Today, cattle breeding for the sake of meat is one of the most promising types of business. The main reason for interest is the high cost of beef in the market.
Unfortunately, not all farmers understand what the beef chopping scheme is. If this procedure is not carried out correctly, you can spoil the main part of the carcass. Therefore, it is necessary to carefully study the scheme for cutting beef, which will be presented in the article.
Main parts
Directly to the cutting, you must proceed after removing the skin and removing all the insides. The beef cutting scheme implies the initial division of the carcass into two parts. After this, the carcasses are divided into cuts, which will be easier to crumble and strip. Beef cutting scheme consists of several stages.
First stage
The half is divided in half. A sharp knife cuts the flank along the line of the last rib to the spine. This is done in such a way as to free the bone from muscle tissue. Next, you need to cut the ridge between the 13th and 14th vertebrae.
Shovel
We proceed to the second step. From the half-carcass it is necessary to cut the scapula. This is done as follows: initially, the muscles that connect the scapular bone to the sternum are gently separated, and then the tissue under the shoulder bone is trimmed.
Neck
Next, carefully process this part. With the help of a chopper, meat is cut along a line that starts from the sternum and ends at the first vertebra. Then, at the junction of the dorsal and cervical spine, a cut is made.
Breast cut
Next, cut the meat of the front. So we separate the chest cut. On the half-carcass that remains, it is necessary to make a cut of the pulp in the area of the junction of the lumbar and dorsal spine, as well as along the line of the last rib.
Back treatment
A notch is removed along the entire spine. To do this, it must be separated from the ilium. Further, pulling the meat on itself more and more, the deboner separates the tenderloin from each vertebra.
Pelvic part
It must be cut, cutting the ridge in the separation zone of the lumbar and sacral. The inguinal region is separated along the contour of the hind limb.
Lumbar
From the pelvic area, the lumbar is separated with the flank, as well as with the upper costal part, which is called the hem.
Please note that at meat processing enterprises, beef carcasses are not divided into separate components, but only into quarters. It turns out enlarged processing. Only after this is the carcass cutting of beef according to the scheme. Let's consider in order.
To get a quarter, the carcass is cut along the entire length of the ridge. Next, each half-carcass is divided by a cut, starting from the lumbar vertebra and ending with the line of passage of the 13th rib.
The back quarter in the future understands the pelvis with the sacrum, lower back and flank. The remaining front part includes the thoracic region, scapula, back with ribs and neck. As a rule, with such culinary cutting of beef, the weight of the forequarter will be at least 55% of the total mass of carcass.
Boning
Immediately after cutting the main parts of the beef, it is necessary to carry out the finishing process. It is called boning. This procedure consists in separating the pulp from the seeds. It is carried out using special knives. The ideal option is if there is not even the smallest piece of meat left on the bones, and there are no deep cuts on the flesh.
Boning of each area is carried out individually. This procedure is implemented by the following method of cutting beef carcasses:
- The meat of the scapula is first separated from the tendons. After that, with a knife, the muscles are cut off from the radius and ulna. After that, the meat is separated along the entire line of the shoulder. The bone of the scapula is removed. At the end of the process, all veins are cut from the resulting piece of meat.
- From the cervical region, all the flesh is removed in one piece, cut it neatly in places of attachment to the vertebrae.
- The thoracic part is separated from the dorso-thoracic cut in the area of its fusion with the ribs. In this case, a line is made with a knife through the cartilage from the first to the end of the 13th rib of the carcass.
- Thick edge. This piece of muscle tissue is cut off especially carefully. It starts from the 13th rib. Along the line connecting the thick edge with the hem, an almost horizontal cut is made up to the 4th rib. Then the meat is separated by a knife about 3 ribs down, and then again brought horizontally to the first.
- Pulp under the shoulder blade. In fact, it must be removed from the bones simultaneously with the previous part. Only after performing this procedure, the square layer of muscle tissue is separated.
- The edge. It must be carefully cut from the ribs with one whole piece, from which you can then cut the beef into steaks.
- Thin edge. During the separation of this part, it must be carefully trimmed along the ridge. Then the meat is removed from the remaining bones, the flank is removed in parallel.
- Rear pelvic area. The first step in deboning this cut is to separate the tibia from the femur. To do this, in the connection area, you need to remove all the tendons, meat, cut the joint. The ilium is then separated. At the end of the procedure, the meat is incised along the thigh. It is removed when all the flesh has been removed.
It is important to note that after completing this type of cutting of beef, the bones must additionally be cleaned of meat residues.
Stripping
After performing the above steps, the next step should be carried out without fail. This is stripping meat. It involves the removal of veins, residues of fat, cartilage, as well as thick films. During stripping, remove all excess flanges from the pieces.
It is necessary to process almost all layers of meat that were obtained after cutting. During stripping of the neck, it is necessary to remove parts of the periosteum, after which all the tendons. Excess fatty deposits and films should be removed from the meat of the shoulder blade. From the sternum, the remnants of the cartilage connected to the rib, as well as all excess fatty tissue, are cut out. In order to give the thick edge the most attractive appearance, not only veins, but also subtle thin sections should be removed from it.
Particular attention must also be paid to the posterior pelvic cut. The fact is that in the limbs of cattle there are many veins and tendons. In addition, certain fat reserves are concentrated here. All this must be carefully removed from the pulp.
Grade cutting
And what is the cutting of beef by grades? All received parts of meat, depending on taste, structure and other factors, are divided into several varieties: higher, first, second.
The main classification criterion is the presence of thin films and veins. For example, in premium meats such components should be no more than 4% of the total mass of the piece. This category includes:
- Meat from the back.
- Breast.
- Sirloin.
- Rump.
- Shackles.
- Rump.
The pulp, which belongs to the first grade, should contain no more than 5% of connective tissue. This product has a less delicate texture. The first parts should include the following parts:
- Flank.
- The neck.
- Pulp of the shoulder.
- Shovel.
The percentage of vein content in beef of the second grade should be between 10 and 23. This category includes cuts and drumsticks.
It is necessary to pay special attention to the fact that, in addition to quality, the meat variety determines the recommended methods of its heat treatment. For example, meat of the 2nd grade is used for the preparation of rich broths. You can cook a delicious barbecue. As for the pulp of the first and highest grade, it is most often fried, cooked on charcoal or baked.
A bit about juiciness
We’ll give some useful tips on the proper handling of beef meat. The juiciness of the finished dish will directly depend on the fat content of the meat. For example, lean flesh of marbled beef alternates with thin fat veins. This makes the steak taste juicy and tender. For cooking barbecue used second-rate meat, which contains a sufficient amount of fat.
Of great importance in juiciness is also the way of frying. The more moisture the meat in the pan loses, the harder and drier it will be. That is why it is not necessary to prepare a good tenderloin in oil or fat. It is best to fry juicy and fresh meat in a hot dry frying pan for only a few minutes on each side. Salt should only be after the flesh is browned.
Beating meat is best done on a board that is pre-wetted with cold water. The fact is that a dry tree strongly absorbs the pulp juice.