Recipes & Cuts

How to cook every cut we raise — and what our family makes with it

No middleman, no mystery — just honest beef and honest advice. We cook every one of these cuts ourselves, most weeks, so this page is the same thing we’d tell you across the table: which cut to reach for, how to cook it, and a few tricks the family has picked up along the way. Bought something and not sure what to do with it? Find it below. Planning a meal and not sure what to buy? Start with “I want to make…” Still stuck? Call or text us — we’re glad to help.

I want to make…

Burgers → Ground Beef or Patty Pack
Tacos, sloppy joes, meat sauce → Ground Beef
Chicken-fried steak → Cube Steak
Beef tips & gravy → Sirloin Tip Roast or Stew Meat
Stir-fry → Fajita Meat or Sirloin Tip Roast, sliced thin
Philly cheesesteak → Ribeye or Sirloin Steak, shaved thin
Pot roast → Chuck Roast or Chuck Tender
Beef stew → Stew Meat
Chili → Ground Beef, Stew Meat or diced Tri Tip
Braised or BBQ short ribs → Short Ribs
Smoked brisket → Brisket
Birria or barbacoa → Chuck Tender or Short Ribs
Lengua tacos → Beef Tongue
Bone broth & stock → Soup Bones
Steakhouse dinner → Ribeye, NY Strip, T-Bone or Filet Mignon
Great steak, smaller budget → Sirloin Steak, Chuck Eye, Denver, Flatiron
Fajitas or carne asada → Fajita Meat, Outside Skirt or Flank
Sunday roast that carves like steak → Tri Tip
Kebabs & skewers → Sirloin Tip Roast or Sirloin Steak
Churrasco on the grill → Picanha
Beef Stroganoff → Filet Mignon, diced
Osso bucco → Osso Bucco (Shank)
Roast beef sandwiches → Rump Roast, sliced thin
Sunday pot roast → Chuck Roast or Shoulder Roast
Liver & onions → Beef Liver
Rendering tallow → Packaged Fat
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Hot & Fast

Grill or sear — high, dry heat, then rest

Ribeye

Premium

Our most marbled steak — rich, beefy, forgiving.

Cook it · Hot and fast; pull at medium-rare. Good at any temperature, but the rarer it is, the juicier.

Make it · A steakhouse dinner, or shaved thin for a Philly cheesesteak.

★ From the family

Try a dry brine: salt the steaks thoroughly and rest them uncovered in the fridge overnight, or at least 2 hours. Season again as you cook, and finish with a pat of compound butter — herbs whipped into softened butter, whatever flavors you like — melting over the top before serving.

NY Strip

Premium

Firm, beefy, classic.

Cook it · Sear hard; don’t push past medium. The more done it gets, the less juicy and the tougher.

Make it · A steakhouse dinner, or slice it into strips.

★ From the family

This is a great steak for any meal built on beef strips — slice it thin and it shines in pasta dishes, potato dishes, and rice dishes.

T-Bone

Premium

Two steaks on one bone — NY Strip on the big side, filet on the small.

Cook it · Sear hard, then finish with indirect heat. The filet side cooks faster, so angle it away from the hottest part of the fire.

Make it · A steakhouse dinner for one, with a bone to gnaw on.

Filet Mignon

Premium

Lean, tender, mild — very little fat.

Cook it · High heat, rare to medium-rare only.

Make it · A steakhouse dinner, or diced into other dishes.

★ From the family

Best medium-rare to medium — there’s so little fat that it can taste dry cooked any further. Beyond a steak, dice it for Beef Stroganoff, or use it in any pasta dish that calls for cubed or strip beef.

Chuck Eye Steak

Workhorse

The “poor man’s ribeye” — the same muscle, one cut up the shoulder.

Cook it · Just like a ribeye; best at medium-rare.

Make it · A great steak on a smaller budget.

Flatiron

Workhorse

From the shoulder — the second-most-tender cut on the steer.

Cook it · Hot sear; trim the line of sinew down the center.

Make it · A great everyday grilling steak, easy on the budget.

Denver Steak

Workhorse

Marbled, tender, and underrated — cut from the chuck.

Cook it · Sear hot and fast like a sirloin; slice against the grain.

Make it · A great steak on a smaller budget.

Sirloin Steak

Premium

Lean, full-flavored, and the best value on the steak list.

Cook it · Sear and rest; don’t overcook.

Make it · Kebabs and skewers, shaved thin for a Philly, or a budget steakhouse plate.

Tri Tip

Premium

A roast that grills like a giant steak — eats like a leaner sirloin.

Cook it · Reverse-sear whole, then slice thin against the grain.

Make it · A Sunday roast that carves like steak, or diced into chili and other beef-cube dishes.

★ From the family

Go Santa Maria style: coat it heavily in salt, pepper, and garlic and cook over charcoal until a good crust forms and it hits about 125–130°F (medium to medium-rare). Rest, then cut against the grain. It’s also really good diced into chili.

Picanha

Premium

The top-sirloin cap with the fat left on — the Brazilian steakhouse cut.

Cook it · Score the fat cap, grill, and slice across the grain.

Make it · Churrasco on the grill.

★ From the family

Big beef flavor and a good tender bite — but how you slice it makes the difference. Watch a quick video on cutting picanha before your first one; that’s what gets you the tender bite you’re after.

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Bold & Lean

Marinate, sear fast, slice thin across the grain

Flank Steak

Workhorse

Strong, long grain; lean and bold.

Cook it · Marinate, grill hot and fast, slice thin against the grain.

Make it · Fajitas, carne asada, or sliced thin for stir-fry.

Outside Skirt Steak

Workhorse

The fajita and carne asada cut — loose grain, extra beefy.

Cook it · Very hot, very fast; slice thin across the grain.

Make it · Fajitas and carne asada.

★ From the family

This is the Argentine asado cut, the entraña — so treat it that way. Grill it hot, then spoon a bright chimichurri over it the second it comes off the heat. Put a provoleta (grilled provolone) on the side and you’ve got the real thing.

Sirloin Tip Roast

Workhorse

Lean and firm, cut from the hip.

Cook it · Roast it whole, or slice thin for stir-fry and kebabs.

Make it · Beef tips and gravy, stir-fry, kebabs and skewers.

Fajita Meat

Workhorse

Already sliced into strips — the prep is done.

Cook it · Very hot, very fast. Get the skillet screaming, work in batches so it sears instead of steams.

Make it · Fajitas, of course — but also stir-fry, steak tacos, or a rice bowl.

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Low & Slow

Braise, smoke & stew — moisture and time, not a quick steak

Chuck Tender

Workhorse

Not tender, despite the name — a lean braising roast.

Cook it · Low and slow with liquid only. Don’t grill it.

Make it · Pot roast, birria, or barbacoa.

Brisket

Workhorse

Big and collagen-rich.

Cook it · Smoke or braise 10–14 hours; patience turns the collagen to silk.

Make it · Smoked brisket.

Short Ribs

Workhorse

Rich and meaty on the bone.

Cook it · Braise until fork-tender, or smoke low and slow until it falls off the bone.

Make it · Braised or BBQ short ribs, birria, or barbacoa.

Stew Meat

Workhorse

Trimmed pieces built for liquid.

Cook it · Brown first, then simmer in liquid until tender.

Make it · Beef stew, chunky chili, soups, beef tips and gravy.

Beef Tongue

Specialty

Tender and mild once it’s cooked down.

Cook it · Simmer or braise until tender, peel, then slice.

Make it · Tacos de lengua.

Chuck Roast

Workhorse

The classic Sunday pot roast.

Cook it · Sear it hard, then braise covered at 300°F for 3–4 hours until it shreds with a fork.

Make it · Pot roast with carrots and potatoes, or shredded for sandwiches.

Shoulder Roast

Workhorse

Leaner than the chuck, but it still wants time.

Cook it · Low and moist — braise or slow-cook. It will dry out if you roast it hot and dry.

Make it · Braised roast, or shredded for tacos and sandwiches.

Rump Roast

Workhorse

Lean rear-leg roast with real beef flavor.

Cook it · Roast low (275°F) to medium-rare, no further — pull at 130°F and rest. Slice thin against the grain.

Make it · Roast beef for sandwiches, or a Sunday roast that carves clean.

Osso Bucco (Shank)

Specialty

Cross-cut shank, marrow bone in the middle — the whole point.

Cook it · Brown it, then braise covered in wine and stock for 2½–3 hours until it falls off the bone.

Make it · Classic osso bucco over risotto or polenta, finished with gremolata. Dig the marrow out.

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Everyday

Pan, grind & stock

Cube Steak

Workhorse

Already tenderized and ready to go.

Cook it · Quick pan-fry, or smother and braise.

Make it · Chicken-fried steak.

Ground Beef

Ground

The everyday workhorse of the freezer.

Cook it · Cook through to 160°F.

Make it · Burgers, tacos, sloppy joes, meat sauce, chili, meatloaf.

Patty Pack

Ground

Pre-formed burgers, ready when you are.

Cook it · Straight to the grill or griddle; cook through to 160°F.

Make it · Burgers, fast.

Soup Bones

Specialty

The start of any good stock.

Cook it · Roast first, then simmer low and long.

Make it · Rich stock and bone broth.

Beef Liver

Specialty

Old-school, iron-rich, and cheap protein done right.

Cook it · Slice thin and cook FAST — 2 minutes a side, still pink inside. Overcook it and it turns to shoe leather. Soak in milk 30 minutes first to mellow it.

Make it · Liver and onions, or blitzed into a pâté.

Packaged Fat

Specialty

Trim fat, packaged for rendering.

Cook it · Render it: cube small, melt low and slow (225°F) for a few hours, strain. Store the tallow in the fridge.

Make it · Beef tallow for frying, roasting potatoes, or searing steaks.

No cuts match that search. Try a cut name like “brisket” or a dish like “chili.”
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A word on doneness

Pull tender steaks at 130–135°F for medium-rare and rest them five minutes — they keep climbing off the heat. Cook ground beef to 160°F. When in doubt, ask us; we cook these every week.

Don’t see your dish? Ask us at the market or give us a call — we’ll point you to the right cut.