If you want to make the most of your organic meat, it’s a good idea to brush up on the different cuts available.
Having the right cut for the dish you want to create is essential for getting the right flavours, texture and taste into the finished results.
Some cuts are perfect for roasting, for example, while others are more suited to slow cooking or stewing. If you want to impress everyone at your next dinner party or barbecue with your culinary skills, here’s a quick refresher on the types of cuts to look out for when purchasing organic beef.
Fantastic fast-cooking cuts
If you need your free-range meat to be cooked through quickly, you’ll definitely want to go for a steak.
Fillet, rump, rib-eye/scotch, sirloin or T-Bone steaks tend to be the cuts that cook the fastest, as they come from the animal’s centre or middle area, which is naturally tender with lower levels of collagen and elastin.
These cuts are great for pan-frying, so you’ll need just a couple of minutes on medium or high heat to produce a beautifully rare steak. As always, remember to rest the meat before you serve it so it has time to really lock in all those delicious juices.
Roast-ready meat
When you need something for a slow roast in the oven, it’s best to opt for a rib-eye, prime rib, thick flank, topside, spare ribs, wing rib, fillet, rump or chuck cut.
A good tip to check if your roast is ready is to look at the colour of the juices. Grab a skewer and pierce the meat gently. Red juices mean it’s been cooked rare, pink means medium and clear juices signal that the meat is well done.
Spectacular slow-cooking cuts
If you have the time to spend on it, slow-cooking your meat carefully can result in exceptionally tender beef. The best cuts for this are the blade, brisket, corned silverside, chuck steaks, flank skirt, spare ribs, shin and oxtail.
