Guide to Beef Cuts

Written by Alison Clinch on February 19, 2012. Posted in Cooking Tips, Grass Fed Beef.

To get the best results, it’s important to choose the right cut for what you’re making. Hands up anyone who’s used fillet for a slow cooking casserole and ended up with mince? Or stir-fried gravy beef and still been chewing it hours later? Ok, maybe that’s an extreme example, but you get my point.

Here’s a guide on what cut works best for each cooking method:

Osso Bucco (shin, bone-in): Perfect for slow cooking (6+ hours); the bone adds great flavour.
Gravy beef (shin): Best slow cooked (6+ hours) or in casseroles.
Blade (steak or roast): Try pre-browning then roasting on medium-high (longer and slower, as we say) for tender meat.
Scotch (rib eye): Very tender and well marbled cut. Makes an impressive standing roast when the rib bones are left intact.
New York steak (also known as Porterhouse, Sirloin): Tender and easy to cook.
Rump steak: The most plentiful cut; perfect for marinating and grilling.
Eye fillet (fillet, tenderloin): The fillet is the smallest and most tender cut of beef with very minimal fat content.
T-bone: Bone-in steak which includes both the eye fillet and the New York, making it tender and full of flavour.

beef cuts, slow cooking beef

Alison Clinch

Alison Clinch has 20 years marketing experience gained in small and medium size business. She is especially passionate about supporting local communities, communications, and brand management. In her role with The Free Range Butcher Alison is responsible for the company’s branding, promotion, advertising and website. Her experience in the kitchen and passion for good food also brings refreshing new ideas for our recipe suggestions. Initially working alongside her husband Ben at the farmers markets, Alison is more ‘behind the scenes’ now, and keeping busy with two young apprentices’ / kids, Tom and Georgia.