Part of the series: The Nigerian Awakening: Changing the Face of Meat in the Powerhouse of Africa
English version Beef Cuts
This is the first in our series of resources for the butchery manager, deboners and store managers. The deboners must be able to debone, but it is extremely valuable for everybody on the team to have a basic understanding of the different cuts. I suggest that you bookmark these and review them whenever you cannot sleep at night. Every time you see it, you will notice something new. This goes for novices and seasoned professionals.
Hindquarter
Cutting out the flank and fillet
Step 1: Start with Flank Just above the rump. Use hand saw to get through the last bit.
Step 2: Remove kidney fat (goes to Njama Chomma Sausage)
Step 3: Remove fillet – cut and pull down – cut and pull down.
Separate topside, silverside, and rump
Take Topside, Silverside, Thick flank and Rump to the bandsaw and complete.
Step 1: Mark the Rump just off the last backbone and cut sirloin steak and separate rump and sirloin steak;
Step 2: While at bandsaw, cut knuckle up
Step 3: At deboning table, bone out sirloin steaks. Remove excess fat;
Cleaning the bones
Clean the bones and sell what is left as meaty soup bones.
The rump
Step 1: Remove the hip bone
Step 2: Trim off the fat
Step 3: Separate fat and meat in trim
The hip bone will be sold as meaty bones.
Rump, part 2
Remember, this fat is worth a lot more than kidney fat! Don’t mix it! Notice how Gavin keeps the trim and fat separate. It would have been better to have two crates or two bags and to put the meat trim and fat separately directly into bags or crates to keep the work area clean and tidy.
Rump, part 3.
Kobus warns of a suicide-trim where you cut/ trim too much. This meat is valuable and you should not trim too much!
Cleaning the Fillet
Boning the meat closest to the tail – Topside
Notice the bag for the fat.
For roast or pastrami, leave the cap on. For biltong, remove the cap. Otherwise, in the drying stage, the cap will pull loose. One correction from what we said in the video, biltong is a high risk product. It is ready to eat.
Silverside 1
Topside and silverside are the usual cuts for biltong.
Remove the knuckle part.
Remove the eyepiece.
Silverside 2
Thick flank/ knuckle Cut for Roast
Rest of the knuckle
Cut knuckle for a roast.
I talk about the knuckle, but it’s the hind shank or leg. Gavin cuts the sirloin in two to make a roast. Another way to do it.
The hind shank is cut from the leg above the knee to the shoulder or hip. On the forequarter, it is located beneath the brisket. Both are referred to as the shank or the front is called the shank and the rear, beef leg.
Cutting a sirloin roast
Forequarter
Blade, Neck, knuckle, neck steak, bolar, ribeye
Ribeye and prime rib steak.
Ribeye
Sausage meat
Conclusion
There are many cuts that I did not feature in this short review. Meat cutting is an art and a science. As in every art, discipline and practice are key. Every day the desire must be to perform your art better, with greater skill. I will feature different Nigerian butchers on this page and allow the public to get to know the people responsible for bringing them excellent meat at affordable prices! This is only the beginning. If you are aware of a colleague doing remarkable work, please WhatsApp me on +27715453029 or mail me at ebenvt@gmail.com.
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Featured Image Reference
https://kamikoto.com/blogs/fundamentals/comprehensive-guide-to-deboning-meat