Ribeye, sirloin, skirt, and ground beef — these are all cuts of beef, but do you know how to use them? According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the United States is the world’s largest consumer of beef, and the ways you can enjoy it are endless. Are you a “well done” person or more of a medium rare? Whether you like your beef to still be “mooing” when you eat it or not, you may prefer different cuts to a different temperature.
Since May is Beef Month, I wanted to share some of my favorites.
First, look at the main cuts below, each of these is then put into more specific cuts:
Ribeye
This comes from the “rib” section in the picture above. It can be cut into a steak or roast. The steak is best for grilling. The cuts are large and don’t have as much fat because it comes from the back of cattle. The ribeye roast is a classic holiday roast due to its size and savory, fine-texture. In charge of the next holiday dinner for the first time after another family member has been for years? Make sure your roast impresses just as much as theirs, use this recipe:
Ribeye Roast with Dijon Crust and Roasted Green Beans
Sirloin
There are many cuts that come from the sirloin — sirloin tip steak and sirloin tip roast are just two examples. The sirloin tip steak is family friendly because it can be cooked as a steak but also made into kabobs, stew meat or cubed steak pieces. This single beef cut can be used in multiple recipes, like the one below. The sirloin tip roast is a boneless, lean cut that can be roasted and carved into thin slices for barbecue.
Sweet Sesame Glazed Beef Kabobs
Skirt
Due to its robust flavor profile and thinness, the outside and inside skirt are best used for stir fry and fajitas. This comes from the diaphragm muscle attached to the sixth through 12th rib on the underside of the plate. With 25g of protein and less than 250 calories, you can add the veggies you like or follow this delicious recipe!
Ground Beef
With its versatility, ground beef is perfect for entrees and appetizers. This cut can come from any part of the boneless beef carcass. It can be used for burgers, tacos or wraps. Cook a bunch of ground beef at once and you can create different recipes with it throughout the week like aloha beef sliders, classic cheeseburgers, beef and ramen lettuce wraps, personal beef pizzas, and more!
Beef is a great source of protein and has 10 essential nutrients (such as zinc), which support an active, healthy lifestyle. A BeefWise study, conducted by the University of Colorado Anschutz Health and Wellness Center, demonstrated that eating lean beef four or more times a week, combined with physical exercise, can help people lose weight and fat while maintaining lean muscle. This study also showed that lean beef is just as effective as other protein choices in promoting heart health.
Beef is a wonderful, versatile source of protein. Additionally, the beef industry totaled at $72.9 billion in 2021. How crazy is that! Remember in the beginning when I said the U.S. is the largest beef consumer in the world? It is also the largest producer of beef in the world reaching 1.47 million metric tons exported in 2022.
Make sure you support beef producers this month and every month!
Michelle Miller, the “Farm Babe,” is an internationally recognized keynote speaker, writer, and social media influencer and travels full time to advocate for agriculture. She comes from an Iowa-based row crop and livestock farming background and now resides on a timber farm in North Central Florida.
