Philippine Cuisine: Identifying Prime Beef Cuts

Many Philippine native recipes and native cuisines are either enhanced with natural beef flavor or made primarily of beef. In cooking any beef or beefy recipe (casseroles, steaks, stews, grills barbecues) it’s also important to know what beef part should be bought.

The rib. Beef rib section is just at the back of a cow’s shoulders. It is almost in the mid section of a cow’s body. Beef ribs are extra delicious, very tender, and brings out the full savor of beef. They are best for beef native recipes that include boiling, grilling, roasting, and barbecuing. The stew of boiled beef ribs is perfect for all stewed beef native cuisines. Usually, in Philippine wet markets, beef ribs easily run out of stock. So the best option in buying them is go very early in the morning or have an order reserved in the evening for tomorrow.

Beef sirloin. Beef sirloins come from the lower mid section of a cow’s body. It has parts of the backbone and some portions of the hip bone. This beef part is also very tender, savory, and contains less fat. Native recipes for grilling, boiling, and frying are best with beef sirloins. Native cuisines like Beef Michado, SInigang Beef, Boiled or Beef Nilaga, and Beef Caldereta go well with sirloins. This beef part is also perfect for fried Beef Tapa and native cuisine Bistek.

Beef round cuts. This beef part is found in the leg part of the cow, with the shank and also part of the tailbone. Beef round cuts from the rear legs are more tender than those from the front legs. This beef part also has less fat and best for boiled native recipes. Native cuisines like Beef Nilaga and Beef Morcon are best cook with this main ingredient.

Beef brisket and Shank. This beef portion is found between the neck and front legs of the cow. Included with this part is the breast. Briskets are often tough and fatty. They are excellent for prolonged and slow cooking of stewed native recipes like Kare-Kare, Beef Nilaga, Beef Sinigang, and Beef Picadiso. Shanks, in contrast, are a bit more tender choice cuts and also best for shorter-time boiling of stewed native cuisines like some other Beef Nilaga versions and Beef Pochero.

Cooking native recipes for beefs also involves a basic knowledge of beef choice parts. Often, a particular beef cut goes more excellently with a particular native cuisine than other beef portions.