Chuck The chuck includes ribs 1-5 and the shoulder blade. Roasts from the chuck contain a lot of connective tissue and generally require moist heat cooking to become tender. They also contain a higher percentage of fat than other roasts. Flat iron steaks also come from this section. Rib The rib section contains ribs 6-12. A full boneless rib roast, weighs 8-9 lbs. These premium cuts have a moderate fat covering, are tender and generally are grilled or roasted in dry heat. Back ribs are also located here. Short Loin This part of the cow is usually cut into premium steaks including New York Strips and Tenderloin, or T-bone and Porterhouse. These steaks are lean and grilled or roasted over dry heat. Sirloin The sirloin is a little less tender than cuts from the short loin and have a little more fat content. Their flavor and lower price make them popular with families that enjoy grilling. These cuts also lend themselves well to recipes with sauces and breading.	Round Cuts from the round include lean roasts for braising, economy steaks that require tenderizing, and trim for lean ground beef. Flank These thin, lean cuts are used for grilling. Plate This section contains ribs 6-12 where skirt steaks are trimmed very lean for marinating and grilling. This is also the area from which short ribs are cut. Brisket from longhorn cattle is quite lean and lends its self well to braising or smoking with a source of moist heat. Shank Meat from the upper fore and rear legs contains a lot of connective tissue and requires braising for long periods of time. Thick broths from marrow give soups and osso buco their rich flavor. Organ Meats, Tongue and Ox Tail also make flavorful and nutritious dishes. These need to be requested prior to slaughter.

Orders for Sides of Beef include cuts from all sections listed above. Obviously, there is only one ox tail, one heart, and one tongue per animal. The heart can be cut in half and the liver (weighing 7-9 lbs.) can be cut into many portions. There are two kidneys. Purchaser may request these be cut and wrapped to desired specifications. The thymus gland is only present in young, growing calves and atrophies when it becomes inactive in adult cattle. Therefore, sweetbreads are not available from our cattle. Typically, about half the entire carcass yields ground beef. Purchasers do not usually request ground beef by the pound. They just get what is produced from meat left over from the rest of the cuts they request. Some purchasers may request only premium steaks without middle-meats and have the majority of the carcass ground. We do not recommend separating ground chuck from ground round and ground sirloin. Mixing all the trim creates a flavorful blend with enough fat to hold together in a patty, but not so much that excessive amounts of fat must be drained from browned meat. Our ground longhorn averages 12% fat and 88% lean.

Forequarter:
Chuck:	The chuck can be divided into several cuts. These are several suggestions: Chuck Eye Roast: One per side, about 2 lbs. Shoulder Tender: One “mock tender” or Petite Roast per side, leave whole for roast or cut 2” to 2 1/2” thick medallions for grilling Flat Iron Steak from Top Blade: Two thin, tender steaks per side, trimmed. Lends itself well to casual entertaining and quick meals. Can be grilled, skillet cooked, broiled, cut and stir-fried or cut and marinated for kabobs. Purchaser may instead prefer Bone-in Arm Roasts and a Top Blade Roast. The flat iron is part of the top blade and the chuck eye is part of the shoulder/arm roast, so the purchaser must chose one or the other. Arm Roast: If flat iron steaks are requested, there will remain a smaller portion of arm roast that may be requested.
Ribeye Steaks or Rib Roast:	There is one ribeye roll per side. We recommend cutting boneless steaks 1-1/4” to 1 1/2” thick. Steaks without bones vacuum wrap better than bone-in steaks. Longhorn ribeye varies in size from 3” to 4” high by 5” to 6” wide, so it lends itself well to being cut into thick steaks weighing approximately 3/4 lbs. each. Purchaser may instead request a bone-in “cowboy cut” steak. Purchaser may also instead request a prime rib roast.
Back Ribs:	There is one full rack of back ribs per side. We recommend they be ordered in a whole rack. Purchaser may request 6” to 8” length and specify portion width. We recommend braising for 2-1/2 to 3 hours.
Short Ribs:	These are good cut into 4” sections of not more than 5 ribs from the 6th through 10th rib. Purchaser may instead prefer short plate ribs cut from the 6th through 8th ribs. Purchaser may request they be trimmed or the 1/4” exterior fat left on. We recommend braising for 6 hours.
Skirt Steak:	Inside and Outside Skirt (one each) are trimmed and left whole. These are typically prepared as fajitas.
Brisket:	There is one brisket per side. We recommend they be trimmed and left whole.
Foreshank:	We recommend cutting into 2” to 2-1/2” bone-in medallions for osso buco.
Marrow Bones:	Trimmed bones may be requested cut to purchaser’s desired length. Instead, purchaser may request untrimmed, meaty soup bones (resulting in less ground beef). We recommend asking the processor to leave an inch or two of the femur bone on the knuckle, enough to have a little marrow at the end. If the shank is not used for osso buco, those bones make great soup bones when cut 4” to 7” lengths. Cattle over 30 months of age must have the spinal column removed prior to portion cutting. Meaty neck bones are only available from cattle under 30 months of age.
Stew/Kabob Meat:	Diced pieces may be prepared from any portion of the carcass and may be requested by the pound. Kabob typically is cut 1” to 1-1/2 “ cubes and stew meat is cut 1/4” to 3/4” cubes.
Ground Beef:	All trimmed meat not otherwise cut into portions, is ground into burger/chopped meat. Purchaser may request it be packaged in 1 or 2 lb. packages.
Hindquarter:
Short Loin:	We recommend cutting the strip loin into 1-1/4” to 1-1/2” thick boneless New York Strip Steaks. Longhorn strip loin is about 3” wide by 5” to 6” long. It lends itself well to being cut into thick steaks weighing approximately 3/4 lbs. each. Purchaser may also request a bone-in steak.
Tenderloin:	There is one tenderloin per side. The purchaser may request it be left whole or cut into medallion steaks to preferred thickness. For an additional charge, the purchaser may also request the steaks be bacon-wrapped. Longhorn tenderloin is about 3-1/2” wide x 3” high x 12” long and weighs less than 2 lbs.
T-Bone Porterhouse:	A T-bone steak is made up of the tenderloin on one side and the N.Y. strip on the other side. The porterhouse is the same thing; only they come from the first few cuts at the larger end of the primal and contain an extra portion of the N.Y. strip. The bone dividing these is part of the spine. Cattle over 30 months of age must have their spine removed from the carcass prior to cutting, so T-bones and Porterhouse steaks are not available. If the purchaser desires these cuts, he/she chooses them instead of N.Y. Strip and Tenderloin and must request a younger carcass when contacting Bandera Grassland about a purchase. Younger cattle are smaller, so the steak size and yield will be slightly less.
Hanging Tender:	The purchaser may request this cut from the short loin, also known as the Onglet Steak. It is tougher than our other steaks and we prefer to grind it or cube it for stew meat.
Sirloin:	We recommend requesting the Tri-tip Roast be left whole and the rest of the sirloin cut into 3/4” to 1” thick boneless Top Sirloin Steaks. The sirloin muscle is larger than the other steaks, about 5” to 6” high by 6” to 8” wide. A 1” thick steak weighs approximately 1 lb. and works well to grill then split between two persons. Purchaser may also request a bone-in steak. Purchaser has options that may be discussed with the processor including full loin, short cut short loin, top sirloin, top sirloin butt, center-cut sirloin, top sirloin cap, bottom sirloin butt, sirloin flat bone or sirloin round bone steaks.
Round:	Several lean roasts come from the round including rump, knuckle, top round, bottom round, outside round, and eye of round. Some cuts may be requested bone-in. Purchaser has options to discuss with processor including requesting the entire primal for a Steamship Round for gala events. We recommend the bottom round be used for rump roasts. These may be cut to 1-1/2 lb. weight or heavier, depending on the size of the purchaser’s family. We recommend dividing the eye of round in half. The sirloin tip makes a good roast or can be made into cutlets. The top round can be cut into roasts or Top Round Steaks; perhaps some of each as the top round is fairly large. The outside round can be used for cutlets or ground.
Cutlets:	These are mechanically tenderized 6 oz. portions that may be cut from the top round, sirloin tip, and other areas where the processor can get a lean seamless cutlet. These make good chicken-fried steak and also work well in various skillet cooked recipes that call for sauces or breading.
Flank:	This boneless cut is trimmed lean and may be requested left whole or divided into two portions.
Rear shank:	We recommend cutting into 2” to 2-1/2” bone-in medallions for osso buco.
Marrow Bones:	Trimmed bones may be requested cut to purchaser’s desired length. Instead, purchaser may request untrimmed, meaty soup bones (resulting in less ground beef). We recommend asking the processor to leave an inch or two of the femur bone on the knuckle, enough to have a little marrow at the end. If the shank is not used for osso buco, those bones make great soup bones when cut to 4” to 7” lengths.
Stew/Kabob Meat:	Diced pieces may be prepared from any portion of the carcass and may be requested by the pound. Kabob typically is cut 1” to 1-1/2 “ cubes and stew meat is cut 1/4” to 3/4” cubes.
Ground Beef:	All trimmed meat not otherwise cut into portions, is ground into burger/chopped meat. Purchaser may request it be packaged in 1 or 2 lb. packages.

How much freezer space is needed? One cubic foot of freezer space will hold approximately 25 pounds of beef. One whole beef will fill a full-size upright or chest freezer.