Ever wonder where your T-Bone Steak or the juicy sirloin tips you had for dinner the other night come from? While most meat eaters know that both a filet mignon and a burger come from a cow, the majority don’t give too much thought to where each meat cut comes from the cow.
The USDA estimates that cattle stocks in the USA run between 94,000-95,000 animals (2018/2019 data). While it’s true that many American’s have cut back on beef consumption, beef remains a central part of the diet in the US as the average American still consumes well in excess of 50 pounds of beef in a year. In 2017, American meat companies produced 26.3 billion pounds of beef at 835 federally inspected, livestock slaughter plants in the U.S.
So while nearly all Americans will continue to visit their grocery store or butcher to buy their beef cuts wrapped up in plastic or paper , it’s good to know where each cut belongs on the cow. Visual.ly has produced a this infographic that shows you where the most popular retail cuts belong as well as their relative costs and best cooking methods for each cut.
