Harvesting and Processing

Primal and Subprimal Cuts, and Cooking Technique

Each cut corresponds to a different region or muscle group on the animal’s body. Each region is composed of meat of variable tenderness, depending on how much work the muscles in that part of the body do. For example, leg and neck muscles do the most work in an animal’s everyday life from walking, eating, and so forth; therefore, these muscles are likely to be fibrous and less tender than those along the animal’s breast-plate. As a general rule of thumb, meat becomes more tender as distance from “hoof and horn” increases.