Neck
The neck consists of the neck vertebrae surrounded by a large amount of meat.  It contains a large proportion of white connective tissue, which makes the neck one of the most flavoursome cuts.  The yellow connective tissue (elastin) present must be removed before cooking as it is not made tender by heat.

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Shin

The shin consists of a large proportion of bone and a lot of white connective tissue (collagen), which makes this tough but tasty cut.

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Bolo
The bolo is characterized by the bright red muscle layer (red fleck on fat layer) on top.  It is a boneless cut with a coarse texture and consists of several muscle layers which run in different directions.  The bolo contains very little intramuscular fat.  The different muscle layers can be separated by following natural seams.

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Chuck
The chuck consists of six backbone vertebrae sawn through, six to seven ribs, the shoulder blade, dorsal vertebrae, yellow connective tissue (elastin) and several small muscles which run in different directions.  The texture varies from coarse to fine and so does the tenderness.

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Flat rib
This cut contains ribs with two thin muscle layers separated by a layer of connective tissue and fat.


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Brisket
This flavoursome cut with a coarse texture contains the breastbone and a few ribs.  The brisket can be divided into the point brisket, middle cut and plate.

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Prime rib
The prime rib consists of dorsal vertebrae, backbone vertebrae, three ribs, the large eye muscle, smaller muscle layers and an even outer fat layer of fat.

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Thin flank
The flank consists of a boneless section and a few ribs known as short rib.  The whole cut is covered with a thick layer of connective tissue (elastin) which must be removed before cooking.

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Wing rib
As in the case of the prime rib, the wing rib consists of the backbone, three or four ribs, the large eye muscle and an even covering of fat.


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Sirloin (T-bone)
The characteristic feature of the sirloin is the backbone vertebrae with the T-bone.  The T-bone is flanked on one side by the red eye muscle with its even fat covering and on the other by the fillet.  The sirloin contains no ribs.

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Rump
The rump consists of several loose muscle layers and the large pelvic bone.  A section of the fillet is also situated in the rump.


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Fillet
The fillet, situated inside the carcase alongside the backbone and protected by the layer of kidney fat, runs from the sirloin to the rump.  The fillet becomes larger towards the rump.  This meat cut is boneless, almost without fat and the most tender cut in the carcase.

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Topside
A characteristic feature of this cut is the thick half moon-shaped fat layer.  Just below the fat layer is a thin flat muscle and below that two thicker muscle layers.  The topside is boneless, has a coarse texture and is tasty.

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Silverside
The silverside consists of three parallel muscles:  a round muscle, which is covered with a silvery layer of connective tissue, rectangular muscle and a small triangular muscle.  The meat of silverside has a coarse texture with little intramuscular fat.

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Aitchbone
The aitchbone forms part of the silverside and contains the tail-bone.  It has a coarse texture with little intramuscular fat (marbling).


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Thick flank
The thick flank consists of three muscles.  The inner muscle, also known as the mock fillet, is the most tender.


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