Cuts of beef are first divided into primal cuts, pieces of meat initially separated from the carcass during butchering. These are basic sections from which steaks and other subdivisions are cut. The term “primal cut” is quite different from “prime cut”, used to characterise cuts considered to be of higher quality. Since the animal’s legs and neck muscles do the most work, they are the toughest; the meat becomes more tender as distance from hoof and horn increases. Different countries and cuisines have different cuts and names, and sometimes use the same name for a different cut; e.g., the cut described as “brisket” in the US is from a significantly different part of the carcass than Irish brisket. Have a look at all the beef primal cuts below and also all of the cuts that come from each of these.
Cleaver
A cleaver is a large knife that varies in its shape but usually resembles a rectangular-bladed hatchet. It is largely used as a kitchen or butcher knife intended for hacking through bone. The knife's broad side can also be used for crushing in food preparation, such as garlic.
Chopping Knife
A knife often with a crescent-shaped blade for chopping or mincing (as meat or vegetables).
Lamb Splitter
A knife often with a crescent-shaped blade for splitting and preparing lamb meat.
Skinning Knife
The skinner knife or skinning knife is a professional tool for animal skinning. Typically a skinner knife has wide, short blade. The edge is strong and does not have much flexibility or spring
Steak Knife
A steak knife is a sharp table knife, used for cutting steak. These often feature serrated blades and wooden handles, and are the only professional grade sharp knife commonly found at the modern table.
Honing Steel
A honing steel, sometimes referred to as sharpening steel, sharpening stick, sharpening rod, butcher's steel, and chef's steel is a rod of steel, ceramic or diamond coated steel used to realign blade edges. They are flat, oval, or round in cross-section and up to one foot long (30 cm). The steel and ceramic honing steels may have longitudinal ridges, whereas the diamond coated steels are smooth but will be embedded with abrasive diamond particles.