Ever wonder why your butcher has that knowing smile when you ask about certain cuts? It’s hard to say for sure, but there’s a good chance they know about hidden treasures that rarely make it to the display case. These cuts were often called “butcher’s cuts,” because the people who broke down the animal would keep them for themselves and cook them up for lunch. Let’s dive into five cuts that professionals have quietly enjoyed while the rest of us stuck with our usual steaks.
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Hanger Steak: The Original Secret
Many butchers wouldn’t even offer it to customers and instead kept this cut a secret so they could take it home for themselves. With only one 1.5 lb. hanger steak available in each 1,200+ lb. animal, this cut is as rare as it is delicious. This V-shaped muscle hangs from the diaphragm between the rib and loin, doing minimal work during the cow’s lifetime. That lack of exercise translates directly into tenderness that rivals pricier cuts. Considered by many butchers to be one of the tenderest cuts of meat, it features deep intramuscular fat, or marbling, that, once prepared, provides a rich flavor that’s undeniably juicy. You won’t find this at every butcher counter, though. The name “butcher’s steak” came about because there is only one hanger steak per cow, and butchers often kept it for themselves.
Beef Cheeks: The Slow Cook Champion
Once a lesser-known cut, beef cheeks have gained popularity among food enthusiasts and home cooks. Known for their deep flavour and slow-cooked tenderness, beef cheeks are a versatile cut. When looking to buy Beef Cheeks, you probably won’t even see them on display in any butcher shops, grocery stores or even online meat purveyors. Your best chance to buy beef cheeks is to pre-order. These facial muscles work constantly as cattle chew, creating dense connective tissue that breaks down into pure gelatin during slow cooking. The price of Beef Cheeks has increased in the past 3 to 4 years due to renewed demand. Beef cheeks are the facial muscles of the cow, which work continuously as the animal chews. This regular use means the cheeks are rich in connective tissue and collagen. Think of them as the pot roast’s sophisticated cousin.
Ribeye Cap: The Crown Jewel
The Ribeye Cap, or Spinalis Dorsi, is renowned for its tenderness and intense marbling, making it a favorite among steak enthusiasts. Here’s the thing: when you’re eating a regular ribeye and hit that curved, buttery top portion, that’s the cap. When the Butcher trims it off the top of the Ribs before cutting them into steaks, you get an entire 16 inch long muscle of the most amazing tender yet flavorful meat. Most butchers leave it attached to sell complete ribeyes at premium prices. A steak so rare and special we can’t keep it in stock. Beef spinalis, also known as the ribeye cap or spinalis dorsi, is a highly prized and flavorful cut of beef located on the outside of a ribeye steak. It’s considered the most tender and flavorful part of the ribeye. The marbling pattern creates an almost spongy texture that melts on your tongue.
Flat Iron Steak: The Shoulder Surprise
For many years, this area of the animal was considered an unusable cut of meat due to connective tissue and sinew. In a joint initiative between the University of Nebraska and the University of Florida, researchers devised an innovative way to trim the connective tissue. The discovery transformed trash into treasure. Flat Iron Steak may be the best-kept secret in the meat industry, with butchers and beef experts having long favored it for its incredible tenderness – it is a close second to filet mignon. Coming from the shoulder’s top blade, this cut offers surprising tenderness despite originating from a working muscle group. According to our own Chef Yankel Polak, “The flat iron steak is an industry darling, a new-age steak”. Cut from the well-exercised chuck primal, this underrated steak ranks as the desired cuts after filet mignon. Its uniform thickness makes cooking foolproof for home chefs.
Oyster Steak: The Hidden Pocket
The oyster steak is found in the cow’s hip pocket. It is “almost too small to sell, and is the perfect size for a hearty butcher’s lunch”. Honestly, finding this cut requires serious dedication. There are only two oyster steaks in the cow, and each weighs about eight ounces. It’s the hardest cut for butchers to get to, as it cannot be removed until the entire cow is de-boned. Butchers that still break down whole animals by themselves and cut the steaks by hand know just where some of the tastiest meat is on every cow and traditionally keep these cuts to themselves. This tiny treasure sits in an anatomical sweet spot that most processing plants ignore entirely. Its rarity and the labor required to extract it mean most butchers view it as their reward for doing the hard work.
These five cuts represent more than just alternative options to standard steaks. They’re testaments to the craft of butchery and the knowledge that comes from working closely with whole animals. Next time you visit your local butcher, ask about these cuts specifically. You might get that knowing smile, or better yet, access to meat that most people never get to taste. What would you try first?