The Cuts Every Home Cook Should Know by Name

There is a specific kind of confusion that happens in the meat aisle or at a restaurant when you are looking at a menu and you see a cut name you half-recognize but cannot fully place. Teres major. Coulotte. Picanha. Denver steak. These names sound like they should mean something and they hover just at the edge of understanding without quite arriving. Meanwhile the familiar ones, ribeye, strip, filet, are so familiar that people order them by habit rather than by understanding, which means they sometimes end up with the wrong thing for the evening they had in mind.

Knowing your cuts by name and by character changes how you cook and how you eat. Not in an intimidating way, not in a you-need-a-culinary-degree way, but in the practical way of knowing what Tuesday actually calls for versus Saturday, and which animal has the version of that cut that interests you most. This is that knowledge, assembled into something genuinely usable.

Call us at 800-674-8426 if you have questions about any specific cut or want to talk through what makes sense for your cooking setup.

The Steaks You Already Know (And What You Might Not Know About Them)

The Ribeye

Cut from the rib section, ribs six through twelve. The ribeye is the most marbled steak on the animal because the rib section does relatively little work and therefore deposits more intramuscular fat than worked muscles. The defining characteristic of a good ribeye is not just the quantity of that fat but its distribution: in a well-chosen bison boneless ribeye or Wagyu boneless ribeye, the fat is woven evenly through the entire muscle cross-section rather than pooled in one corner.

What it does in the pan: it self-bastes. As the intramuscular fat renders during cooking, it distributes through the surrounding protein and produces a richness and moisture that protects the steak even if your timing is slightly off. The ribeye is the most forgiving steak in the lineup. It rewards high heat and simple seasoning.

The tomahawk is the ribeye with the full rib bone left on, typically sixteen inches long. The bison tomahawk ribeye is the same muscle, same fat profile, same eating experience as the boneless, with the addition of the bone's presentation value and the marginal flavor contribution of cooking on the bone.

The New York Strip

Cut from the short loin, just behind the rib section. The strip is a firmer, tighter-grained muscle than the ribeye with a fat cap along one edge and less intramuscular marbling throughout. What it lacks in fat-forward richness it compensates for with assertive beef flavor and a more defined texture that some people find more satisfying than the ribeye's relative softness.

The bison New York strip is where bison's natural flavor comes through most clearly. The tight grain of the strip carries the clean, slightly sweet, mineral-forward character of a free-range animal without the fat interference of the ribeye. If you want to understand what bison actually tastes like, the strip is the most transparent showcase of it.

Cooking note: the fat cap on a strip is worth rendering. Stand the steak on its edge against a hot pan for sixty to ninety seconds before the final rest. The rendered fat becomes a base for butter basting and it is some of the best flavor in the cut.

The Tenderloin Filet

Cut from the psoas major, a muscle that runs along the spine and does essentially no work throughout the animal's life. No work means no connective tissue, no toughness, no chew. The tenderloin is the most tender cut on the animal and also the leanest of the three classic steaks, with minimal intramuscular marbling.

The tradeoff is flavor intensity. Without fat to carry flavor compounds through the muscle, the filet is more subtle than the ribeye or strip. What it offers instead is a texture experience that no other cut produces: the kind of tenderness that requires almost no effort from the jaw and registers as almost simultaneously soft and substantial.

The bison tenderloin filet has a clean, clear bison flavor that benefits from butter basting in a way the ribeye does not need. The Wagyu tenderloin filet is the version that solves the lean-equals-less-flavor equation: Wagyu genetics deposit intramuscular fat even in the tenderloin, producing a filet with both the butter-soft texture of the cut and a depth of flavor conventional filets cannot achieve.

The T-Bone

Two cuts separated by bone: a New York strip on one side and a tenderloin on the other, connected by the T-shaped vertebra. The bison T-bone is the practical solution for people who want both the assertive flavor of the strip and the tender texture of the filet in a single purchase. The cooking challenge: the strip and filet cook at different rates, so pulling at the right temperature for both requires some attention to which side is where on the heat source.

The Cuts You Should Know Better

The Flank Steak

Cut from the abdominal muscles, lean and flat with a pronounced grain running along its length. The flank is a working muscle that carries more flavor than the tenderloin because it does more work, and it carries less fat than the ribeye because working muscles deposit less intramuscular fat. It requires two things to be good: an acid-based marinade to help tenderize the fibers before cooking, and correct slicing against the grain after cooking. Get both right and it feeds six people beautifully from a single cut that cooks in ten minutes.

The bison flank steak is one of the best value cuts in the bison lineup: it presents impressively on a board, carries genuine bison flavor, and rewards the two simple steps of marinating and correct slicing with a result that looks like significantly more effort than it required. The Wagyu flank steak adds Wagyu fat richness to the leaner flank format, which produces a result that bridges the gap between the flat-iron and the crowd-feeder in an interesting way.

The Tri Tip

A triangular cut from the bottom sirloin with a distinctive feature: the grain runs in two different directions, meeting at the point of the triangle. This means the slicing angle changes halfway through the cut, which confuses people who do not know to look for it and produces tough bites when it is sliced incorrectly.

Once you know the grain trick, the bison tri tip is one of the most versatile and efficient cuts in the lineup: it sears beautifully on all sides, finishes in the oven reliably, feeds six to eight people from one purchase, and carves at the table in a way that looks intentional and impressive. The Wagyu tri tip is the version that carries Wagyu fat distribution through a cut format designed for group serving, which is a combination worth noting.

The Medallions

Cut from the teres major, the shoulder tender, one of the most underrated muscles on the animal. The teres major is nearly as tender as the tenderloin but with more flavor because it is a working muscle that still manages to be small and relatively inactive compared to the larger shoulder muscles around it. Medallions are pre-cut rounds of this muscle, typically about an inch thick, that cook in ninety seconds per side and produce a result that surprises people expecting something less from a cut they have never heard of.

The bison medallions are the weeknight steak that takes eight minutes total. The elk medallions are the same cut in the leanest, most mineral-forward species in the lineup. Both benefit from a butter baste in the last thirty seconds of cooking and a proper rest before cutting.

The Slow Cooks: Cuts That Require Patience and Reward It

The Chuck Roast

Cut from the shoulder, one of the most worked muscles on the animal. The extensive collagen and connective tissue in the chuck is what makes it tough when cooked quickly and extraordinary when braised low and slow for three or more hours: the collagen converts to gelatin, the meat becomes pull-apart tender, and the braising liquid becomes a sauce with a body and depth that no quick-cook preparation can produce.

The bison chuck roast is leaner than conventional beef chuck, which means the braise needs a bit more liquid attention. Check it at the halfway point and add stock if needed. The leanness also means the final result is cleaner and less heavy than a conventional beef chuck braise, which is either an advantage or a tradeoff depending on what you want from the dish.

The Short Ribs

Cut from the plate section between the belly and the rib. Short ribs are bone-in sections of rib with meat layered on top, rich in collagen and fat, and among the most rewarding braising cuts on the animal when given the time they need. Four to four and a half hours at 275 degrees F in red wine and stock converts the collagen to gelatin and produces a braising liquid that reduces to a sauce of uncommon richness and depth.

The bison short ribs are leaner than conventional beef short ribs, which means all the richness comes from collagen conversion rather than fat rendering. The result is extraordinary: deep flavor without the heaviness that beef short ribs sometimes carry.

How to Match the Cut to the Cook

The most useful thing you can take from knowing your cuts is a simple matching principle: match the amount of work the muscle does to the cooking method you intend.

Low-work muscles, the ribeye, tenderloin, medallions, have little connective tissue and benefit from high heat and short cooks. They are tender by nature and become dry and tough if cooked past medium-rare because there is no collagen to convert and no fat to protect them.

High-work muscles, the chuck, short ribs, shank, have significant collagen that requires long, moist, low heat to convert to gelatin. Applied to high heat, they are tough. Applied to patient braising, they are the most satisfying things you can cook.

Medium-work muscles, the strip, flank, tri tip, sit between these extremes. They have more flavor than low-work muscles because they do more, and they can handle slightly more heat and slightly longer cooks than the most delicate cuts. They reward marinades and correct slicing more than the tender cuts do.

Cut	Muscle Activity	Best Method	Pull Temp (Bison)
Ribeye	Low	Cast iron, high heat	124-127°F
NY Strip	Low-Medium	Cast iron, high heat, render fat cap	122-125°F
Tenderloin Filet	Very Low	Cast iron, butter baste	118-122°F
Medallions	Low	Cast iron, high heat, 90 sec/side	120-124°F
Flank Steak	High	Marinade, high heat, slice against grain	125-128°F
Tri Tip	Medium	Sear all sides, oven finish, dual-grain slice	128-132°F
Chuck Roast	Very High	Dutch oven braise, 300°F, 3-3.5 hrs	200-205°F (pull-apart)
Short Ribs	Very High	Braise, 275°F, 4-4.5 hrs	Bone-pull tender

The full premium steak collection has every cut discussed here. The free-range bison collection covers every bison cut from ribeye to short ribs.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the difference between a ribeye and a New York strip?
Both come from adjacent sections of the animal but they are different muscles with different characteristics. The ribeye comes from the rib section and carries more intramuscular fat, making it richer, more forgiving to cook, and fat-forward in flavor. The NY strip comes from the short loin and has a tighter grain, a fat cap along one edge rather than intramuscular marbling throughout, and a more assertive, structural beef flavor. The ribeye is more forgiving. The strip rewards technique and delivers bolder flavor for people who want to taste the meat rather than primarily the fat.

Why is the tenderloin filet the most tender cut?
Because it comes from the psoas major, a muscle that runs along the spine and does essentially no work throughout the animal's life. Muscles develop toughness through collagen and connective tissue built up by repeated use. A muscle that never works develops none of that connective tissue, which makes it naturally tender without any special preparation. The tradeoff is that it also develops less flavor than working muscles, which is why the bison tenderloin filet benefits from butter basting in a way that the ribeye does not need.

What is a teres major and why are bison medallions cut from it?
The teres major is a muscle in the shoulder that is small and relatively inactive compared to the large working muscles surrounding it. This combination of small size and low activity makes it nearly as tender as the tenderloin but with more flavor because the shoulder region develops more complex flavor compounds than the spine muscles do. The bison medallions are pre-cut rounds from this muscle: one of the better kept secrets in the bison lineup and one of the most efficient premium cooks available.

Why does the tri tip need to be sliced two different ways?
The tri tip is a triangular cut where the grain runs in two different directions, meeting at the point of the triangle. Muscle fibers that run in one direction in one half of the cut run in a different direction in the other half. Slicing against the grain in the correct direction for each half shortens the muscle fibers in each slice, which makes them tender. Slicing in the wrong direction produces long fibers that are chewy and tough regardless of how well the steak was cooked. Identify the grain direction on each half before you start cutting, then adjust your angle when you cross the midpoint of the triangle.

What is the difference between braising cuts and steak cuts?
The fundamental difference is connective tissue. Steak cuts come from low-work muscles with little connective tissue: they are tender by nature and become dry and tough if cooked past medium-rare because there is nothing to convert and no fat to protect them at high temperatures. Braising cuts like the bison chuck roast and bison short ribs come from high-work muscles rich in collagen. Applied to high heat, they are tough. Applied to low, moist heat over several hours, the collagen converts to gelatin, the fibers relax, and the result is pull-apart tender with a depth of flavor that no quick-cook cut can produce.

Which bison cut is best for someone who has never cooked bison before?
The bison boneless ribeye for a first steak: the most forgiving cut in the lineup, the most marbled by bison standards, and the one that best bridges the gap between what people know from conventional beef and what makes bison different. The bison ground for a first non-steak cook: it behaves similarly to conventional ground beef with the same familiar applications, but the flavor difference is noticeable enough that it convinces people immediately that the switch was worth making.

Call 800-674-8426 with any questions about specific cuts, cooking methods, or which cuts make the most sense for how you like to cook.