A Certified Angus® tenderloin, larded with a strip of bacon. Photo courtesy of RockyMountainSteaks.com.

MENU

Beef Category Main Page Articles & Reviews Meat & Poultry Category Main Page Articles & Reviews   Main Nibbles Main Page Articles & Reviews Of Foods From A To Z   Product Reviews Main Page Foods, Beverages, Books, News & More     Home Page Visit Other Sections: Newsletter Archives, Find Products, Food Fun, Marketplace, Home Zone

June 2005
Updated March 2009

Product Reviews / Main Nibbles / Beef

Beef Glossary & Beef Cut Diagram

Page 2:  C, D, E

When looking up cuts of meat, it’s helpful to refer to the beef cut diagram, courtesy of the National Cattleman’s Beef Association. If you enjoy this Beef Glossary, we have a food glossary for almost every category of food.

Click on the letter of the alphabet in this bar to get to a term
without having to scroll manually; letters other than C, D & E
will take you to the appropriate page of the glossary.

a  b  c  d  e  f  g  h  i  j  k  l  m  n  o  p  q  r  s  t  u  v  w  x  y  z

This glossary is protected by copyright and cannot be reproduced in whole or part.

CARPETBAG STEAK

Not a cut of meat but a preparation, first popularized in Sydney, Australia around 1950. It consists of an end cut of rib-eye steak (known as scotch fillet steak in Australia), served standing up like an old-fashioned carpetbag (or a miniature mountain). Small cuts make pockets in the meat, into Sydney rock oysters are stuffed and secured with toothpicks. The whole may be wrapped in a strip of bacon, and it is often served with roasted new potatoes.

CENTER CUT

Generally refers to steaks cut from the heart of the rib-eye. A very flavorful, juicy, tender cut.

CERTIFIED ANGUS BEEF®

Certified Angus Beef is a trademarked brand that licenses the trademark to ranchers who are approved by the licensor. The brand promises the consumer consistently flavorful, juicy and tender cuts. Less than 8% of beef is Certified Angus Beef. It is the best-known brand; more than 50% of all beef approved through USDA brand certification (i.e., branded beef) is Certified Angus Beef.

CHATEAUBRIAND or TOURNEDOS or FILET DE BOEUF

Chateaubriand is not a cut of meat but a recipe using the tenderloin. It was created by the personal chef, Montmireil, of Vicomte François-René de Chateaubriand (1768-1848). The Vicomte was a French author, considered to be the founder of Romanticism in French literature. He also was a soldier and statesman who served Napoleon as an ambassador, and King Louis XVIII as Secretary of State. According to Larousse Gastronomique, during the time of the Vicomte, the steak was cut from the chewy but tasty sirloin and served with a white wine and shallot sauce that included demi-glace, butter, tarragon and lemon juice. Montmireil instead chose the very tender (although less flavorful) tenderloin. The meat was cut from the thickest part of the tenderloin which provides just two portions (all of the tenderloin can be cut into filet mignon). It was grilled “larded,” with a strip of bacon or lard around it to keep it moist, and served medium rare (never well done) with a similar sauce (today béarnaise sauce is served) and château potatoes, which were cut into the shape of large olives, parboiled and cooked in butter.

Chateaubriand from Montana Legend available at MackenzieLtd.com.

CHEESE STEAK or PHILLY CHEESE STEAK

A fast-food sandwich invented by a Philadelphia hot-dog stand owner in 1930, the cheese steak consists of thin, grilled slices of steak topped with melted cheese on a hoagie roll. Today Cheez-Whiz, is the topping of choice because it melts the quickest, although white American cheese and provolone are considered authentic (Cheez-Whiz was not invented until 1952).

A cheese steak from Geno’s  in Philadelphia, GenoSteaks.com.

CHICAGO-STYLE STEAK

A preparation of steak, cooked to the desired level and then quickly charred. The diner orders it by asking for the style followed by the level of doneness, e.g. “Chicago-style rare.” In some areas it is also referred to as Pittsburgh-style steak.

CHICKEN-FRIED STEAK or COUNTRY FRIED STEAK

A Southern specialty, chicken-fried steak is the American version of Wiener Schnitzel, but instead of a tenderized veal cutlet, a tenderized cut of beef (a cube steak) is coated with seasoned flour and pan fried. It gets its name from its resemblance to fried chicken. In a redundant and ironic twist, the dish called “chicken fried chicken” pounds, breads, and pan fries a chicken cutlet. This preparation is distinctively different from regular fried chicken, which breads bone-in chicken parts and deep-fries them.

CHUCK or SHOULDER CUTS

There are more than a half dozen cuts from the shoulder (the area between the neck and the shoulder blade) including arm steak, blade steak, chuck steak, chuck eye steak, mock tender steak, seven bone steak, shoulder steak and under bone steak. All of them have excellent flavor, but they are usually tougher than cuts from the loin, sirloin or rib sections, and are thus less expensive. These multi-muscled steaks are best cooked by braising. Ground chuck has the best percentage of meat to fat for hamburger. The blade steak is one of the most tender of all steaks after a line of tough connective tissue down the middle is removed. It has a great flavor and is inexpensive compared to steaks from the loin, sirloin and rib. The rest of the steaks from the chuck all have good flavor and texture, but they can be quite fibrous. They can be bone in or boneless, cut thick or thin, and can be broiled or roasted successfully, especially if marinated or tenderized. However, the best way to cook chuck steaks is to braise them by searing on both sides, adding a small amount of liquid (seasoned broth or wine), covering tightly and simmer until tender.

CHUCK ROAST

A full-flavored roast, rectangular in shape, popular for a classic pot roast. Best for slow-cooking in the crock pot, braising or in stews. It also can be stir-fried.

Photo of chuck roast at right, courtesy of GlacierBeef.com.

CHUCK STEAK

An extremely well marbled, full-bodied and robust steak. The typical chuck steak is a rectangular cut, cut about one-inch thick, with parts of the shoulder bones, and is known as a “7-bone steak.” This is a reference to the shape of the bone, which resembles the numeral 7. From a good producer, this can be a very satisfying cut.

CLOSED HERD

A herd of farm animals that is 100% born and raised on the farm. No animals are ever brought in from the outside. This ensures the health of the herd; outside animals can bring in infections, viruses and diseases including “mad cow” and hoof and mouth disease. Maintaining a closed herd is especially important to an organic herd, since animals cannot be treated with antibiotics, and an animal requiring such care must be removed from the herd.

CLUB STEAK

Although really a strip steak, the term “club steak” refers specifically to the last steak from the rib end of the loin. It has the flavor and texture of a strip steak.

CONNECTIVE TISSUE

The tissue between and within muscles that helps bind muscles together, and attaches muscle to bone for support.

COWBOY STEAK

A cowboy steak is a bone-in rib steak with a frenched rib bone. This “raw bone” feature and the fact that this cut is generally around two pounds of meat, makes it big enough for the hungriest cowboy.

Cowboy steak (photo at right) available at Lobels.com. Photo © Lobells.

CORNED BEEF

Corning refers to curing or pickling the meat in a seasoned brine. The word refers to the “corns” or grains of kosher (or other coarse) salt that is mixed with water to make the brine. Typically, brisket is used to make corned beef. The dish has many regional variations and seasonings. Historical note: Irish immigrants adapted corned beef from their Jewish neighbors on New York’s Lower East Side as a cheaper alternative to Irish bacon, precipitating the now-traditional Irish-American dish, corned beef and cabbage. Smoking a corned beef, and adding extra spices, produces pastrami.

COUNTRY FRIED STEAK

See Chicken Fried Steak.

CUBE STEAK or MINUTE STEAK

A flavorful cut of beef taken from the top or bottom round and tenderized (cubed) by pounding it with a mallet or running it through a tenderizing machine. Cube steak would be too tough to eat without being tenderized. It is the cut generally used for Salisbury steak and chicken fried steak, where it is coated and pan fried, almost as if it were a piece of fried chicken. This is a good cut for a steak sandwich or cheese steak.

CULOTTE STEAK or TOP SIRLOIN CAP STEAK

A small, boneless steak cut from the sirloin. Culotte steaks are flavorful but leaner, with less marbling than a New York strip steak or a Porterhouse. Thus, they are a bit tougher than other sirloin steaks, so generally require marinating prior to cooking.

DELMONICO STEAK or SPENCER STEAK

See rib-eye steak.

DRY-AGED

Dry-aged beef is fresh beef that has been hung to dry (or set on wooden racks) in an aging room for several weeks under controlled temperatures, humidity and air flow to reduce spoilage and enhance flavor and tenderness. Only the more expensive cuts of meat can be dry-aged, as the process requires meat with a large, evenly distributed fat content. The process involves considerable expense as the beef must be stored at near-freezing temperatures. For these reasons dry-aged beef is generally available only at specialty butcher shops and fine restaurants; Peter Luger in New York City is one such practitioner. Some connoisseurs prefer dry-aged beef because during the process, much of the liquid evaporates, resulting in a more intensely-flavored (if smaller) piece of meat. See also Wet Aged, also known as vacuum aged.

DRY-HEAT COOKING

The most tender cuts—rib steak, strip steak, sirloin, chuck or round steaks—can be cooked quickly by dry heat—broiled, grilled, pan-fried or roasted.

EYE OF ROUND ROAST

The leanest of all roasts and the most tender of roasts from the round, you can see from the photo at the right that there is virtually no exterior fat. Just season and roast this cut for 20 minutes per pound at 300°F. It also does well cooked in warm moist heat such as a crock pot.

Photo courtesy of GlacierBeef.com.

Go To Next Page, Terms With F, G & H

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.