The Forequarters

These consist mainly of ribs, shoulders and neck.

Also forming part are: the breast (or brisket) lying between the front legs, and the belly, flank or skirt running from breast to hind legs. The ribs are mainly divided into two. The best end nearest the hindquarters, and the middle, which lie beneath the shoulder blades. Again confusingly, in the case of VEAL, LAMB and MUTTON, they are called best end of neck and middle neck. They are nothing to do with the neck (which is also called scrag) but are ribs, and from them come cutlets. The best cutlets come from the best end of neck and cost more than middle neck cutlets, which are better for stewing or braising. Remember that veal and lamb chops and cutlets are trimmed of fat and bone before sale and therefore work out more expensive than the price per pound of the part they come from. These same two cuts in the case of PORK are called fore rib and spare rib (which is beneath the shoulder). In the case of BEEF these same ribs are divided into three main cuts called in order of quality, fore rib (adjoining the wing ribs), middle rib, and chuck. Fore rib is also called chine and can be roasted, the other rib cuts are usually cheaper and used for pot roasts, braising, stews etc. Top ribs are a cheaper, lower part of fore ribs. Other names which crop up in these parts are oven busters, flat ribs, back ribs and Jacob’s ladder. They are very tasty, but need very slow cooking. They include a lot of fat and bone, which can be removed by the butcher.