Cheap cuts: How to buy beef

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Posted at 12:02PM, 20 February 2013 by Natalie Hardwick - Web assistant, bbcgoodfood.com

With names like flank, chuck and blade, the cheapest cuts of meat can sound severe and a little intimidating. However, butchers and professional chefs know the worth of these unusual varieties - they often have far more flavour than their expensive counterparts.

However, they do generally require longer cooking. The muscles that an animal uses most often - such as the shin or shoulder - are the toughest, but also the cheapest and most tasty. Most butchers buy animals whole too, so these parts should be readily available. Plus, you won't have to settle for pre-packaged portions and can buy exactly the amount you need.

Our advice: Get to know your butcher and get your head around some of our favourite cheap cuts.

cow cuts diagram

Brisket

Award-winning West Yorkshire butcher Brindon Addy says brisket is one of his favourite cuts of beef. "I'd choose this over topside any day. A 700g joint will feed four people well and cost around £5.50."

Try it in…
Pot-roasted brisket in beer with parsnips & mushrooms
Texas barbecue brisket
Cantonese braised turnips with short ribs

Skirt

Taken from the underbelly of the cow, skirt steak is very cheap to buy but should not be cooked further than medium otherwise it becomes very tough. It's traditionally used in Cornish pasties, so have a go at making your own.

Try it in…
Seared beef with orange & chilli
Braised beef with anchovy toasts
Cornish pasties

Shin

As this cut is taken from the leg, it usually comes with a bone intact. Stew in slices or use as a replacement for traditional veal shin in osso bucco.

Try it in…
Ossobuco with cinnamon & soy
Chinese braised beef with ginger

Flank

A steak cut that's from the abdominal muscles of the cow, flank comes in thick, hindquarter and forequarter varieties. It works well minced.

Try it in…
Barbecued fajita steak
Minced beef Wellington

Silverside

Silverside is very lean, but good for corned beef or salt beef.

Try it in…
Red flannel hash
Salt beef with beetroot & horseradish

Chuck and blade

Dice and braise these cuts that come from the top of the animal, just past the neck.

Try it in…
Crispy-topped Cumberland pie

Leg

The leg is similar to shin, so cook it slowly in plenty of liquid.

Try it in…
Beef bourguignon

Top rump

This is also known as thick flank- thinly slice it for a cheap steak or roast whole for an extremely economical Sunday lunch. Try to serve it pink to keep it tender.

Try it in…
Roast beef & carrots with easy gravy

Do you like to use cheap cuts? How do you like to serve them? Share your suggestions with us below

Comments

naish

28 February, 12:03PM
naish

Now we're talking about cheap cuts of beef, anybody like to tell me which is best for mince, please? I've tried every variation of s/mkt mince, from 'Angus Steak' to 'Everyday Value'. None of it tastes of anything, certainly not compared to the single choice, 'boeuf hache', you get in LeClerc in France.

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Leziria Kate

28 February, 9:41PM
Leziria Kate

Go to a proper family/your local butcher; ask for advice telling her/him how you want to cook the meat. Can't beat choosing the piece of meat then watching it being minced - you then know exactly what you're cooking and eating.

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naish

23 March, 1:36PM
naish

Thanks Leziria. Another question. What IS a family butcher? I see it all over the place. I've even done meat delivery for a wholesaler to 'family butchers' but never got round to asking. Is it a family OF butchers or a butcher FOR families? And having trundled around the West Country and the Welsh Valleys with truck-loads of meat and poultry, I suspect that all these 'family butchers' get their produce from a small number of wholesalers like the one I worked for. I used to help load my truck so I saw what was going into it - and I had the grunt of unloading it at the retailers' shops. I was told that if the 'organic' ran out, an 'organic' label was slapped onto the boxes of plain vanilla meat/chicken etc. Whether any of it was horse, I don't know. Nothing was ever labelled 'horse' ...

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