Q&A for How to Understand Cuts of Beef

First, start off by choosing the right cut and the appropriate cooking method based on how you want your meat to turn out. If you want a medium rare steak, choose cuts like ribeye or tenderloin. For shreddable, fall-apart beef, go with tougher cuts like short ribs, brisket, or chuck and use slow-cooking techniques like braising or roasting. The key to keeping beef juicy, especially with tender cuts, is hitting the right internal temperature after resting. For medium rare, the target is 130°F, but you don’t want to cook it all the way to that temperature on the stove or grill. That’s because of the residual heat, where after you pull the beef off the heat, it will continue cooking and raise the internal temperature by several degrees. Depending on the thickness of your cut, you might want to pull it off the heat when it reaches around 120-125°F and let it rest until it reaches your target temp. Resting your meat is also essential, as it allows the juices to redistribute throughout the beef, keeping it moist. Ignoring this step produces dry meat, even if you hit the correct final temperature. So, always account for rest cooking and give your beef the time it needs to rest before slicing or serving.

"Wagyu" isn't a cut of beef, it is one of four Japanese breeds of beef cattle, the most desired of which is genetically predisposed to intense marbling, making it one of the most tender of beef. There are "wagyu" cattle being raised in the US, but Kobe, the king of wagyu, can only be found in beef raised in the Hyogo Prefecture of Japan. While wagyu is expensive, true Kobe can be sold in the US for as much as $55 an ounce. But buyer beware, as of November 2015, only 9 businesses in the US serve the real thing.

Petite sirloin is a cut separated from the tri-tip, which is cut from the bottom sirloin sub-primal cut. Best prepared using moist or dry heat. As a less tender cut, it may need some form of tenderizing such as mechanical (cubed), marinating or cutting into small pieces to improve the eating experience. Great for fajitas, steak sandwiches and as steak, cubed/chicken fried/fingers.

Yes. The chuck section comes from the shoulder and neck of the beef, and yields several different cuts, including center cut pot roast, center chuck steak, arm roast, arm steak, chuck eye or chuck filet, chuck eye steak, chuck steak, cross rib roast (aka Boston cut), pot roast, shoulder roast, shoulder steak, flat iron roast, top blade steak, bottom chuck roast and more. Chuck refers to the section, not the cut.

Flank is a slightly tougher cut than blade, but blade has a line of gristle through it that makes it a poor option for serving whole. Blade is best cut up to remove the gristle and sliced or cubed for stir-fries or kebabs and stews. On the other hand, while flank can be cooked quickly, it can become chewy if cooked past medium rare. It's best grilled, pan seared or stir-fried. In that sense, yes, they can be cooked the same way if stir-fried.

Frying implies a lot of oil. Don't do it with this cut. Sear it with a thin layer of oil (heat pan, heat oil, lay steak with presentation side down). As a visual indicator, look for 3/4 of it to be cooked on the side before flipping it. Use a thermometer to determine desired degree of doneness. Finally, let the steak rest on a plate, perhaps covered with foil for about 5 minutes before serving. This prevents loss of juices and flavor upon cutting into it.