Primal vs. Sub-Primal Cuts – Breaking Down the Basics of Butchery

From our friends at Napoleon!

Primal Cuts – The Big Picture

Primal cuts are the first cuts of a larger whole animal that come directly from the first butchering. They are the primary cuts from which all other cuts derive. For beef, this includes sections like the rib, round, chuck, and loin. You don’t typically buy primal cuts themselves. They are large sections of one side of an animal. They are heavily broken down before you ever get to see them. However, knowing where your meat comes from is a game-changer for cooking. A cow or pig (for example) is divided in half. Butchers will receive either the full half or one quarter of that half that was split between the 12th and 13th rib when counted from the front.

There Are Eight Primal Cuts

A side of beef is first split down the center, then divided into front and rear quarters between the 12th and 13th rib. From there, you get eight primal cuts:

• Chuck: This is the shoulder area of the front quarter, which contains the neck, shoulder, blade, and cross rib. This can be broken into chuck tender, chuck roll, shoulder, and square-cut chuck, among other things.
• Brisket: This is found in the lower belly, front quarter of a cow, and broken into brisket point and brisket plate or left whole – a barbecuer’s dream.
• Rib: The rib section contains the ribs, ribeye, and prime rib, and is located closer to the spine.
• Plate: The section below the rib, on the front quarter. This contains the skirt steak, hanger steak, and short ribs.
• Loin: The loin is from the rear quarter and is where a majority of your favorite steaks come from.
• Flank: This section is usually left whole but can be subdivided into smaller flank steaks.
• Round: This is found in the rear quarter above the rear shank. It contains a few hard-working muscles that require different techniques for cooking and can be broken down into cuts like the rump, round, and sirloin, to name a few.
• Shank: There are two of these, the fore shank located on the front of the animal, and the rear shank. This cut can be broken down into the shank crosscut for osso buco. The rear shank is ideal for low and slow cooking applications.

Prime vs. Primal – Not the Same Thing

Here’s where many people get tripped up: “prime” is a quality grade given to meat, usually indicating it’s richly marbled and tender. “Primal”, on the other hand, has nothing to do with quality; it’s simply the term for the major sections an animal is divided into during butchering. You could have a prime ribeye, or you could have a ribeye from a different grade.

Sub-Primal Cuts – Getting Closer to the Plate

Once the primal cuts are separated, they are divided further into Sub-primal cuts, an intermediate step before you get to the cuts that you know and love. These are more manageable pieces, for example, the whole rib, the whole chuck, the hip, and the loin, that get shipped to supermarkets or butchers for final cutting. From here, these Sub-primals are portioned into the retail cuts you see labeled and ready to buy, such as steaks, chops, and roasts.

Smoked Eye of Round Roast

From Rib to Roast – Real Examples

Take a look at the rib primal. This section can be transformed into rib roasts, ribeye steaks, back ribs, or prime rib. Or take the round—found at the rear of the animal—which can be divided into top, bottom, and eye of round roasts, sirloin tips, and more. Each cut has its own best cooking methods, which is why knowing the origin can help you choose wisely.

PRO Tip: Cuts from the front quarter (except prime rib) tend to have more connective tissue. They shine when cooked low and slow with plenty of moisture—think braises, stews, and smokers.

Pork Tenderloin

To read the details please check out the Napoleon blog post here!