Good butchering reference

[7mmfan]

I've always butchered my own animals, but have always kind of muddled through it, especially when it comes to the hind quarters. I know how to break them down well enough, can usually have it completely broken apart in about 10 minutes or so. But I can rarely remember what muscle groups are what (other than the sirloin because its so identifiable), and what they are good for. Is there a good reference out there I can look at? I found a great youtube video a couple years ago but couldn't seem to track it down this year when I was cutting my bull up.

[Chukarhead]

This is the one I have laminated for annual use.  It's from RMEF/Carnivore's Kitchen:

[Stein]

RMEF is a good guide.  I also have the Outdoor Edge series on DVD and usually watch them once a year just to brush up.  I'm almost at the point where I recognize all the cuts by shape and know where they are.  Actually, all you have to do is remember the premium steak cuts and the rest are roast, pulled meat, stew, jerky or burger depending on your preference.

[7mmfan]

RMEF is a good guide.  I also have the Outdoor Edge series on DVD and usually watch them once a year just to brush up.  I'm almost at the point where I recognize all the cuts by shape and know where they are.  Actually, all you have to do is remember the premium steak cuts and the rest are roast, pulled meat, stew, jerky or burger depending on your preference.

That's what I'm trying to get to. All the muscle groups are quite identifiable, I just don't know how to identify them on memory yet, and I hate getting my phone all messy trying to do it while I'm cutting.

Really hoping to find something similar to what Chukarhead posted, with a breakdown of which cuts are the best steak cuts, and so on and so forth.

[Stein]

Here are two I have in my kitchen, one from a beef website and the other from an old Cabelas mag.



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[Fl0und3rz]

This popped up in my youtube recommendations.

Haven't watched it all, yet.

[7mmfan]

That video was pretty good. I don't often compare beef to deer or elk cuts, I just don't feel that they always translate the same tenderness and flavor. He does a good job of breaking them down and identifying the muscle groups though.

[Stein]

Yeah, you can't compare a grain fed sirloin steak to a rutty old buck sirloin steak but they do give you a relative idea of the tenderness and flavor.  Sirloin is more premium than round but less than backstrap (NY steak and prime rib), no matter what animal it is off.

For me, I use the backstrap and tenderloin for steaks and usually one of the sirloins.  The rest of the middle of the road cuts go into roasts and pulled meat for tacos (neck in particular).  Then, I chunk out stew meat out of all or most of the front quarters and the scraps are ground.  If I need more ground, I'll grind up part of the round.

So, I maximize roast and stew, have a moderate amount for steaks and minimize grind.

This year, I'm going to try to get more fancy if the season turns out well and try standing rib roasts, osso bucco and a few other out of the ordinary ideas.

[7mmfan]

I saved the shanks last year, and they were fantastic. Will never grind another shank. I felt like I was lacking on steaks from this bull, but I saved most of the big muscle groups whole to make jerky or roasts out of, so if I run short, I can cut one up into more steaks.

The oss bucco is amazing.

[Boss .300 winmag]

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