The degree tenderness of a particular cut of beef depends on what part of the animal it comes from. In general, cuts from muscles that receive regular exercise will be leaner and tougher than those from areas on the animal that do not receive exercise.
The upper middle part of an animal that walks on all fours will yield the tenderest, most prized pieces of meat for the mere fact that this is the only muscle that a quadruped does not use. In beef, the upper middle primal cuts are the rib and the short loin (below).
This the cut used to make the king of roast for grand celebrations, the standing rib roast. Steaks cut from the rib section, either on the bone, including the attached smaller muscles, or completely trimmed so that only the ‘eye’ remains, are tender and flavorful.
The rib yields tender richly flavored steaks, such as the boneless rib steak and bone-in-eye steaks, which are called cowboy steaks or Delmonico when bone is frenched.
The terms ‘standing rib’ and ‘prime rib’ are commonly seen on buffet menus, and the roast has been a customer favorite for many years.
Even a lower-quality grade of rib-eye can present fairly well due to the fact that the eye muscles has sections, and layers of fat from between them infusing the cut with extra flavor.
Beef rib cuts
