Imagine calling a butcher and saying:
“I want steaks.”
Okay.
What kind?
“Good ones.”
Still not helping.
How thick?
Bone-in or boneless?
How many people are you feeding?
Are you grilling them?
Pan-searing them?
Do you want individual steaks or something big enough to feed a crowd?
And what should happen to everything that isn't a steak?
Because when you're having a quarter, half or whole cow processed, your butcher isn't simply asking what cuts you want.
They're trying to figure out what you're going to do with the beef.
And those are two very different questions.
FIRST, A CUT SHEET ISN’T REALLY A MENU
This is probably the biggest misconception about custom beef processing.
A cut sheet can look a lot like an order form.
Ribeye.
New York Strip.
Filet.
T-Bone.
Chuck Roast.
Short Ribs.
Brisket.
Ground Beef.
Check the boxes you want.
Done.
Except...
That's not how a cow works.
You're not ordering individual products from an unlimited warehouse.
You're giving a butcher instructions for how to divide:
One animal.
University of Missouri Extension explains that during fabrication, the carcass is divided into primal cuts, which are then turned into steaks, roasts, ground beef and specialty products. The cut sheet tells the processor how you want those sections used, including preferences such as steak thickness, roast size, package size and bone-in versus boneless cuts.
Which means every box you check has consequences somewhere else.
SO A BETTER QUESTION MIGHT BE:
What do you like to cook?
Now we're getting somewhere.
Do you grill all summer?
Do you use a smoker?
Do you make Sunday pot roast?
Do you cook for two people?
A family of six?
Do you make a lot of tacos?
Stew?
Stir-fry?
Do you own a slow cooker?
Do you want quick weeknight dinners?
Or are you the person who happily babysits a brisket for 12 hours?
Those answers tell a good butcher something incredibly useful.
How this animal should become food in your house.
BECAUSE THE SAME PIECE OF ANIMAL CAN SOMETIMES BECOME DIFFERENT THINGS
This is where butchering gets fascinating.
Take a section of beef and there may be several ways to fabricate it.
It might become:
Steaks.
Roasts.
Smaller specialty cuts.
Stew meat.
Ground beef.
Bone-in cuts.
Boneless cuts.
But you don't necessarily get the maximum amount of all of them.
One custom butcher's cut-sheet guidance puts it very simply: selecting more roasts from a subprimal means less of that section is available for steaks, and vice versa.
Same cow.
Different decisions.
That's why telling your butcher what you actually cook can be more useful than simply handing over a list of cut names you recognize.
LET’S SAY YOU LOVE TO GRILL
Great.
Tell your butcher.
Because now we know what you're trying to accomplish.
You're probably going to value cuts suited to relatively quick, dry-heat cooking.
Ribeye.
New York Strip.
Filet.
Top Sirloin.
Flat Iron.
Denver.
Skirt.
Flank.
Depending on the exact cut, some may benefit from marinating or particular slicing techniques, but you're building a freezer around food you're actually going to cook.
University of Minnesota Extension, for example, lists grilling and skillet cooking among appropriate methods for several thinner, less-familiar beef cuts and emphasizes preparation techniques such as removing tough membranes, marinating certain cuts and slicing across the grain.
Suddenly:
“We grill a lot.”
is useful information.
NOW LET’S SAY YOU LOVE YOUR SLOW COOKER
Different conversation.
You may actually want cuts another person would consider less desirable.
Chuck Roast.
Round Roast.
Shank.
Brisket.
Cuts with more connective tissue can become wonderful when given the cooking method they need.
Kansas State explains that tougher cuts benefit from low-and-slow cooking because time allows collagen in the muscle structure to convert into soft gelatin. That's how a tough cut such as Brisket can eventually become fork-tender.
So when somebody says:
“I don't want tough cuts.”
the butcher might hear:
“Maybe nobody has explained how to cook them yet.”
Because toughness isn't necessarily a flaw.
Sometimes it's an instruction.
THIS IS ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT THINGS TO UNDERSTAND ABOUT BEEF
The cooking method and the cut have to make sense together.
Tender cuts generally work beautifully with dry heat.
Grilling.
Broiling.
Pan-searing.
Roasting.
Cuts with more connective tissue often benefit from:
Time.
Lower temperatures.
Moisture.
University of Nebraska Extension gives a perfect example: a collagen-rich round steak cooked on a grill became extremely tough, while that same kind of cut could be tenderized and cooked slowly with moisture for a completely different result.
The steak wasn't necessarily bad.
The plan was bad.
YOUR BUTCHER CAN’T CHANGE ANATOMY
This keeps coming up in The Beef Report because it's the answer to so many beef questions.
A butcher can't turn every part of the animal into a Ribeye.
They can't make more Tenderloin.
They can't make the chuck become the loin.
And they can't remove the biological differences between individual muscles.
But a skilled butcher can work with that anatomy.
That's the craft.
Knowing:
What should stay whole.
What should become a steak.
What should become a roast.
What connective tissue should be removed.
Which muscles can be separated.
What should be sliced.
What should be cubed.
And what makes the most sense to grind.
The animal sets the boundaries.
The butcher decides how to work within them.
HERE’S A GREAT EXAMPLE: THE CHUCK
A lot of people hear:
Chuck
and think:
Ground Beef.
Or:
Chuck Roast.
Fair enough.
But the chuck contains a whole collection of muscles.
And some of them are surprisingly tender.
Flat Iron comes from the chuck.
Denver Steak comes from the chuck.
Chuck Eye comes from the chuck.
Other portions make fantastic roasts or ground beef.
University of Minnesota notes that the top blade from the chuck contains some of the more tender muscles and can be fabricated into Flat Iron Steaks.
So imagine two customers.
Customer #1 says:
“We love trying different steaks.”
Customer #2 says:
“We make pot roast constantly and don't really care about specialty steaks.”
Same animal.
Same chuck.
Potentially very different cutting decisions.
That's why the conversation matters.
STEAK THICKNESS MATTERS TOO
Here's another one people don't always think about until the beef is already frozen.
How thick do you want your steaks?
Half an inch?
One inch?
An inch and a half?
Two inches?
That decision affects more than appearance.
It changes:
How many individual steaks you receive.
How quickly they cook.
How easy they are to overcook.
How you may choose to prepare them.
And possibly how many people one steak feeds.
Missouri Extension specifically identifies steak thickness as one of the preferences communicated through a custom cut sheet.
Want thick steakhouse-style Ribeyes?
Great.
You're going to get fewer of them.
Want thinner steaks?
You'll get more individual steaks from the same length of muscle.
We didn't create or lose beef.
We changed how it was portioned.
PACKAGE SIZE MATTERS MORE THAN PEOPLE THINK
This one has almost nothing to do with meat science.
It has everything to do with whether you enjoy owning a freezer full of beef.
Suppose there are two people in your household.
And every package contains four steaks.
That's going to get annoying pretty quickly.
Or maybe you're feeding five people every night and all your ground beef is packaged in tiny portions.
Also annoying.
That's why custom processing instructions can include:
Steaks per package.
Ground-beef package size.
Roast size.
Other portion preferences.
Your butcher isn't being nosy when they ask:
“How many people are you feeding?”
They're trying to keep you from defrosting four pounds of beef every time you want dinner for two.
ROAST SIZE IS A REAL DECISION
Same idea.
Imagine receiving an enormous roast.
Looks impressive.
Until you realize:
There are two of you.
Now you're eating pot roast until Thursday.
A family feeding six people may want that roast.
A couple may prefer smaller ones.
A person who entertains frequently might want a few larger pieces specifically for gatherings.
Again:
Same amount of beef.
Different way of dividing it.
This is why the best custom processing conversation isn't:
“What cuts are popular?”
It's:
“How do you eat?”
DO YOU OWN A SMOKER?
Tell your butcher.
Seriously.
Because that immediately changes the conversation.
Brisket becomes obvious.
Short ribs become interesting.
Certain roasts may become more useful.
You may want larger pieces left intact rather than divided into smaller portions.
Someone who loves barbecue can find tremendous value in parts of the animal another customer may have no idea what to do with.
And that's exactly the point.
There isn't one perfect cutting sheet.
There's a cutting sheet that fits the person eating the beef.
DO YOU MAKE A LOT OF STEW?
Tell them.
Do you make fajitas?
Tell them.
Do you love stir-fry?
Tell them.
Want soup bones?
Tell them.
Want marrow bones?
Tell them.
Want liver?
Heart?
Tongue?
Tell them.
Want as much ground beef as possible because your kids live on hamburgers and tacos?
Definitely tell them.
Missouri Extension specifically advises direct-from-farm beef buyers to think about which cuts they're actually likely to use and whether unfamiliar products should be retained or converted to ground meat.
That's incredibly practical advice.
Because the goal isn't to leave the butcher shop with the most impressive-looking cutting sheet.
The goal is to eat the cow.
LET’S TALK ABOUT GROUND BEEF
We just did an entire Beef Report about 80/20 ground beef.
But here's another reason ground beef matters.
Grinding gives you flexibility.
There may be cuts that could remain whole.
But if you know you're never going to cook them?
Ground beef may be far more useful to you.
That isn't "wasting" the cut.
It's almost the opposite.
Imagine keeping a roast because:
“Apparently I'm supposed to get this roast.”
Then it sits in your freezer for two years because you never cook roasts.
What did we accomplish?
If that beef had instead gone into hamburger you would use every week, that might have been the better decision for your household.
BUT THERE’S ANOTHER SIDE TO THAT
Don't grind everything simply because you don't recognize its name.
Ask.
This is where a knowledgeable butcher can introduce you to some of the best parts of the animal.
You may say:
“I don't know what a Flat Iron is. Just grind it.”
And your butcher may say:
“Hold on.”
Because Flat Iron is an exceptionally tender steak when properly fabricated.
Same with some other less-famous cuts.
That's one of the advantages of having an actual conversation rather than treating the cut sheet like an online quiz.
You know what you like to eat.
The butcher knows the animal.
Put those two pieces of information together.
SOMETIMES YOU DON'T ACTUALLY WANT THE CUT YOU THINK YOU WANT
This might be our favorite part.
Someone says:
“I want steaks.”
Okay.
Why?
“We grill.”
Great.
Do you like fatty steaks?
“No.”
Then maybe loading the freezer with Ribeye isn't your ideal plan.
Do you care most about tenderness?
Do you like stronger beef flavor?
Do you want leaner meat?
Do you marinate?
Are you slicing the steak for tacos?
Are you cooking it whole?
Now we're back to our Which Steak Are You? conversation.
The name of the cut is only useful if it gives you the eating experience you're looking for.
AND SOMETIMES THE BUTCHER NEEDS TO SAVE YOU FROM YOURSELF
This is where a good butcher earns their keep.
Because consumers naturally want to maximize the things they recognize.
More steaks!
Sounds great.
Except not every piece of beef is at its best when treated like a steak.
Missouri's processing guidance notes that portions of the chuck can become steaks or roasts, while shank is commonly used for grinding or cross-cut for soup bones and the plate can provide short ribs before remaining portions are used for ground beef.
There are options.
But options don't mean every option is equally good for every cook.
Sometimes:
“I'd make that a roast.”
is exactly what you want your butcher to tell you.
BECAUSE A BAD CUTTING DECISION CAN LOOK LIKE BAD BEEF
This matters.
Take a muscle with lots of connective tissue.
Cut it into something that looks like a steak.
Cook it quickly over high heat.
Take a bite.
Tough.
Now the conclusion becomes:
“That wasn't very good beef.”
Except the animal may have been excellent.
The butchering decision and cooking method simply didn't match the muscle.
Meat science has long established that naturally tender cuts generally respond well to dry-heat cooking, while less-tender cuts can benefit from slow, moist cooking that softens connective tissue.
Good beef can still be cooked badly.
And good butchering can help prevent that before the beef ever reaches your kitchen.
THIS IS WHY BUTCHERING ISN’T JUST CUTTING
Anybody looking at the finished package sees:
CHUCK ROAST
But there's a whole series of decisions behind that label.
What muscle is this?
How tender is it?
How much connective tissue does it have?
What else could this section become?
What did the customer request?
How big should the roast be?
Should it be bone-in?
Should it be boneless?
How should it be trimmed?
How should it be packaged?
And ultimately:
How is this person probably going to cook it?
That's not just cutting meat.
That's translating an animal into meals.
AND THIS IS SOMETHING OUR BUTCHERS HAVE A UNIQUE PERSPECTIVE ON
At Falula Farm, the people processing the beef aren't disconnected from the animal that arrived at the facility.
They're the same fourth- and fifth-generation father and son who raise the cattle.
They built the USDA-inspected processing facility.
They went back to school to become professional butchers.
And they process the cattle themselves.
That means they understand both sides of this equation.
The animal.
And:
The cut.
When you're working with one animal at a time, the question isn't how to produce thousands of identical boxes of beef.
It's:
What is the best use of what this particular animal gave us?
That's whole-animal butchering.
THIS IS ALSO WHY WE CALL CUSTOMERS BEFORE WE PROCESS THEIR BEEF
If you're buying a quarter, half or whole beef from us, your cutting instructions matter.
We don't want to assume every household cooks the same way.
Because they don't.
Some people want:
Lots of ground beef.
Others want every specialty cut they can get.
Some want thick steaks.
Some want thinner steaks.
Some want large roasts.
Some don't cook roasts at all.
Some want bones.
Some don't.
The right answer depends on the person who's going to open that freezer.
So we ask.
HERE’S WHAT WE’RE QUESTIONING
Why do we ask consumers to fill out a cutting sheet before we've taught them enough about the animal to know what they're choosing?
If you've never purchased a quarter cow before, some of the questions can sound like another language.
Steak thickness?
Roast size?
T-Bone or Strip and Filet?
Short ribs?
Soup bones?
Organ meat?
How many per package?
You're supposed to somehow know the answers.
But maybe the first question shouldn't be:
“How do you want this cow cut?”
Maybe it should be:
“What do you like to cook?”
That's a question almost everyone can answer.
And from there, a good butcher can help translate.
SO BEFORE YOU FILL OUT A CUT SHEET...
Think about your kitchen.
Not the cow.
Ask yourself:
How many people do I normally feed?
How often do we grill?
Do we eat a lot of burgers?
Do I use a slow cooker?
Do I own a smoker?
Do we like roasts?
Do we make tacos, fajitas or stir-fry?
Do I want quick weeknight meals?
Do I like experimenting with unfamiliar cuts?
How much beef do I normally cook at once?
Those answers are surprisingly useful.
Because now the butcher isn't guessing what your freezer should look like.
You're building it around the way you actually live.
THE BEEF REPORT BOTTOM LINE
Your butcher doesn't just need to know:
What cuts do you want?
They need to understand:
What are you going to do with them?
Because a cow doesn't arrive divided into neat little grocery-store packages.
It arrives with anatomy.
Muscles.
Bones.
Fat.
Connective tissue.
And a finite amount of every section.
Some of those muscles make fantastic steaks.
Some make incredible roasts.
Some belong in the smoker.
Some shine after hours of slow cooking.
Some make great stew.
Some are perfect for grinding.
And many can be fabricated in more than one way.
That's where the butcher comes in.
You know your kitchen.
They know the animal.
And when those two conversations come together?
You don't just get a freezer full of beef.
You get a freezer full of beef you actually know what to do with.
So the next time your butcher asks:
“What do you like to cook?”
Don't say:
“Whatever.”
Tell them.
Because that answer may change how your entire cow gets cut.
Know how you cook. Know your butcher. Know your beef.