Beef is a very versatile meat that can be used in many different recipes but it can be tricky knowing what cut you need to make certain recipes. This post will explain which beef cuts are best for steak dinners, roasts, stir fry, stews, soups and pies.
There may be times when you don’t want to follow a recipe as you may wish to experiment with your own recipes and knowing which type to buy is definitely very important for a successful recipe. Below you'll find out which cuts to use.
Steak and Chips
We’ll start off with an easy one which is steak and chips. This is probably the most popular dish and many people will already know what cuts to choose. If you want to make steak and chips then there are some popular cuts you can use. The cuts used are sirloin, ribeye, rump and fillet steak. These cuts can be very expensive so if you want to spend less then rump steak will be the cheapest.
The most expensive is fillet steak but it is also the most flavoursome. Ribeye can be quite fatty at times so it’s probably not the healthiest. Unlike some others cuts these cuts can be served rare. These cuts can also be used to make sandwiches such Philly cheesesteak sandwiches and fajitas. They can also be used in dishes such as beef stroganoff.
Beef Stews
For beef stews, braising steak is commonly used. These are the cuts that are high in collagen and normally take around 4 hours to cook. The cuts used for stews are chunk, skirt, leg and flank. You can buy diced braising beef in the supermarkets and these cuts are normally leg or shin. They are also sometimes labelled as ‘Casserole Steak’ or they may simply just say ‘Diced Beef’. Beef short rib can also be braised and is perfect for recipes such as braised beef in red wine sauce.
Beef Soup
For beef soup, you can use any braising steak mentioned above but you can also use brisket. Brisket takes a very long time to cook and can take up to 10 hours to become tender so if you cannot be home all day then opt for a braising steak. For soups, you can also use oxtail, bone in short rib and beef shank.
Roast Beef
For a roast beef, the best option is topside beef that normally comes in joints. This type of meat once cooked and cooled can also be used in sandwiches such as beef and horseradish sandwiches. Sirloin on the bone is a nice meat for roasting but can be quite expensive. For roasting, you can also use top rump joints, silverside joints or a ribeye joint which can be purchased with or without the bone.
Brisket can also be used for roasting but again can take a very long time to roast though it is very delicious and worth the wait. If making a dish such as beef wellington, you can use a beef tenderloin fillet joint which is also known as fillet steak or beef fillet.
Beef Pies
For pies and pastries, you can use any stewing beef as mentioned above. This type of meat is usually slow cooked until tender before being cooled and added to pies. You can also use minced beef or ground beef for pies.
Beef Stir Fry
Sirloin steak is perfect for making beef stir fry and also rump steak. Here in the UK, you can also purchase beef labelled as ‘Beef Stir Fry Strips’. These cuts don't alway specify which cut of beef is is used but from looking at the nutritional content on the label, it is likely rump steak that is used for these stir fry strips.
Bolognese and Cottage Pie
Beef mince also known as ground beef is meat that has been put through a grinder to break it down into small pieces. This type of meat is used for dishes such as spaghetti bolognese, cottage pie, meatballs, chilli con carne, burgers and crunchy tacos. Beef mince comes in different fat percentages so the lower the percentage, the lower the fat. 5% - 15% fat are commonly used for spaghetti bolognese and cottage pies though you can use any.
Burgers
If making burgers then ground beef with 20% fat is advised as the fat helps to hold the burgers together. If you are using low fat mince for burgers then eggs will be needed to hold the burger together. The cuts commonly used for beef mince or ground beef are chuck, flank or round if in the US.
Birra Tacos
Birra tacos are becoming popular due to social media and although I usually make mine with lamb shoulder, you can also use beef. The best beef cuts for birria tacos include brisket, chuck or short rib. The meat for birria is usually slowed cooked for up to 4 hours so requires cuts with high levels of collagen.
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