inspiration
Handy guide to cuts of beef
May 21, 2025Got beef? We’ll show you how to cook it! Every cut of beef offers something different, so knowing what to do with each one is key.
Think ribeye or sirloin for steak night; minced beef for juicy burgers, and meatballs; ribs or brisket for barbecuing; or fillet for an epic Beef Wellington. There are so many possibilities for deliciousness!
Once you’ve discovered everything you need to know about each cut, we’ll let you in on the secrets to sourcing and selecting the best quality beef. Then all that’s left to do is put it into practice with our big-flavour beef recipes and sensational steak recipes. Bosh!
The big beefy lowdown
When it comes to beef, the best cooking method depends on how tough or tender the cut is. As a general rule, the parts of the cow that do the most work, such as the shoulders, ribs and shins, are the toughest and therefore need long, low and slow cooking to tenderise them. But after cooking them in this way you’ll be rewarded with a meltingly soft piece of meat and fantastic flavour. The parts that don’t really do much work are the back muscles – that means loin, rump and, the laziest of all: the fillet. These parts are so tender that they can be cooked quickly, most often as steaks, and even served slightly underdone.
TOP TIP
Before you start cooking, take your beef out of the fridge and allow it to come up to room temperature. This way, it’ll cook better and more evenly.
Rib-eye
The centre of the rib section of the cow is called the rib-eye, which can be filleted off the bone and cut into rib-eye steaks. These have a marble of fat in the middle, making them super tender and flavoursome.
Best for: Pan-frying and searing
Ribs
Beef ribs can either be kept together to make a roasting joint, or cut into individual ribs. Short ribs are one of the more affordable cuts of beef, and when cooked low and slow, will give you amazing melt-in-the-mouth meat with incredible flavour.
Best for: Slow cooking, barbecuing and roasting
Sirloin
Taken from the back of the cow, sirloin can either be cut into steaks or roasted whole and carved. Sirloin has beautiful marbling and a thick layer of fat. For amazing results, Jamie likes to cut off this layer of fat, then roughly chop it and place it in the pan to render. The steak can then be cooked to perfection in the rendered fat, which gives it a super-charged beefy flavour!
Best for: Pan-frying and searing
Fillet
The fillet is the long muscle you find inside a cow, running along either side of the spine. It is very lean, tender and soft, with minimal marbling and less fat, making it a little more premium than other cuts. It is often cut into steaks, or roasted in one piece.
Best for: Quick cooking, pan-frying and searing
Minced beef
Budget-friendly, reliable and super flexible, mince is a great carrier of flavour, making it a firm favourite in everything from smash burgers to meatballs, Bolognese sauces, hearty shepherd’s pies and lasagnes. Mince in supermarkets is available in different fat percentages, so make sure you choose the right mince for the job! Lean mince (5%) is healthier, but has a less beefy flavour. Mince with 15% or 20% fat has more flavour and is ideal for binding burgers and meatballs.
Best for: Burgers, pies, meatballs and kebabs
Brisket
Brisket has wonderful, deep flavour, but it is a tough cut, so needs low and slow cooking – that’s when you can let the oven do the hard work! Boil, braise or slow-roast this cut of beef to transform it into something tender and tasty.
Best for: Stewing, braising, slow-cooking and barbecuing
Rump
This cut is always boneless and, although not as tender as other steaks, it’s very juicy and tasty – lovely grilled or barbecued.
Best for: Grilling, searing and barbecuing
Shin
Usually taken from the front of the legs, this is the toughest cut of beef, but when cooked slowly in a stew, it becomes meltingly soft and full of flavour.
Best for: Slow cooking and stewing
Topside
This budget-friendly cut is a piece of hind leg that’s sliced off the bone and rolled into a roasting joint. It doesn’t have much natural fat, but is often wrapped in a piece of fat by the butcher to help it stay moist during cooking. It’s great cooked until beautifully blushing or medium – it can be tough if cooked until well-done. Topside has big flavour, but firm texture, so slice thinly to serve.
Best for: Roasting
How to choose quality cuts of beef
Whether you are buying steaks or joints, on or off the bone, you can tell a lot about the quality of the meat just by looking at it. Here’s what to look out for:
Magnificent marbelling
Good-quality beef should be marbled nicely, with thin threads of white creamy-coloured fat spread throughout. During cooking, the fat will melt and keep the beef moist and delicious.
Scope out the surface
The surface of quality beef should look matte and dry with a dark, rich red or slightly purple colour, with creamy white fat around the edges.
Bloody marvellous
Bright red pieces of beef that are wet with blood haven’t been hung properly and will probably be tough and tasteless – nobody wants that!
Beef welfare and sustainability
- RSPCA Assured
- Organic
- Red Tractor
If you’re based in the UK or Ireland, buying British or Irish means supporting farmers close to home (which is more sustainable), and it promotes a good level of animal welfare. Generally, standards in the UK and the EU are high, with the majority of animals fed on pasture rather than grain. But try to avoid meat from animals that are housed permanently indoors, and look for grass-fed wherever possible. British or Irish beef will never have received hormone growth promoters.
Like most things, you pay more for quality. If you take a couple of minutes to plan your meals you can be clever about using cheaper cuts of meat. Or you could try reducing your meat intake (which is more sustainable, better for the planet, your health and your wallet – find some great meat-free meals here), which should give you the opportunity to trade up to quality meat when you do choose to eat them. And visit your local butcher – they can be so helpful: they can order stuff in especially for you and can ensure you have the exact weights you need.
After more inspo? We’ve got over 200 brilliant beef recipes to get stuck into
