During butchering, beef is first divided into primal cuts, pieces of meat initially separated from the carcass. These are basic sections from which steaks and other subdivisions are cut. 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; e.g., the cut described as brisket in the US is from a significantly different part of the carcass than British brisket. Cut often refers narrowly to skeletal muscle (sometimes attached to bones), but can also include other edible flesh, such as offal (organ meat) or bones without significant muscles attached.

American and Canadian

The following is a list of the American primal cuts, and cuts derived from them. Beef carcasses are split along the axis of symmetry into "halves", then across into front and back "quarters" (forequarters and hindquarters). Canada uses identical cut names (and numbering) as the US, with the exception of the "round" which is called the "hip". The British designation 'rump' is also common in Canada.

Forequarter

Hindquarter

Argentine

The most important cuts of beef in Argentine cuisine are:

Brazilian

The most important cuts of beef in Brazilian cuisine are:

Irish, British, Australian, South African and New Zealand

Colombian

Chinese

Beef is classified according to different parts of the cow, specifically "chest lao" (the fat on the front of the cow's chest), "fat callus" (a piece of meat on the belly of the cow), and diaolong (a long piece of meat on the back of the beef back), "neck ren" (a small piece of meat protruding from the shoulder blade of a beef) and so on.

Dutch

Finnish

The cuts of beef in Finland are:

French

{{legend|#f50e30|text=+|More expensive}} {{legend|#cb131e|text= |In between}} {{legend|#930b12|text=-|Less expensive}}

German

Croatian

Italian

Korean

Polish

Portuguese

Russian

Turkish

UNECE standard for bovine meat carcasses and cuts

The UNECE standard formalizes internationally agreed upon specifications written in a consistent, detailed and accurate manner using anatomical names to identify cutting lines.