Beef is the culinary name for meat from bovines, especially domestic cattle. Beef can be harvested from cows, bulls, heifers or steers. It is one of the principal meats used in the cuisine of the Middle East (including Pakistan and Afghanistan), Australia, Argentina, Brazil, Europe and the United States, and is also important in Africa, parts of East Asia, and Southeast Asia. Beef is considered a taboo food in some cultures, especially in Indian culture, and thence is eschewed by Hindus and Jains;[1] it is also discouraged among some Buddhists.
Beef muscle meat can be cut into steak, roasts or short ribs. Some cuts are processed (corned beef or beef jerky), and trimmings, usually mixed with meat from older, leaner cattle, are ground, minced or used in sausages. The blood is used in some varieties of blood sausage. Other parts that are eaten include the oxtail, tongue, tripe from the reticulum or rumen, glands (particularly the pancreas and thymus, referred to as sweetbread), the heart, the brain (although forbidden where there is a danger of bovine spongiform encephalopathy, BSE), the liver, the kidneys, and the tender testicles of the bull (known in the US as calf fries, prairie oysters, or Rocky Mountain oysters). Some intestines are cooked and eaten as-is, but are more often cleaned and used as natural sausage casings. The lungs and the udder are considered unfit for human consumption in the US. The bones are used for making beef stock.
Beef from steers and heifers is equivalent, except for steers having slightly less fat and more muscle, all treatments being equal. Depending on economics, the number of heifers kept for breeding varies. Older animals are used for beef when they are past their reproductive prime. The meat from older cows and bulls is usually tougher, so it is frequently used for mince (UK)/ground beef (US). Cattle raised for beef may be allowed to roam free on grasslands, or may be confined at some stage in pens as part of a large feeding operation called a feedlot (or concentrated animal feeding operation), where they are usually fed a ration of grain, protein, roughage and a vitamin/mineral preblend.
Beef is the third most widely consumed meat in the world, accounting for about 25% of meat production worldwide, after pork and poultry at 38% and 30% respectively.[2] In absolute numbers, the United States, Brazil, and the People's Republic of China are the world's three largest consumers of beef. On a per capita basis in 2009, Argentines ate the most beef at 64.6 kg per person; people in the US ate 40.2 kg, while those in the EU ate 16.9 kg.[3]
The world's largest exporters of beef are Brazil, Australia, and the United States. Beef production is also important to the economies of Argentina, Ireland, Mexico, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Russia, and Uruguay.
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The flesh of bovines has been eaten by hunters from prehistoric times; some of the earliest known cave paintings, such as those of Lascaux show aurochs in hunting scenes. Domestication of cattle occurred around 8000 BC, providing ready access to beef, milk and leather.[4] Most cattle originated in the Old World, with the exception of bison hybrids. Examples include the Wagyū from Japan, Ankole-Watusi from Egypt, and longhorn Zebu from the Indian subcontinent.[5] It is unknown when exactly cooking beef came into being. Cattle were widely used across the Old World for draft animals (oxen), milk production, or specifically for meat production, depending on local needs and resources. With mechanization of farming, some breeds were specifically bred to increase meat yield, like Chianina and Charolais or to improve texture, such as the Murray Grey, Angus or Wagyū. Some breeds (dual-purpose) have been selected for both meat and milk production, e.g. Brown Swiss (Braunvieh).
The word beef is from Latin bovīnus (cognate to beef), in contrast to cow, which is from Middle English "cou" (both words have the same Indo-European root *gʷou-[6]). After the Norman Conquest, the French-speaking nobles who ruled England naturally used French words to refer to the meats they were served. Thus various Anglo-Saxon words were used for the animal (such as nēat, or cu for adult females) by the peasants, but the meat was called boef (ox) (Modern French boeuf) by the French nobles —who did not often deal with the live animal— when it was served to them.
This is one example of the common English dichotomy between the words for animals (with largely Germanic origins) and their meat (with Romanic origins) that is also found in such English word-pairs as pig/pork, sheep/mutton and chicken/poultry.[7]
Beef is first divided into primal cuts. These are basic sections from which steaks and other subdivisions are cut. Since the animal's legs and neck muscles do the most work, they are the toughest; the meat becomes more tender as distance from hoof and horn increases. Different countries and cuisines have different cuts and names, and sometimes use the same name for a different cut.
The American cultural anthropologist Margaret Mead wrote in the American Anthropological Journal of the American Anthropological Association, "cultures that divide and cut beef specifically to consume are the Koreans and the Bodi tribe in East Africa. The French and English make 35 differentiations to the beef cuts, 51 cuts for the Bodi tribe, while the Koreans differentiate beef cuts into a staggering 120 different parts."
See the external links section below for links to more beef cut charts and diagrams.
The following is a list of the American primal cuts. Beef carcasses are split along the axis of symmetry into "halves", then across into front and back "quarters" (forequarters and hindquarters). Canada uses identical cut names (and numbering) as the U.S. system, except the part designated as "round" is known as "hip" in the Canadian system.[8]
In the United States, the USDA Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) operates a voluntary beef grading program. The meat processor pays for a trained AMS meat grader to grade whole carcasses at the abattoir. Users are required to comply with Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) grade labeling procedures. The official USDA grade designation can appear in one or any combination of the following ways: container markings, individual bags, legible roller brand appearing on the meat itself, or by a USDA shield stamp that incorporates the quality and/or yield grade.
There are eight beef quality grades. The grades are based on two main criteria: the degree of marbling (intramuscular fat) in the beef, and the maturity (estimated age of the animal at slaughter). Some meat scientists object to the current scheme of USDA grading since it is not based on direct measurement of tenderness, although marbling and maturity are indicators of tenderness. Most other countries' beef grading systems mirror the US model. Most beef offered for sale in supermarkets is graded US Choice or Select. US Prime beef is sold to hotels and upscale restaurants. Beef that would rate as US Standard or less is almost never offered for grading.
Utility, Cutter, and Canner grade are rarely used in foodservice operations and primarily used by processors and canners.
There are five beef yield grades - 1 to 5, which estimate the yield of saleable product, with YG 1 having the highest and YG 5 the lowest. Although consumers rarely see or are aware of it, yield grade was an important marketing tool for packers and retailers. The conversion from carcass and bone-in primals to boneless, trimmed cuts has reduced the importance.
Traditionally, beef sold in steakhouses and supermarkets has been advertised by its USDA grade; however, many restaurants and retailers have recently begun advertising beef on the strength of brand names and the reputation of a specific breed of cattle, such as black Angus.[12][13]
To improve tenderness of beef, it often is aged (i.e., stored refrigerated) to allow endogenous proteolytic enzymes to weaken structural and myofibrillar proteins. Wet aging is accomplished using vacuum packaging to reduce spoilage and yield loss. Dry aging involves hanging primals (usually ribs or loins) in humidity-controlled coolers. Outer surfaces dry out and can support growth of molds (and spoilage bacteria, if too humid), resulting in trim and evaporative losses. Evaporation concentrates the remaining proteins and increases flavor intensity; the molds can contribute a nut-like flavor. The majority of the tenderizing effect occurs in the first 10 days, although two to three days allow significant effects. Boxed beef, stored and distributed in vacuum packaging, is, in effect, wet aged during distribution. Premium steakhouses dry age for 21 to 28 days or wet age up to 45 days for maximum effect on flavor and tenderness. Meat from less tender cuts or older cattle can be mechanically tenderized by forcing small, sharp blades through the cuts to disrupt the proteins. Also, solutions of exogenous proteolytic enzymes (papain, bromelin or ficin) can be injected to augment the endogenous enzymes. Similarly, solutions of salt and sodium phosphates can be injected to soften and swell the myofibrillar proteins. This improves juiciness and tenderness. Salt can improve the flavor, but phosphate can contribute a soapy flavor.
| Method | Description |
|---|---|
| Grilling | is cooking the beef over or under a high radiant heat source, generally in excess of 650 °F (343 °C). This leads to searing of the surface of the beef, which creates a flavorful crust. In the U.S.A., Australia, Canada, the UK and Germany, grilling, particularly over charcoal, is sometimes known as barbecuing, often shortened to "BBQ". When cooked over charcoal, this method can also be called charbroiling. |
| Broiling | is similar to grilling, but specifically with the heat source above the meat. Outside North America, this is known as grilling. |
| Roasting | is a way of cooking meat in a hot oven, producing roast beef. Liquid is not usually added; the beef may be basted by fat on the top, or by spooning hot fat from the oven pan over the top. A gravy may be made from the cooking juices, after skimming off excess fat. |
| Stirfrying | is a typically Chinese and Asian way of cooking. Cooking oil with flavourings such as garlic, ginger and onions are put in a very hot wok. Then slices of meat are added, followed by ingredients which cook quicker: mixed vegetables, etc. The dish is ready when the ingredients are 'just cooked'. |
Beef can be cooked to various degrees, from very rare to well done. The degree of cooking corresponds to the temperature in the approximate center of the meat, which can be measured with a meat thermometer. Beef can be cooked using the sous vide method, which cooks the entire steak to the same temperature, but when cooked using a method such as broiling or roasting it is typically cooked such that it has a "bulls eye" of doneness, with the least done (coolest) at the center and the most done (warmest) at the outside. While searing and the Maillard Reaction are important to the final flavor of a piece of beef, the degree of doneness is also important. A chef can judge the degree of doneness of steak using the finger touch test,[14] without a meat thermometer. Temperature ranges can be found at Temperature (meat).
Moist heat cooking methods include braising, pot roasting, stewing and sous vide. These techniques are often used for cuts of beef that are tougher, as these longer, lower temperature cooking techniques have the potential to tenderize the meat better than high-heat, dry techniques.
Meat has usually been cooked in water which is just simmering, such as in stewing; higher temperatures make meat tougher by causing the proteins to contract. Since thermostatic temperature control became available, cooking at temperatures well below boiling, 52 °C (126 °F) to 90 °C (194 °F), for prolonged periods has become possible; this is just hot enough to convert the tough collagen in connective tissue into gelatin through hydrolysis, with minimal toughening. With the adequate combination of temperature and cooking time, pathogens, such as bacteria will be killed, and Pasteurization can be achieved. Because browning (Maillard reactions) can only occur at higher temperatures (above the boiling point of water), these moist techniques do not develop the flavors associated with browning. Meat will often undergo searing in a very hot pan, grilling or browning with a torch before moist cooking (though sometimes after).
Thermostatically controlled methods, such as sous-vide, can also prevent overcooking by bringing the meat to the exact degree of doneness desired, and holding it at that temperature indefinitely. The combination of precise temperature control and long cooking duration makes it possible to be assured that Pasteurization has been achieved, both on the surface and the interior of even very thick cuts of meat, which can not be assured with most other cooking techniques. (Although extremely long-duration cooking can break down the texture of the meat to an undesirable degree.)
Beef can be cooked quickly at the table through several techniques. In hot pot cooking, such as shabu-shabu, very thinly sliced meat is cooked by the diners at the table by immersing it in a heated pot of water or stock with vegetables. In fondue bourguignonne, diners dip small pieces of beef into a pot of hot oil at the table. Both techniques typically feature accompanying flavorful sauces to compliment the meat.
Steak tartare is a French dish made from finely chopped or ground (minced) raw meat (often beef). More accurately, it is scraped so as not to let even the slightest of the sinew fat get into the scraped meat. It is often served with onions, capers, seasonings such as fresh ground pepper and Worcestershire sauce, and sometimes raw egg. The Belgian dish filet américain is also made of finely chopped ground beef, though it is seasoned differently, and either eaten as a main dish or can be used as a dressing for a sandwich. Kibbeh nayyeh is a similar Lebanese dish. And in Ethiopia, a ground raw meat dish called tire siga or kitfo is eaten.
Carpaccio of beef is a thin slice of raw beef dressed with olive oil, lemon juice and seasoning. Often, the beef is partially frozen before slicing to allow very thin slices to be cut.
Yukhoe is a variety of hoe, raw dishes in Korean cuisine which is usually made from raw ground beef seasoned with various spices or sauces. The beef part used for yukhoe is tender rump steak. For the seasoning, soy sauce, sugar, salt, sesame oil, green onion, and ground garlic, sesame seed, black pepper and juice of bae (Korean pear) are used. The beef is mostly topped with the yolk of a raw egg.
Bresaola is an air-dried, salted beef that has been aged about two to three months until it becomes hard and a dark red, almost purple, colour. It is lean, has a sweet, musty smell and is tender. It originated in Valtellina, a valley in the Alps of northern Italy's Lombardy region. Bündnerfleisch is a similar product from neighbouring Switzerland.
Pastrami is often made from beef; raw beef is salted, then partly dried and seasoned with various herbs and spices, and smoked.
Corned beef is a cut of beef cured or pickled in a seasoned brine. The corn in corned beef refers to the grains of coarse salts (known as corns) used to cure it. The term corned beef can denote different styles of brine-cured beef, depending on the region. Some, like American-style corned beef, are highly seasoned and often considered delicatessen fare.
Beef jerky is dried, salted, smoked beef popular in the United States.
Biltong is a cured, salted, air dried beef popular in South Africa.
Spiced beef is a cured and salted joint of round, topside, or silverside, traditionally served at Christmas in Ireland. It is a form of salt beef, cured with spices and saltpetre, intended to be boiled or broiled in Guinness or a similar stout, and then optionally roasted for a period after.[15]
Hindus and Indian Buddhists generally consider killing cattle and eating beef a taboo, and Jains are forbidden to eat any kind of meat. Hovever, no scriptural prohibition against consuming beef exists in Hindu scriptures. Bovines have been highly revered as sacred to mankind in Indian culture since the Indus Valley Civilization due to the critical role of cattle, especially cows, as a source of milk, and dairy products, and their relative importance to the pastoral Vedic people allowed this special status; and this rose to prominence with the advent of the Jain tradition and Hindu Golden-age during the Gupta period.[16] The slaughter of cattle has been likened to the matricide in these cultures, due to the idealisation of the cow providing milk and sustenance for society.
During the season of Lent, Catholics traditionally give up all meat and poultry products as a religious act of fasting. Prior to Pope Paul VI's Paenitemini, canonical law strictly stated meat was forbidden on all Fridays, a violation of which could be a mortal sin. Pope Paul VI's revisions relaxed the policy; now, the common interpretation is that meat is only forbidden on Ash Wednesday and Fridays in the season of Lent, although the fact that some form of penance is still asked of Catholics on Fridays leads many to continue the traditional abstention from beef and poultry.
Jews refrain from eating meat and poultry (and drinking wine, among other restrictions) during The Nine Days of mourning leading up to the fast of Tisha B'Av.
| Nutritional value per 100 g (3.5 oz) | |
|---|---|
| Energy | 1,047 kJ (250 kcal) |
| Carbohydrates | 0 g |
| - Starch | 0 g |
| - Dietary fiber | 0 g |
| Fat | 15 g |
| - saturated | 5.887 g |
| - monounsaturated | 6.662 g |
| - polyunsaturated | 0.485 g |
| Protein | 26 g |
| Water | 58 g |
| Thiamine (vit. B1) | 0.046 mg (4%) |
| Riboflavin (vit. B2) | 0.176 mg (15%) |
| Niacin (vit. B3) | 5.378 mg (36%) |
| Vitamin B6 | 0.383 mg (29%) |
| Folate (vit. B9) | 9 μg (2%) |
| Vitamin B12 | 2.64 μg (110%) |
| Choline | 82.4 mg (17%) |
| Vitamin C | 0 mg (0%) |
| Vitamin E | 0.45 mg (3%) |
| Vitamin K | 1.2 μg (1%) |
| Calcium | 18 mg (2%) |
| Iron | 2.6 mg (20%) |
| Magnesium | 21 mg (6%) |
| Manganese | 0.012 mg (1%) |
| Phosphorus | 198 mg (28%) |
| Potassium | 318 mg (7%) |
| Sodium | 72 mg (5%) |
| Zinc | 6.31 mg (66%) |
| Percentages are relative to US recommendations for adults. Source: USDA Nutrient Database |
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Beef is a good source of protein and minerals such as zinc, selenium, phosphorus and iron, and B vitamins.[17] Red meat is the most significant dietary source of carnitine and, like any other meat (pork, fish, veal, lamb etc.), is a source of creatine.
A study released in 2007 by the World Cancer Research Fund reported “strong evidence that red meat and processed meats are causes of bowel cancer” and recommends people eat less than 500 grams (18 oz) of cooked red meat weekly, and as little processed meat as possible. The report also recommends that average consumption in populations should not exceed 300 grams (11 oz) per week, stating this goal "corresponds to the level of consumption of red meat at which the risk of colorectal cancer can clearly be seen to rise."[18] Lean beef, with its high selenium and vitamin B12 content, may actually lower the risk of colon cancer.[17] The Harvard School of Public Health recommends consumers eat red meat sparingly as it has high levels of undesirable saturated fat.[19]
Some cattle raised in the United States feed on pastures fertilized with sewage sludge. Elevated dioxons may be present in meat from these cattle.[20] [21]
In 1984, the use of meat and bone meal in cattle feed resulted in the world's first outbreak of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE or, colloquially, mad cow disease) in the United Kingdom.[22]
Since then, other countries have had outbreaks of BSE:
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