CHUCK – The Chuck or front shoulder is typically ground into hamburger.  If you like pot roasts for slow cooking a chuck roast can be very flavorful.  You can request a chuck roast or two and have the rest ground into burger.  As with all cuts, the roasts will be larger on larger animals but you should always specify the ideal size for your roasts and steaks.  On a side of beef the Chuck will account for about 50 pounds.

RIB – The Rib area yields an excellent quality meat with good marbling.  You can have the Rib cut into Rib Steaks or into or some of each.  All rib cuts will have the bone in.  On a side of beef the Rib will account for about 20 pounds.

LOIN –The loin consists of the Short Loin and Tenderloin.  These are generally thought of as the best cuts on the beef.  From the Loin you can get T-bone steak, Porterhouse, NY strips and Filet Mignon.  If you want the Tenderloin cut into Filet Mignon it will automatically provide you with NY strip steaks. It is not possible to request Filet Mignon along with T-bones and Porterhouse.   The T-bone and Porterhouse have a piece of tenderloin on one side of the bone (like a Filet Mignon) and the NY strip on the other.  On one side of beef the Loin will account for about 15 pounds.

SIRLOIN – The Sirloin is a very flavorful part of the beef.  The Top Sirloin is usually the most tender.  Some people like to have some or all of the Sirloin ground into hamburger because it adds great flavor to the hamburger.  If you would like it cut into steaks be sure to specify the thickness of steak you prefer.  If you forget they will be cut approximately 1 inch thick.  Don’t forget to let the butcher know how many steaks you would like in one package.  Sirloin accounts for about 20 pounds on one side of beef.

ROUND – The Round offers many options.  The Eye of the Round roast is typically left as one large, whole roast.  It is lean and flavorful.  The Top Round can be cut into roasts or London Broil.  The Bottom Round can be cut into roast for slow cooking pot roasts or ground into hamburger.  Families who use a lot of hamburger will often have all of the round ground saving the Eye of the Round roast for a special occasion.  The round will make up 50 or more pounds of one side of beef.