Which beef cut to buy for steaks, curries, slow cooking and mince — and why buying whole primals saves money for restaurants and big families.
Beef is sold in a confusing number of cuts, but they all come from a handful of large sections called primals. Once you know where a cut comes from, you know how to cook it: muscles that work hard need slow cooking, muscles that do little work can be cooked fast.
The tender cuts: fillet, scotch and sirloin
The eye fillet (tenderloin) runs along the spine and does almost no work, making it the most tender cut of all. It is lean, so cook it quickly and serve it pink.
Scotch fillet comes from the rib and carries the most marbling of the everyday steaks, which keeps it juicy. Porterhouse (sirloin) sits between the two — firmer, with a strip of fat along one edge. The T-bone gives you sirloin and a piece of fillet on one bone.
The value cuts: rump and brisket
A whole rump is the best-value steak cut for restaurants. It has more flavour than fillet and can be split into the cap (great on skewers), centre-cut steaks and kebab trim.
Brisket comes from the chest and is full of connective tissue. Cooked low and slow — smoked for 10 hours or braised for 3–4 — it becomes meltingly tender. It is also the classic cut for nihari.
Slow-cooking cuts: shin, short ribs and oxtail
Osso buco (cross-cut shin), short ribs and oxtail all need long, gentle cooking. Their collagen melts into the sauce, giving curries and stews a rich, glossy body that lean cuts cannot.
Mince, diced and stir-fry
For everyday cooking, premium beef mince, diced beef and stir-fry strips save prep time. Buying 3–5kg packs and freezing in meal-sized portions is the cheapest way to keep a family kitchen stocked.
What marble score means for Wagyu
Wagyu is graded by marble score — how much fat runs through the muscle. A score of 8–9 is heavily marbled and rich, so smaller portions go further. Our Wagyu scotch fillet MB8-9 is best cut thin and seared briefly; Wagyu brisket MB9+ stays moist through a long smoke.
Buying whole primals saves money
If you run a kitchen, buying whole primals and portioning them yourself is almost always cheaper per kilo than buying cut steaks — and you control the thickness. Our wholesale cartons include cryovac rump by the carton. Browse the full halal beef range to compare.