Primal cut

A primal cut or cut of meat is a piece of meat initially separated from the carcass of an animal during butchering. Examples of primals include the round, loin, rib, and chuck for beef or the ham, loin, Boston butt, and picnic for pork.

Different countries and cultures make these cuts in different ways, and primal cuts also differ between type of carcass. The British, American and French primal cuts all differ in some respects. For example, rump steak in British and Commonwealth English is commonly called sirloin in American English. British sirloin is called porterhouse by Americans.^[1] Another notable example is fatback, which in Europe is an important primal cut of pork, but in North America is regarded as trimmings to be used in sausage or rendered into lard. The primal cuts may be sold complete or cut further.

The distinct term prime cut is sometimes used to describe cuts considered to be of better quality; for example in the US Department of Agriculture meat grading systems, most use prime to indicate top quality.

US primal cuts

Beef

Beef primal cuts:^[2]^: 33

Major

Round
Loin
Rib
Chuck^[3]

Minor

Plate
Brisket
Foreshank

Veal

Veal primal cuts:^[2]^: 78

Legs
Loin
Hotel rack
Square cut chuck/shoulder

Pork

Pork primal cuts:^[2]^: 118

Ham
Loin
Boston butt
Picnic
Belly with spare ribs

Lamb

Lamb primal cuts:^[2]^: 154

Leg
Loin
Rack
Chuck

National variations

American
British
French
German
Korean

References

^ "Food and Cooking in American and British English", by Susan Stempleski, Medical Magazine, Macmillan Dictionaries, February 2004
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Schneller, Thomas (2011). Meat: Identification, Fabrication, Utilization. Clifton Park, New York: Delmar, Cengage Learning. ISBN 978-1-4283-1994-3.
^ Also known as: chingolo (Spanish), Scotch tender, boneless chuck roll, mock tender steak, and chuck tender steak; see Milsom, Jennie; Laurie, Jane (2010), The connoisseur's guide to meat, New Holland, p. 69, ISBN 978-1-74257-053-2

External links

Media related to Meat cuts at Wikimedia Commons

[1] "Food and Cooking in American and British English", by Susan Stempleski, Medical Magazine, Macmillan Dictionaries, February 2004

[Schneller-2] Schneller, Thomas (2011). Meat: Identification, Fabrication, Utilization. Clifton Park, New York: Delmar, Cengage Learning. ISBN 978-1-4283-1994-3.

[3] Also known as: chingolo (Spanish), Scotch tender, boneless chuck roll, mock tender steak, and chuck tender steak; see Milsom, Jennie; Laurie, Jane (2010), The connoisseur's guide to meat, New Holland, p. 69, ISBN 978-1-74257-053-2

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