In honor of back-to-school, we’d like to offer a crash course on beef: the various cuts, and how to cook and prepare the different cuts for optimal flavor. At Pasture Prime, we sell humanely raised, 100% grass-fed Wagyu beef directly to you, our customers, and we believe in utilizing all of the cuts of beef available, which means that we offer some cuts you may not be as familiar with.

Customers often ask us how to cook and prepare the various cuts of our Wagyu grass-fed beef, and since we sell our beef online, we figured this blog can serve as a “virtual butcher” – a little chat on the best way to prepare our delicious, completely natural grass-fed beef.

In conjunction with an article from Edible Orlando, here are some helpful tips for navigating the various cuts of beef:

Beef Basics

Here are the basics:

• Beef is muscle
• There are over 70 different cuts with a variety of names
• Naming the cuts generally is based on how the muscle was sectioned
• Cooking methods depend on how much work the muscle did in the daily life of the cow
• The cuts break down, on the simplest level, into two divisions:

Front (chuck) & Back (round) 

• These are the heavily used muscles with lots of connective tissue
• These cook well with Slow/Moist heat, allowing connective tissue to dissolve, which creates a wonderful flavor profile. (Perfect in a Crock Pot!)
• Leaving bones in adds to flavor
• Pasture Prime Grass fed Wagyu cuts from this section would include Chuck Roast and Ultra-Lean Hamburger

Middle Sections (Rib and Loin)

• Cuts from this section are generally more tender and expensive
• These cuts do not involve hard-working muscles
• They have a somewhat milder flavor
• Can be cooked with dry heat including: grilling, roasting, broiling or pan-frying
• Our grass fed Wagyu cuts from this section would include: rib-eye steaks, tenderloin, NY strip steaks, back ribs

 

Keep checking back for ongoing lessons on grass-fed beef cuts that you can find for sale from our sustainable family farm. We are only filling in as “substitute teachers” for your local butcher, but we are easy graders! Remember, 100% grass-fed beef is brain food. Read all about the health benefits of grass-fed beef.

We are now taking deposits for Quarters and Halves for late summer early fall delivery.  Make sure you “get in line” now, if you are interested!

Shop for our 100% Wagyu grass-fed beef >