June 2005 |
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Product Reviews / Main Nibbles / BeefBeef Glossary & Beef Cut Diagram
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OXTAIL
Oxtail was once really from an ox, but today it is usually beef or veal tail. While quite bony and gelatinous meat, is very flavorful, and is popular in British and Caribbean cooking, in stews or soups. Oxtail requires long, slow braising.
PALATABILITY
The overall taste appeal (tenderness, juiciness and flavor) of cooked, lean beef.
PASTURE-RAISED BEEF
A term that is incorrectly used as synonymous with grass-fed beef. As defined by the American Grassfed Association (AGA), grassfed means “those food products from animals that have eaten nothing but their mother’s milk and fresh grass or grass-type hay from birth to harvest—all their lives.” If an animal is “pasture raised,” its food can be supplemented with grain (corn feed or a mix of cheaper grains)—i.e., not purely grass fed.
POT ROAST
A pot roast is a less-expensive cut of meat, cooked slowly in a covered pot with water, and often root vegetables and potatoes, until it is moist and tender. While any type of meat can be cooked in this way (pork or veal, for example), it is most closely associated with beef. A beef brisket is often cooked as a “pot roast.”
PORTERHOUSE or T-BONE STEAKThe porterhouse is sometimes called the “king of all xteaks” because it combines two top cuts of meat in one steak. On one side is a bone-in strip steak; the other side is a portion of tenderloin (filet mignon). The porterhouse is a larger T-bone steak, with more of the tenderloin and the strip steak. PRICE FLUCTUATIONSThe price of beef is largely based on corn prices, the grain on which cattle feed in the latter days of their growth to develop the marbling. The degree of marbling is a major indicator of whether a piece of beef will be graded Prime or Choice. Ethanol uses up to 26% of the U.S. corn crop. As ethanol demand increases, the price of corn rises. As the price of corn rises, ranchers cut the number of days in which they feed cattle grain. There is less marbled meat, and thus a smaller supply of Prime and Choice meat. |
 At top and bottom, two porterhouse or T-bone steaks, with two New York strip steaks in the middle. Note the heavy marbling in each: this is USDA Prime. Photo courtesy of Morton’s The Steakhouse. |
PRIMAL or WHOLESALE CUTS
Basic major cuts that result from cutting carcasses and sides into smaller portions. The wholesale or primal cuts are chuck, rib, brisket/fore shank, short plate, short loin, sirloin, flank and round.
 Prime rib. Photo courtesy of Morton’s The Steakhouse. |
PRIMESee USDA Prime. PRIME RIBPrime rib refers to the finest beef, with even marbling and a creamy layer of fat. It must be USDA Prime, not USDA Choice. It is generally carried only by the finest butchers. Often, rib roasts masquerade as prime rib in supermarkets, which carry UDA Choice, not USDA Prime, meats. See rib roast. |
Go To Next Page, Terms Beginning With Q & R
Go To Glossary Alphabet Index, Above
© Copyright 2005- 2009 Lifestyle Direct, Inc. Some definitions were provided by the Cattlemen's Beef Board and are © Copyright 2005 Cattlemen’s Beef Board. All rights reserved. Images are the copyright of their respective owners.
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