Note: Tongue comes from the left side of this illustration. The meat for Ox Tail Soup comes from the extreme right.
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Note: This image is available on an apron and other products here, in the AnswerPool Gift Shop.

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Chuck - comes from the shoulder and neck; very flavorful and economical cuts of meat; tend to be tough and fatty, with a great deal of bone and gristle; best braised, stewed (cooked slowly in a liquid to break down the tough connective tissue), or as pot roast; chuck steak, if marinated, does well as kabobs; blade roast from here

Rib section - tender and well marbled; juicy and flavorful; best grilled, broiled, or roasted; can also be sautéed or pan-fried; standing rib roast from here

Loin - most tender and expensive cuts of beef; choicest portion is the tenderloin, very tender and lean; top loin and sirloin aren't as tender, but more flavorful; require very little work to bring out maximum taste; best grilled or broiled, although quick pan frying good with small cuts of tenderloin

Round - Back of the carcass; well-used muscles, can be tougher and leaner than better cuts; best cooked with moist heat or roasted (if roasting, avoid overcooking); very popular cut for pot roast

Breast and Flank - assorted cuts, (short ribs, flank steak, skirt steak, hanger steak, brisket); various cooking methods: ribs grilled or roasted, steaks grilled or broiled, brisket roasted or braised; can also be used for kabobs; corned beef made from brisket; fore shank excellent stew meat; brisket front cut very tender and juicy

Other cuts and Pieces - name usually tells how to cook; stew meat, soup bones (including tail for oxtail soup), ground beef (from cheaper parts of carcass), tongue (boiled, slow cooked in liquid)

United States Dept. of Agriculture

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How to Buy Beef

Look for beef that is a bright, cherry red, without any gray spots. (Vacuum-packed beef will have a darker, bluish-red color until packaging is removed. Then, exposure to oxygen will turn the beef bright red within about 10 minutes.) Steaks or roasts should feel somewhat firm, definitely not soft or mushy. Avoid packages that have any excess liquid on the tray. This moisture may indicate that the beef cut has gotten above 38 to 40 degrees for a period of time, and usually will not taste as good as a well chilled beef cut. Make sure the package is cold, and the wrap is not punctured or torn. Re-wrapped items may still be fine, but should definitely be reduced in price as compared to the same cut in regular wrapping. Finally, check the “Sell-By” date.

If the beef doesn’t look good, feel good, or doesn’t have a good smell, don’t buy it. If the store consistently has questionable meat products, find another store for your meat purchases
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Below from http://www.ams.usda.gov/howtobuy/meat.htm

Each USDA beef quality grade is a measure of a distinct level of quality -- and it takes eight grades to span the range. They are USDA Prime, Choice, Select, Standard, Commercial, Utility, Cutter, and Canner.

USDA Prime, Choice, Select, and Standard grades come from younger beef. The highest grade, USDA Prime, is used mostly by hotels and restaurants, but a small amount is sold at retail markets. The grade most widely sold at retail is USDA Choice. However, consumer preference for leaner beef has increased the popularity of the Select grade of beef. Select grade can now be found at most meat counters.

Standard and Commercial grade beef frequently is sold as ungraded or as "brand name" meat.

The three lower grades -- USDA Utility, Cutter, and Canner -- are seldom, if ever, sold at retail but are used instead to make ground beef and manufactured meat items such as frankfurters.

Following are photographs of rib steaks in the top three beef grades, together with a description of the level of quality that can be expected in each of these grades.


USDA Prime: Prime grade beef is the ultimate in tenderness, juiciness, and flavor. It has abundant marbling -- flecks of fat within the lean -- which enhances both flavor and juiciness. Prime roasts and steaks are unexcelled for dry-heat cooking (roasting and broiling).



USDA Choice: Choice grade beef has less marbling than Prime, but is of very high quality. Choice roasts and steaks from the loin and rib will be very tender, juicy, and flavorful and are, like Prime, suited to dry-heat cooking. Many of the less tender cuts, such as those from the rump, round, and blade chuck, can also be cooked with dry heat.



USDA Select: Select grade beef is very uniform in quality and somewhat leaner than the higher grades. It is fairly tender, but, because it has less marbling, it may lack some of the juiciness and flavor of the higher grades. Only the tender cuts should be cooked with dry heat. Other cuts should be marinated before cooking or cooked with moisture to obtain maximum tenderness and flavor.

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