Know Your Beef

The right beef depends on what you're making.

Cut, marbling, feeding, maturity and how the beef is handled can all affect the result.

Here's what is worth knowing before you choose.

The Foodways Factors

What matters when choosing beef?

These are some of the things worth understanding when choosing beef. They don't tell you what's “best”. They help explain the differences.

Cut

Where the meat comes from affects tenderness, flavour and how it should be cooked.

Marbling

Fat within the muscle can affect richness and juiciness. More isn't automatically better for every use.

Feeding

What the animal was fed can influence flavour and fat characteristics.

Maturity

Age and maturity can affect flavour, texture and tenderness.

Origin

Origin can provide useful context about production and specification, but country alone doesn't determine quality.

How it's processed and handled matters too.

Ageing, cutting, freezing, storage and temperature control can all affect the beef that reaches your kitchen.

Ageing

Can affect tenderness and flavour.

Cutting & Portioning

How a cut is prepared affects how it cooks and what it's suited to.

Freezing & Thawing

Done properly, freezing can preserve quality. Poor handling can compromise it.

Cold Chain & Storage

Temperature control matters from processing through to your kitchen.

Start with what you're cooking.

Some cuts need time. Others need heat.

Steak

Tender cuts suited to quick, high-heat cooking.

Burgers & Mince

Where beef flavour, fat and texture matter differently.

Slow Cooking

Cuts that benefit from time to become tender and develop flavour.

Stir Fry

Cuts suited to slicing thin and cooking quickly.

So, which cut?

Different cuts make sense for different reasons.

Tenderloin

Very tender
Leaner
Mild flavour
Quick, high-heat cooking

Makes sense when: tenderness is the priority

Ribeye

Tender
More marbled
Richer flavour
Quick, high-heat cooking

Makes sense when: you want a richer, juicier steak

Chuck

Less tender
Beefier flavour
Suited to longer cooking or mince

Makes sense for: burgers, mince and slow cooking

The cut is only part of the picture. Marbling, maturity, feeding and how the beef has been processed and handled can mean that two products of the same cut are still quite different.

None is simply “better”. The right choice depends on what you're making and what you want from it.

Ready to choose?

Now that you know what to look for, explore the beef available at Foodways.

Shop Beef