Secondary Cuts
Here at Sloane’s we only purchase whole carcass beef from trusted farms and dry-age it ourselves. Buying a whole carcass means a lot of work and also means certain popular cuts like Ribeye and Striploin are in short supply (sorry they’re so often not available!) A carcass of beef is about 400kg and that only produces about 8kg of ribeye or 12 Tomahawks. We regularly get asked why don’t we just buy more? But to keep the quality we feel we need to buy whole carcass only and we leave the cryovac bags of wet aged meat to the importers.
So after those premium cuts, we have a lot more to sell. Luckily a carcass of beef has a huge range of much more interesting cuts than a boring Tomahawk 🙂 so here’s a brief description of a few of the secondary cuts we love and are available from Sloane’s
From the Chuck
Denver Steak
Denver steaks are a great cut of meat that come from the beef chuck. They are relatively tender, with an excellent beefy flavor, and good amount of marbling.
Best cooked medium-rare.
Flat Iron
Another cut from the chuck. Depending on how it’s cut, it’s also known as butlers’ steak, feather blade steak, oyster blade steak or paleron. Two long well marbled muscles with a layer of sinew in between, that are separated and sinew removed for the Flat Iron. Again best cooked medium-rare
From the Rump
Rump Steak
The rump steak is a popular cut in many parts of the world. Confusingly called the Sirloin in the US (a Sirloin is a striploin in the UK). Cut from the rear of the carcass, it’s not as tender as loin cut, but great flavour. Best cooked medium or as a braising steak.
Picanha
A popular Brazilian cut from the rump. sometimes known as Rump Cap. With its layer of fat across the top it’s a great cut to cook whole or cut into steaks.
A cut that can be cooked medium-rare to medium to your preference.
Tri Tip
The tri-tip, also known as triangle steak or Santa Maria steak is another great lean cut with a decent amount of marbling, excellent to roast or put on the grill.
A cut that can be cooked medium-rare to medium to your preference.
From the Abdomen
Flank
Cut from the abdomen area, cuts from this area are lean and full of flavor. The flank is a flat muscle and best when marinated and grilled. Perfect for tacos!
Best medium rare and cut across the grain.
Bavette
This French cut often is confused with Flank as it’s from a similar area. A larger thicker cut than the flank, it makes a great lean steak. Perfect alternative for an entrecôte for steak frites. Serve rare to medium rare at most.
Hanger (Onglet)
The Hanger steak, often known using the French term ‘Onglet’. A flat cut of beef steak, which is part of the diaphragm muscle which hangs down, hence the name Hanger. The hanger is full flavour steak due to its position next to the kidneys.
Best served rare. Medium-rare at most.
Skirt
Skirt steak is a long, thin cut that comes from the short plate/ diaphragm area, just under the rib section. There’s two types, the inside and the outside skirt, both are great but the smaller outside skirt is slightly more tender.
Cook as fast as possible either in a cast iron pan or over very hot coals.
