buyer to know which beef is suitable for which dishes, so that, having bought a piece of expensive meat, he does not waste it on dishes that cannot impress the gourmet’s receptors.

It is worth noting that cutting up a beef carcass for sale leaves approximately 7% of third-grade meat, 88% of second-grade and only 5% of first-grade beef. This is what determines the market value of the meat itself and dishes made from it.

But the taste of meat depends not only on its type. Determining factors are also the physical stress that the livestock experienced throughout its life (the greater the load, the tougher and denser the muscles), the type of nutrition, the method of slaughter and, of course, the age at which the animal was slaughtered, after which the beef carcass was cut. According to the first criterion, it is believed that the meat becomes more tender in the direction from head to tail and from bottom to top. Young veal, of course, will differ from “adult” meat; it will be brighter in color and have a looser and more tender consistency.

Culinary purposes of different pieces

Pieces with a lot of connective tissue will be tougher and will take quite a long time to process. Such pieces are usually not fried, but boiled or rolled into minced meat. These are the flank, neck and hem.



The rump and shoulder also have a considerable amount of connective tissue; they are also best stewed or used for soup. For these purposes, as well as for grinding into minced meat, you can use any pieces of the second grade, which are determined by the cutting of the beef carcass.

For steaks, tenderloin is ideal, which can be safely fried in portions or small pieces.

For different types of soups it is better to select different pieces. For example, for borscht - a richer piece, and for a weak transparent broth - a lean piece.

Processing conditions

The entire beef processing procedure must take place in a cool room. The temperature should not exceed 10 degrees.

If you don't like beef, most likely you just don't know how to select and cook it. This is a tasty and healthy product that can be prepared in different ways. Learn how to select beef for gravy, soup and other dishes.

How to choose soft and fresh meat at the market or in the store

It is better to buy fresh rather than frozen beef. Not only is it healthier, it is also much easier to choose.

How to choose beef for different dishes

Here's what to look out for:

• fresh beef is always only bright red in color, without greenery or dark spots. If it is brownish, it means it is old and tough;
• the fat should be white. Yellow fat is a sign of toughness. In young beef, the fat crumbles slightly, and the most expensive and high-quality beef is literally riddled with thin layers of fat;
• Light weathering on the cut is allowed, but there should be no crusts on the beef;
• fresh beef smells pleasant, it has no foreign aromas;
• After pressing your finger on a piece of beef, the dimple from your finger should immediately smooth out. If the pit remains, the beef will be tough;
• high-quality beef is not cheap. Especially expensive country beef comes from cows that were raised on hay and grass.

If you do take frozen beef, check the expiration date and inspect the packaging, it should not be damaged. Avoid pieces that are too heavily iced.

What part is correct to use for certain dishes?

Even the best cut of beef can be ruined by improper preparation. If you want to fry beef, choose lean and tender cuts - fillet, rump, thick or thin edge. For baking, take meat with a layer of fat to make the dish juicy. Fillet or tenderloin will do.

If you cook jellied meat, do not put only beef bones in it; the ratio of meat and bones should be equal. Add the knuckles, tails and shanks, because they have so much gelling agent

Any piece is suitable for stew, as it is processed by long stewing. The main thing is to try not to take the leanest areas. Sirloin, brisket, thigh and thick cut are ideal. For a rich soup, take pieces of beef with cartilage, tendons and large bones.

Beef is not only tasty, but also healthy. However, you can experience all its benefits only if you choose a quality product with a normal shelf life. Be careful when you go shopping.

Beef is perhaps the most popular meat in the world. Beef contains proteins, vitamins A, C, B, including thiamine, riboflavin, folic and pantothenic acids, vitamins E and PP, microelements - calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, iron. Veal can form the basis of a complete diet.

The meat of uncastrated males (over 24 months), young uncastrated males (less than 24 months), castrated bulls and heifers, heifers (heifers), adult cows, young animals (6-12 months) of various types is supplied for sale in the form of carcasses, boneless meat, in processed form.
The highest quality of beef and veal is achieved through fattening bulls and heifers on pastures, caring for livestock and careful processing with natural maturation of meat.
Beef can be grain-fed (grain is the main component of the feed regime), grass-fed (the only component of the feed regime) and mixed fattening (forage is the main component of the feed regime with some addition of grain).
According to the method of slaughter, it is divided into traditional, halal and kosher.

On the diagram: 1. Fillet; 2. Neck; 3. Thick edge; 4. Thin edge; 5. Butt; 6. Rump, thigh; 7. Peritoneum; 8. Flank; 9. Edge; 10. Brisket; 11. Flank; 12. Hipster; 13. Shank; 14. Head. (Proportions not met)

The meat, stripped of films, tendons and excess fat, is sorted depending on its culinary use. Do not forget that the quality of meat is influenced by the amount of connective tissue and its stability during subsequent heat treatment. Cuts containing little connective tissue are used for frying, while the rest are used for boiling and stewing.

Rational use of beef and veal

The table below shows the approximate culinary processing of chopped beef and veal (version in English), recipes for dishes that you will find on the Tasty Notes website:

In our kitchen	In the world	Use in cooking	Cook together
Tenderloin	Tenderloin	For frying in natural as a whole piece, small pieces and in portioned pieces. Roast beef, fillet, languette, beef stroganoff, steak, drying and smoking
Thick And thin edge	Roast beef	For natural frying whole piece small pieces and in portioned pieces. Roast beef, entrecote, beef stroganoff, rump steak
Hind leg: top and internal Part	Butt, Inside, Rump	For frying in portions pieces, small natural pieces. Rump steak, beef stroganoff
Lateral And external parts hind leg	Silverside, Outside, Thick flank	For natural frying in whole pieces, large pieces, portioned pieces, stewing in small and large pieces.
Brisket, hem	Breast, Brisket,	For stewing and cooking. Stewed meat, boiled meat for soups, boiled beef
Shoulder And shoulder parts carcass shoulder blades category 1	Shoulder Shoulderblade	For stewing in small and large portions. Goulash, braised beef meat for soups, boiled beef
Shoulder part shoulder blades 2 categories, neck, hem, flank, trimmings	Flank Neck Chuck,	Products made from cutlet mass, minced meat. Cutlets, meatballs, zrazy, schnitzels, rolls.
By-products: heart, liver, lungs, tails, stomach, shanks, head, etc.	Leg, Shin, Shank, Tongue	Khash, kebab, tripe, tongue, etc.	Osso buco

Preparation of semi-finished beef products

To cut semi-finished products, we use meat that has been stripped of tendons and fat.
Tenderloin is divided into three parts: a thick head, a middle part and a thin one. From each part of the tenderloin (1), the corresponding semi-finished product is cut.
Steak cut at right angles from the wide part of the tenderloin up to 3cm thick, lightly beat.
Fillet we cut at right angles from the middle part of the tenderloin up to 5 cm thick, the fillet is not beaten, tied with culinary thread to give it a round shape during cooking.
Langet cut at an angle of 45° from a thin part of the tenderloin up to 1.5 cm thick, lightly beat.
Entrecote cut from thick (3) and thin (4) edges up to 2 cm thick; We beat off the pieces, clean them from tendons and films. The entrecote is given an oval-oblong shape.
Zrazy chops cut from the side and outer hip (6) parts up to 1.5 cm thick, beat, putting the filling in the middle, roll into sausages, tie with thread, twine or secure with a wooden skewer.
Roast beef cut from the lateral and outer hip (6) parts up to 2 cm thick; We beat off the pieces and remove the films.
Rump steak cut from the thick (3) and thin (4) edges, the upper and inner piece of the hip (6) part up to 2 cm thick, beat, bread.
Roast beef We prepare from trimmed tenderloin (1), thick (3) and thin (4) edges weighing about 1-2 kg.
Beef Stroganoff cut from thick (3) and thin (4) edges, inner and upper hip (6) parts, trimmings of the tenderloin into cubes 3-4 cm long and up to 1.5 cm thick.
Azu cut from the side and outer pieces of the hip (6) part, the shoulder blades are twice as thick as beef stroganoff.
Roast cut from the thick (3) and thin (4) edges and the hip (6) part into cubes up to 2 cm thick.
Shashlik cut the tenderloin (1) into cubes up to 40g.
Goulash cut the shoulder, subscapular, trim (9), brisket (10) into cubes weighing up to 30 g.
Cutlets Using your hand and a knife, we shape the minced meat into an ovoid-flattened shape.
Schnitzels Form the minced meat into an oval shape, up to 1.5 cm thick.
Cue balls Using your hand and a knife, we shape the minced meat into a flattened round shape, up to 2cm thick.
Zrazy from minced meat - in the form of cutlets with all kinds of fillings.
Rolls meat stuffed with vegetables and eggs.

Preparation of semi-finished veal products

Escalopes cut from the kidney part of the loin (5) without bones at an angle of 45°, up to 2 cm thick.
Natural cutlets on the bone, cut from the kidney part (5) boneless loin at an angle of 45°, up to 2 cm thick, up to 6 ribs.
Cutlets on the bone cut from the back of the loin (4) at an angle of 45° up to 2 cm thick, beat. Cutlets, if desired or in accordance with the recipe, are breaded in breadcrumbs.
Schnitzel cut from the pulp of the hind leg (6) across the grain to a thickness of 2 cm.

A tender and juicy, soft and low-fat dish is what every beginner and advanced cook strives for. To prepare a masterpiece, you need to purchase a truly high-quality product.
I hope that when you find yourself tomorrow among the meat aisles at the market or in the store, you will not think long and easily choose the cut you need in accordance with the recommendations and given in the note.

To be cheerful, energetic and cheerful, cook and eat meat! (Material being updated)

We recommend reading

• Libya socialist people's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya
• Akathist to the Most Holy Theotokos before Her Icon “Seven Arrows” and “Softening Evil Hearts” MP3
• Beefsteak part of the carcass. Commodity dictionary. Why do they love beef so much? How to choose a useful product
• Venerable Nikander the desert dweller, Pskov wonderworker (1581)