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Part of our ethos is to use as much of the animal as possible. We don’t want to waste anything. This leaves us with some unusual or hard to come by cuts: Tongue, Kidneys, Knuckle Bones, and the like.
This blog isn’t about those.
There’s a difference between unusual cuts like the ones above, and cuts that are considered pretty normal but people just don’t eat them. Some of these cuts are among the best cuts on the animal, and it breaks our heart to see our customers missing out! Believe it or not, many of these cuts are our Craft Master's “go to” cuts.
You won’t find a Ribeye or a Sirloin in this blog. Everybody is familiar with those and everybody knows how to use them. Follow along and let’s find five cuts you’ve probably never tried and you’re definitely missing out on.
King of Flavor. Seriously. There are few cuts that can rival a Skirt Steak in terms of flavor alone. It’s not the most tender cut and it has a bit of a long, odd shape, so it doesn’t fit all that well in a pan. But good gracious, the flavor.
There are only four Skirt Steaks on a cow, so you would think we often run short. Sadly, this is a cut that is a shockingly slow seller…and it shouldn’t be. Besides the incredible flavor, the coarse grained muscle fibers help it to take on marinades very well.
This cut is great for a hot and fast sear then topped with some chimichurri, but is fantastic for fajitas and shredded dishes as well. Shop our Skirt Steak here.
We have a great customer base of “out of town locals”, those who live here now but came from elsewhere. A few of these customers are from California. Let me tell you…they know all about the Tri-tip! Outside of some of our Western friends though, people overlook the Tri-tip. (Sorry to give away your secret!)
Tri-tips are usually slow cooked, but the results are worth the wait. Somewhat like a mini Brisket, it has great flavor and good tenderness, but still needs to be cut across the grain. Their reasonable size, usually around four pounds, also makes them very approachable. Shop our Tri-tip here.
This one satisfies both the “unusual cut” category and the “cuts that people don’t use” category. Beef Belly is from the navel muscles of the cow, and it’s the same muscle on the pig that bacon comes from! Like bacon, it’s loaded with flavor and delicious fat.
Beef Belly is a great stand in for Brisket. Usually much smaller and a little easier to cook, not to mention more fat, it’s a great way to practice for the real deal. Also like Brisket, it needs a long, slow cook. Our favorite way to use these is to smoke them like a Brisket before we sauce them to make sweet and savory burnt ends. Shop our Beef Belly here.
Like the Skirt Steak, the Bavette Steak falls into the “Flat Steak” category…cuts known for top notch flavor. Where the Bavette Steak shines though, is its versatility. You can slow cook it, sear it, put it in a crock pot, slice it for fajitas, cut it into kabobs, put it in a stir fry. If Bubba from “Forrest Gump” had a favorite steak, this would be it.
Even better? It’s cheap! Pound for pound, it’s one of the very cheapest steaks you can buy. The cherry on top for this criminally underused masterpiece is that these are large and great for sharing. It’s a wonderful way to feed a crowd a top notch steak without breaking the bank. Two pounds is a common size, but these sometimes top four pounds! Shop our Bavette Steak here.
Look, we absolutely love a well cooked Brisket. It’s the pinnacle of beefy flavor…and work. They’re hard to get just right, they take forever to cook, and if it’s not perfect, there’s a good chance it’ll be dry. Ya know what’s hardly ever dry? BEEF RIBS.
Beef Ribs are loaded with flavor, but their generous marbling and fat cover helps to keep them from drying out while also contributing flavor. Basically, they’re hard to mess up. Plus you can prepare them in plenty of different ways. We enjoy them as Korean Ribs, but smoking is also a fantastic option. They take a marinade very well too. They’ve experienced quite a renaissance with the BBQ crowd as well. With several different weights to accommodate any size crowd, Beef Ribs are our first choice for the slow cooker. Shop our Beef Ribs, Bone In here.
There ya have it. The next time you’re wondering what to try, maybe pass on the Filet and reach for something with more flavor for less money.
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