Value Cuts (2024)

Rump Roast

A Rump roast is most often a bottom (outside) round, cut from the sirloin end of the round (different muscle from the eye). Somewhat tough, some marbling - can be braised or roasted.

View Video

Round Steak

The round steak is cut from the round primal cut of beef. Specifically, a round steak is the eye (of) round, bottom round, and top round still connected, with or without the "round" bone (femur), and may include the knuckle (sirloin tip), depending on how the round is separated from the loin. This is a lean cut and it is moderately tough. Lack of fat and marbling makes round dry out when cooked with dry-heat cooking methods like roasting or grilling.

View Video

Cubed Steak

Cubed steak is a cut of beef, usually top round or top sirloin, tenderized by fierce pounding with a meat tenderizer, or use of an electric tenderizer. The name refers to the shape of the indentations left by that process (called "cubing"). Many cooks that insist that regular tenderizing mallets cause too much mashing to produce a proper cube steak, and insist on either using specialized cube steak machines, or manually applying a set of sharp pointed rods to pierce the meat in every direction. This is the most common cut of meat used for chicken fried steak.

Stew Meat

Stew Beef or stew meat may be cut from chuck, brisket, rib, or plate. It usually consists of meaty pieces, cut into one-inch or two-inch squares and containing various amounts of fat. Beef for stew is usually prepared by braising or by cooking in liquid or as part of a soup or stew or many times shredded or ground.

Ground Beef

Ground beef, often refered to as hamburger, is simply beef that's been ground or finely chopped, and it's available in a range of prices depending on what cut it's from, the fat content, and composition. While the lower the fat content, the higher the price and the less flavorful the meat when cooked. However, regular (higher fat) ground beef could be used in dishes that require you to brown the meat, because you can drain off most of the fat but still keep the rich beefy flavor.