A primal cut or cut of meat is a piece of

meat Meat is animal Tissue (biology), tissue, often muscle, that is eaten as food. Humans have hunted and farmed other animals for meat since prehistory. The Neolithic Revolution allowed the domestication of vertebrates, including chickens, sheep, ...

initially separated from the carcass of an animal during

butcher A butcher is a person who may Animal slaughter, slaughter animals, dress their flesh, sell their meat, or participate within any combination of these three tasks. They may prepare standard cuts of meat and poultry for sale in retail or wholesale ...

ing. Examples of primals include the round, loin, rib, and chuck for beef or the ham, loin, Boston butt, and picnic for pork. Different countries and cultures make these cuts in different ways, and primal cuts also differ between type of carcass. The British, American and French primal cuts all differ in some respects. For example, rump steak in British and Commonwealth English is commonly called ''sirloin'' in American English. British ''sirloin'' is called ''porterhouse'' by Americans. Another notable example is

fatback Fatback is a layer of subcutaneous fat taken from under the skin of the back of a domestic pig, with or without the skin (referred to as pork rind). In cuisine Fatback is a preferred fat for various forms of charcuterie, particularly sau ...

, which in Europe is an important primal cut of pork, but in North America is regarded as trimmings to be used in sausage or rendered into lard. The primal cuts may be sold complete or cut further. The distinct term ''prime cut'' is sometimes used to describe cuts considered to be of better quality; for example in the US Department of Agriculture meat grading systems, most use ''prime'' to indicate top quality.

US primal cuts

Beef

Beef primal cuts:

Major

* Round * Loin * Rib * ChuckAlso known as: ''chingolo'' (Spanish), ''Scotch tender'', ''boneless chuck roll'', ''mock tender steak'', and ''chuck tender steak''; see

Minor

* Plate * Brisket * Foreshank

Veal

Veal primal cuts: * Legs * Loin * Hotel rack * Square cut chuck/shoulder

Pork

Pork primal cuts: * Ham * Loin * Boston butt * Picnic * Belly with spare ribs

Lamb

Lamb primal cuts: * Leg * Loin * Rack * Chuck

National variations

File:US Beef cuts.svg, American File:British Beef Cuts.svg, British File:Beef cuts France.svg, French File:Rind-Ganz.svg, German File:Korean cuts of beef 4.png, Korean

References

External links

{{commonscatinline, Meat cuts