Ever wondered where a specific cut of beef comes from, or what are the best ways to cook it? This free printable beef cuts chart offers all that information at a glance, so you can get to the cooking part a.s.a.p, and enjoy your meat cooked to perfection!
Even as a seasoned griller, I can’t remember the specifics of all the beef cuts. Yes, I was the first person who needed this chart, so it had to be done!
I included all the cuts organized by the primal areas of the cow. It’s a functional guide to help you cook any of these cuts with perfect results, and it can also help you choose one when you’re faced with multiple options.
📝 How It Works
Our cow meat chart printable has two sheets: one is the actual chart where you can see all the cuts of beef for each primal area and the best cooking methods for them. Using it is extremely easy!
Step 1 – Locate the primal area section where your cut of beef comes from.
Step 2 – Look in the second column to see what’s the best way to cook it.
The second sheet is a cuts of beef diagram that offers a simple visual way to see where that steak you just bought for the first time comes from.
You can keep these printables in a binder and consult them as needed to ensure you always cook beef perfectly or as a buying guide before you purchase the meat.
Another way to use them is to laminate them and keep them in the kitchen or outdoor grilling area.
They would also work great as beef cuts chart wall art. All you need to do is print, frame, and hang!
🍳 Wet Cooking vs. Dry Cooking
Before we proceed to studying the cuts of beef, let’s discuss the main cooking methods we can use for them.
Wet Cooking
Wet cooking is perfect for tougher cuts of beef! Think roasts, short ribs, and brisket. Here are the main methods of wet cooking:
- Stewing
- Braising
- Pot roasting
Dry Cooking
Tender cuts of beef are at their best when dry cooked. This means you’ll be exposing them to high heat for a shorter period of time which prevents the meat from drying.
- Grilling
- Barbecuing
- Pan searing
- Broiling
- Roasting
- Stir-frying
- Smoking
Smoking is the notable exception here, since it is not a fast cooking method and it often uses lower temperatures.
For this reason, it works well for some large and tough cuts of beef such as brisket. The low and slow cooking gives connective tissues enough time to break down and give us that heavenly tender meat.
🥩 Printable Beef Cuts Chart
As you can see, there’s an impressive number of beef cuts and it’s totally fine if you can’t remember all of them.
The areas that are more exercised yield tougher cuts of beef which is why each cut is best for a different cooking method, depending on it’s tenderness and fat content.
In the U.S. primal cuts are split into two main categories: forequarters cuts, and hindquarters cuts. Let’s see what are the smaller cuts of beef that come from each of these areas!
Forequarter Cuts
Head
Two main cuts come from the cow’s head:
- Tongue
- Cheek
Both are rather tough and lean so they are excellent for slow cooking. When cooked at low temperatures for an extended period, they will become tender so they shouldn’t be ignored!
Beef tongue in the Instant Pot turns into a delicious treat! A regular pressure cooker also works and if you have some time on your hands, it will turn out excellent in the slow cooker too.
Brisket
When purchasing brisket you’ll usually find it in three forms:
- Brisket Flat
- Brisket Point
- Whole Brisket
Texas BBQ culture is making brisket increasingly popular and for good reason. It’s wonderful for grilling and smoking.
Smoking brisket requires patience and attention, but it’s definitely something anyone can do. The resulting meat is amazing and there are plenty of brisket leftover recipes to make it worth smoking this rather large cut even if you don’t have a crowd to feed.
Brisket is easy to reheat and keeps well in the fridge. I’m telling you, those leftovers can be life-saving on a busy weekday!
Chuck
Found in the shoulder region of the cow, the chuck gives us a nice assortment of cuts, some of which are perfect for quick grilling and pan searing, while others will make an incredible stew or another slow-cooked recipe.
- Chuck Eye Roast
- Blade Chuck Steak
- Chuck Center Roast
- Chuck Center Steak
- Denver Steak
- Chuck Eye Steak
- Blade Roast
- 7 Bone Chuck Roast
- Country-Style Ribs
- Cross Rib Chuck Roast
- Shoulder Roast
- Shoulder Steak
- Ranch Steak
- Flat Iron Steak
- Top Blade Steak
- Petite Tender Roast
- Petite Tender Medallions
- Bone-In Short Ribs
Rib
The rib section offers mostly cuts suitable for dry cooking, including the famous ribeye steak, with a few exceptions that are most enjoyable as a pot roast or stew.
- Ribeye Roast
- Ribeye Steak
- Back Ribs
- Ribeye Cap Steak
- Ribeye Petite Roast
- Ribeye Filet
Both ribeye and ribeye cap steaks have a decent amount of fat, which makes them super tasty and tender when grilled. They’re totally worth trying at least once!
Plate & Flank
Technically, the flank is a hindquarters cut, but we grouped it with plate because they are next to each other.
- Bone-in Short Ribs
- Flank Steak
- Skirt Steak
The entire flank is known as a flank steak, and it’s a less forgiving cut of meat when it comes to dry cooking. The best grilled flank steak should be marinated for up to 6 hours so all you need is a bit of patience. Marinating and cutting against the grain will ensure your flank steak is both tender and flavorful.
Smoked flank steak is also amazing and doesn’t require marinating. The smoking process takes 60-120 minutes so it has enough time to tenderize.
Skirt steak is a cheaper and slightly tougher alternative to flank steak. You can enjoy it in its most tender form when marinated and cooked medium rare to medium. If you like your grilled steak well done, opt for a more tender cut.
Shank
The shank, also known as the shank cross cut, is one of the toughest cuts of beef so it will benefit most from slow cooking, or even pressure cooking.
- Shank Cross Cut
Hindquarter Cuts
Loin
The loin, also known as short loin, is probably one of my favorite primal areas of the cow. It gives us to many steaks that grill wonderfully!
- Porterhouse Steak
- T-Bone Steak
- Strip Steak
- Strip Petite Roast
- Strip Filet
- Tenderloin Roast
- Tenderloin Filet
Other than the two roasts we get from the loin, all the other cuts are excellent for grilling, pan searing, and other dry cooking methods.
In fact, Porterhouse steak, T-bone steak, and tenderloin are some of the most tender cuts of beef. Grilling them should be fast, on high heat, so they make super quick and easy meals.
Sirloin
The sirloin is a bit less tender than the loin area, but we do get more flavor so it’s worth going for a sirloin roast like the Coulotte or petite roast. With enough cooking time, any of these cuts will soften.
- Top Sirloin Steak
- Sirloin Steak
- Top Sirloin Petite Roast
- Top Sirloin Filet
- Coulotte Roast
- Tri-Tip Roast
- Tri-Tip Steak
- Petite Sirloin Steak
- Sirloin Bavette
The secret to great sirloin steak is tenderizing it with a mallet or a fork before grilling. Also, make sure you remove it from heat when it’s medium rare. Otherwise it can become chewy.
Tri tip is not so popular but it is amazing when grilled. You can even smoke tri tip with great results. It’s an easy smoke, perfect for beginners that’s best enjoyed in thin slices.
Round
This area of the cow is on the lean side, with little to no marbling.
- Top Round Steak
- Bottom Round Roast
- Bottom Round Steak
- Bottom Round Rump Roast
- Eye Of Round Roast
- Eye Of Round Steak
As a general guideline, all the roast cuts are best for wet cooking techniques such as braising, stewing, and pot roasting.
Grilled top round steak can turn out delicious if marinated as it will noticeably tenderize the meat. Smoking top round steak is also a good way to make sure the meat will stay juicy.
Flank
We grouped flank with the plate area in our printable beef cuts chart for the sake of saving space so check out the section above for more info.
Flank steak is the only cut in this primal area and it’s best cooked to medium rare or medium.
🐮Beef Cuts Diagram
This is the second sheet of our beef cuts printable and it offers a quick overview of the cow’s primal areas and all their cuts.
You can keep it in a binder, but it would also make an excellent cuts of beef poster you can use as wall art in your kitchen or grilling area!
Also, don’t forget to grab our printable grilling time and temperature chart! It includes grilling instructions for the most popular cuts of beef, pork, and poultry, as well as seafood and veggies.
❓F.A.Q.
These 10 cuts of steak are the best for grilling and pan searing: flank steak, strip steak, ribeye steak, prime rib, skirt steak, T-bone steak, sirloin steak, Porterhouse steak, tenderloin, and filet mignon.
For the most flavorful roast beef use one of these cuts of beef: brisket, chuck roast, bottom round rump, eye of round roast, top round roast, sirloin tip roast, shoulder petite roast, prime rib roast, strip petite roast, tri tip roast, or tenderloin roast.
Because of its intense marbling, the ribeye makes the juiciest steak. Available as boneless or bone-in, ribeye is less tender than tenderloin and filet mignon but much more flavorful.
The most tender beef steak cuts are filet mignon and tenderloin, top sirloin steak, ribeye steak, Porterhouse steak, and strip steak.
🖨️ How To Grab
To snag our free printable beef cuts chart PDF, enter your name and email in the box below and hit the “Send” button.
The printable will be sent to your inbox, from where you can download it. Happy grilling!
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Jason’s been firing up the grill for over 30 years after graduating from the US Coast Guard Academy. His love of finely-grilled steak and chicken led him to buy his first Weber grill to put on his apartment patio in 1992. Each military move led to a new grill (a mixture of gas and charcoal) until he fell in love with the Big Green Egg in 2008. Since then, he has added another 4 grills to the collection. Yes, he has a problem. Jason loves smoking in the ceramic BGE with exotic woods including olive wood from Egypt and hard to find varieties such as sassafras and orange wood. Jason takes the term “foodie” to a whole new level, jumping at the chance to take food tours and cooking classes during foreign travels. These have provided inspiration to incorporate new ideas into recipes when he gets back home. He has been featured in Fox News, Parade, Yahoo News, Kansas City Living and more. After retiring from the military and moving to southwest Florida, he has focused grilling and smoking locally sourced meats and fish (read: he likes to catch his own fish!)
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