Understanding your cuts

The most tender cut on the animal. Often sliced into steaks and best cooked rare to medium-rare, it has a delicate, buttery texture that needs little more than salt and a hot pan. Also the star of a classic Beef Wellington.

Rich, well-marbled, and full of flavour. Scotch fillet is brilliant on the grill or in a cast iron pan and forgives a little overcooking better than eye fillet. One of the most popular steaks for good reason.

A leaner steak with a firm texture and bold beefy flavour. Best cooked medium-rare on a hot grill. Great value compared to eye fillet but outstanding quality in its own right.

Full of flavour and great value. Best sliced against the grain after resting and works brilliantly as a classic pub-style steak, in stir-fries, or thinly sliced over a salad.

Two steaks in one — sirloin on one side, eye fillet on the other, separated by the bone. Best cooked on a grill or barbecue and served simply. A showstopper cut.

A thin, flavour-packed cut that loves a marinade. Cook it fast and hot, then slice thinly against the grain. Perfect for tacos, fajitas, or a simple Asian-style stir-fry.

Cut from the shoulder, blade has great flavour and connective tissue that melts beautifully with slow cooking. Ideal for braises, slow cooker meals, or diced into a hearty stew.

Meaty, fatty, and deeply flavourful. Braise them low and slow until the meat slides off the bone, or smoke over several hours for a barbecue centrepiece.

A classic roasting joint also commonly corned in brine. Roast low and slow with vegetables, or boil a corned silverside and serve with white sauce — a true Sunday tradition.

Cross-cut beef shin with the marrow bone at the centre. Braise slowly in tomato, white wine, and herbs and the meat falls from the bone while the marrow enriches the sauce.

The workhorse of beef cuts. Chuck becomes incredibly tender and rich when slow-cooked, making it the go-to for beef stews, casseroles, and slow cooker roasts. Also makes exceptional mince and burgers.

A tough cut that transforms with time and low heat. Slow-roast it for pulled beef, smoke it Texas-style, or braise with red wine. Brisket rewards patience like no other cut.

Lean and affordable, topside is ideal as a roast when cooked carefully. Slice it thin, serve with gravy, and use leftovers for sandwiches. Also great diced in curries and casseroles.

The most versatile product in the shop. Use it for bolognese, burgers, meatballs, cottage pie, tacos, or meatloaf. Made from quality trim cuts for real beef flavour in every dish.

Do not overlook the bones — they are liquid gold. Roast marrow bones and serve on toast, or use raw bones to make a rich stock or bone broth for soups, risottos, and sauces.

The classic Sunday roast. A bone-in lamb leg is best slow-roasted with garlic, rosemary, and a splash of wine until the meat pulls easily from the bone. Butterflied and marinated, it is also one of the best things you can put on a barbecue.

An impressive dinner party cut. French-trimmed and roasted in a hot oven for 20–25 minutes, rack of lamb is elegant and simple. A herb and mustard crust is the classic preparation.

The lamb equivalent of a T-bone — quick, easy, and satisfying. Throw them on the barbecue or into a hot pan and serve pink in the middle. A midweek staple that never gets old.

Thin, fast-cooking, and perfect for the grill. Marinate in garlic, lemon, and herbs and cook on a hot barbecue for just a few minutes each side.

Even more forgiving than the leg, lamb shoulder is all about slow cooking. Roast it for four or more hours until it collapses into tender, rich shreds. Fattier than the leg, which means more flavour.

Larger and fattier than loin chops, forequarter chops are brilliant braised slowly in tomato, red wine, or a North African spice sauce. Budget-friendly and incredibly flavourful.

Few dishes are more comforting than a slow-braised lamb shank. Cook in red wine, stock, and herbs for two to three hours until the meat falls from the bone. A winter dinner classic.

An inexpensive, fatty cut that is often overlooked. Rolled and slow-roasted, or braised then grilled to crisp the outside, lamb breast delivers rich flavour for very little cost.

Lamb mince has a distinct, rich flavour ideal for koftas, moussaka, shepherd's pie, Middle Eastern flatbreads, and Greek-style meatballs.

One of the most indulgent cuts available. Slow-roast it for crackling so crisp it shatters, braise in soy and ginger for an Asian-style melt-in-your-mouth result, or slice into rashers for the best bacon you have ever had.

Quick-cooking and crowd-pleasing. Pork loin chops are perfect pan-fried or on the barbecue with a simple seasoning or marinade. They are lean so watch the heat — a little blush of pink is ideal.

The most tender cut of pork and incredibly lean. It cooks in minutes — pan-sear it whole and finish in the oven, or slice into medallions for a fast weeknight dinner.

The leg is a large, lean roasting joint that feeds a crowd. Roast it bone-in for maximum flavour and juiciness, or cure it to make your own ham. Leftover roast pork leg makes exceptional sandwiches.

A backyard barbecue essential. Low and slow is the key — marinate overnight, cook for hours, and finish with a sticky glaze.

An underrated cut with exceptional marbling and flavour. Neck chops are wonderful braised or slow-cooked, and the collar makes a superb roast.

The ultimate slow-cook cut. Pork shoulder becomes fall-apart tender after hours in a low oven or slow cooker, and is the foundation of great pulled pork. Also brilliant diced in curries or minced for sausages.

Pork mince is the secret ingredient in great dumplings, san choy bau, Thai larb, and homemade sausage rolls. Versatile and affordable.

Pork bones make a deeply gelatinous stock that is the base of great ramen, tonkotsu broth, and Asian soups.

Pork skin rendered into crackling is one of life's great pleasures — score it, salt it well, and blast with high heat. The fat renders down for lard.