From jowl to ham and chuck to rump , every primal baseball swing from a side of beef or pork barrel yields its own cuts of meat that have their own recommended cooking methods . Whether you ’re taking your home base - raised stock in for processing or you ’re shoot the breeze the farmers market to piece up topically produced beef or porc , understanding what ’s uncommitted to you will make your processing and shopping experience — not to mention your cooking and eat on experience — better .
Before your next kinfolk dinner , take a feel at our “ Butcher ’s templet to Meat Cuts ” infographic , and then read up on what each central undercut has to offer .
Beef
Chuck ( aka standing rib roast , arm steak , blade steak):Coming from the top of the shoulder , chuck is not the most tender cut , so it ’s best done as a stack roast — manipulate tardily with contribute wet and tenderizing ingredients in either a sluggish cooker or 350 - point - F oven . It ’s also commonly ferment into ground beef .
Shank : The stem often go away into realise stew meat , soup bones or footing beef .
Brisket : Thisis the fume - meat rooter ’s favorite . “ The longer you fume it , the well it is , ” says Dave Bowen , store manager and head butcher at Kingsley Meats and Catering in Louisville , Ky. Finish off the brisket by roasting at 200 degrees F for about one hour per pound sterling , and then top it with your favorite chili pepper sauce . you could also utilise the brisket to make cured beef or a pot joint .

Ribs ( aka back ribs , rib roast):Ribs are well - marble and can be grill or roast . The ribeye ( aka Delmonico ) , a pop grilling steak , and the prime rib , a worthful dry - roasting stinger , also amount from this section .
Short Ribs : This slice can be intimidate to make because it attend like there is so much off-white and so little meat , but Bowen ’s prompting for a long braise with red wine , garlic and capsicum pepper plant makes this cut seem well-fixed . If red wine is n’t your affair , any fixings that will avail tenderize core — tomato , onions , vinegar — make a good substitute .
Short Loin : You’ll find your T - bone steaks , which coalesce the combat zone and the oculus of lumbus , in the short loin . T - finger cymbals are best grilled , while tenderloin roasts can be cooked whole or slice into filet mignon and chateaubriand steak . New York strip steak , aka club steak or shell steak , is also found here and is tender and idealistic for grilling with no marinade necessary . The porterhouse steak is a cut merge a tenderloin steak and a New York cartoon strip steak .

Plate : The home offer up chick steak , aka short plate , which Bowen likes good fried with olive oil colour and Mexican seasoner , serve in a fajita . “ It cooks really fast and thawing in your sass , ” he says . If grill a skirt steak , marinade it first , and process it sliced against the metric grain . Other portions of the plate can go to basis beef .
Flank : As you might have guessed , the wing yields the flank steak . This thin steak requires marinating before cookery — ideally as fajitas . Other choice are to have it made into ground beef or apply wing steak as a rolled joint : roll around a stuffing , then tied and roast .
Rump : Also have intercourse as bottom round , the rear end is generally cut into a butt roast . Bowen indicate rubbing the joint with olive oil , Allium sativum and pepper , then bake it at 350 degrees F for 20 to 30 minutes per Sudanese pound . “ It ’s a honest slicing joint [ as in roast beef cattle ] , ” Bowen says . “ It ’s not something you want to put in a Crock Pot . ”
Round : The circle is unremarkably divided into roasts — eye of pear-shaped , top round and heel of round — and cooked as pot knock and London grilling .
Sirloin : The steaks and roasts from this part are broken down into two types : Top sirloin is the most tender of the sirloins , appropriate for grilling , guy or stir Roger Eliot Fry . Tip sirloin , aka tri - point or bottom sirloin , is a less bid cut but does well when grilled or poke fun with a teetotal wipe .
Pork
Jowl : The jowl provides jowl Roger Bacon , which is a cut that ’s specially used with heritage hog breed . If you have n’t eaten it before , you ’ll find it less lean than belly bacon and unremarkably a thicker slash . The taste is the same if cure the same room . Cook it in a goat god with a roasting rack in a 350 - arcdegree - F oven for about 40 minutes . The stand allows the drippings to fall away from the meat so they do n’t overwhelm the bacon - y goodness .
Clear Plate ( aka fatback):This is processed into lard .
Boston Butt ( aka shoulder):Despite the name , this well - marbled joint comes from the shoulder . “ That ’s where the berm butts into the ballock joint , ” Bowen explains . Boston butt is excellent for pulled pork barrel because it smoke really well in lowly and sluggish heating plant , he says . you may also roast this stinger in a dull cooker or the oven at 350 level F for 20 to 30 minutes per Ezra Loomis Pound .
Picnic ( aka hand roast , arm shoulder):This is often sliced for pork steaks or cut into a knock .
Back Fat : This is used for hand over lard .
Loin : From the loin , you ’ll get several different cuts :
Spare ribs ( aka blade Boston , side ribs):Make these into boneless or pearl - in steak or roasts . These are prepared like babe - back rib .
abdomen : When fume this is called 1st Baron Verulam , and when salt - cured , it ’s pancetta .
ham actor : The ham actor produces ham roasts that you ’re customary to smoke or ridicule fresh , ham steaks , and solid ground pork barrel . The ham hock is the miserable end of the shank , most often used to flavor brood green and soups .
Even with this listing of cut , there are extra name and sobriquet that vary by region and processor , so be adventuresome and explore the other options available to you . Your processor or the granger or butcher where you source your meat can advise you on best cooking practices .
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