1.
On Cooking: A Textbook of Culinary
Fundamentals
Sixth Edition
Chapter 14
Beef
Copyright © 2019, 2015, 2012, 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved

2.
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Learning Objectives
After studying this chapter, you will be able to:
14.1 Identify the primal, subprimal and fabricated cuts of
beef
14.2 Describe and perform basic butchering procedures
14.3 Explain appropriate cooking methods for different cuts
of beef
14.4 Apply appropriate cooking methods to several
common cuts of beef

3.
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Beef Defined
• Beef is the meat of domesticated cattle.
• Although Americans are consuming less beef today than
we once did, we still consume far more beef than any
other meat.
• Beef’s flavor stands up to almost any sauce or
seasoning.

4.
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Primary Cuts
• The steer is cut into four pieces (or quarters)
• First the carcass is split down the backbone into two
halves (or sides)
• Then each half is divided between the 12th and 13th ribs
into these two sections:
– Forequarter
– Hindquarter

5.
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The Skeletal Structure of a Steer

6.
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Primal Cuts of Beef (1 of 2)
• Forequarter
– Chuck
– Brisket and shank
– Rib
– Short plate

7.
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Primal Cuts of Beef (2 of 2)
• Hindquarter
– Short loin
– Sirloin
– Flank
– Round

8.
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Beef Organ Meats
• Organ meats also known as offal come from a gland or
muscle
• Glandular meats
– Brain, kidney, liver and sweetbreads (thymus
• Muscle meats
– Heart, tongue, tripe (stomach lining) and oxtails

9.
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The Primal Cuts of Beef

10.
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Fabricated Cuts
• Individual portions of meat cut from the subprimal
• Roasts
• Steaks
• Chops

11.
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Boxed Beef
Boxed Beef
• industry terminology for primal and subprimal cuts of beef
that are vacuum-sealed and packed into cardboard boxes
for shipping from the packing plant to retailers and food
service operations

12.
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Nutrition
• Beef is a major source of protein
• Beef is the primary food source of zinc as well as B
vitamins, trace minerals and other nutrients

13.
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Fat
• Marbling
– Whitish streaks of inter- and intra-muscular fat
▪ Causes meat to be juicy and tender
• Subcutaneous
– Exterior fat; the fat layer between the hide and
muscles
▪ Usually trimmed to ¼ inch during butchering

14.
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