Editing Beef (section)

=== Cuts ===
{{Main|Cut of beef}}
Most beef can be used as is by merely cutting into certain parts, such as [[pot roast (beef)|roasts]], [[short ribs]] or [[steak]] ([[filet mignon]], [[sirloin steak]], [[rump steak]], [[rib steak]], [[rib eye steak]], [[hanger steak]], etc.), while other cuts are processed ([[corned beef]] or [[beef jerky]]). Trimmings, on the other hand, which are usually mixed with meat from older, leaner (therefore tougher) cattle, are [[Ground beef|ground]], [[minced]] or used in [[sausage]]s. The blood is used in some varieties called [[blood sausage]]. Other parts that are eaten include other muscles and [[offal]], such as the [[oxtail]], [[liver (food)|liver]], [[Beef tongue|tongue]], [[tripe]] from the [[reticulum (anatomy)|reticulum]] or [[rumen]], [[gland]]s (particularly the [[pancreas]] and [[thymus]], referred to as [[sweetbread]]), the [[heart]], the [[brain]] (although forbidden where there is a danger of [[bovine spongiform encephalopathy]], BSE, commonly referred to as mad cow disease), the [[kidney]]s, and the tender [[testicle]]s of the bull (known in the United States as ''calf fries'', ''prairie oysters'', or ''[[Rocky Mountain oysters]]''). Some [[intestine]]s are cooked and eaten as is,<ref>{{Citation|last=Dejohn|first=Irving|url=http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/queens/guts-argentinian-chinchulini-intestine-delicacy-article-1.117306|title=You got the guts to try Argentinian chinchulini - cow intestine delicacy?|publisher=[[NY Daily News]]|date=29 March 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170905053858/http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/queens/guts-argentinian-chinchulini-intestine-delicacy-article-1.117306|archive-date=5 September 2017|url-status=live|access-date=27 April 2018}}</ref> but are more often cleaned and used as natural sausage casings. The bones are used for making [[Stock (food)|beef stock]]. Meat from younger cows (calves) is called [[veal]]. Beef from [[Cattle#Terminology|steers]] and [[:wikt:heifer|heifers]] is similar.<ref>Schweihofer, Jeannine and Buskirk, Dan (10 April 2014) [http://msue.anr.msu.edu/news/do_steers_or_heifers_produce_better_beef Do steers or heifers produce better beef?]. Michigan State University.</ref>

Beef is first divided into [[primal cut]]s, large pieces of the animal initially separated by butchering. These are basic sections from which [[steak]]s and other subdivisions are cut. The term "primal cut" is quite different from "prime cut", used to characterize cuts considered to be of higher quality. Since the animal's legs and neck muscles do the most work, they are the toughest; the meat becomes more tender as distance from ''hoof and horn'' increases. Different countries and cuisines have different cuts and names, and sometimes use the same name for a different cut; for example, the cut described as "brisket" in the United States is from a significantly different part of the carcass than British brisket.{{Citation needed|date=July 2021}}