From head to tail

| American cuts | Steak | muscle or bone | cooking | tenderness | flavor | expenses | other |
| Chuck | Boneless clod steak | shoulder | Tough fiber, used for stewing, slow cooking, braising, or pot roasting | least expensive | |||
| Bone-in chuck steak | shoulder including parts of the shoulder bones | ||||||
| Flat Iron Steak | second only to filet mignon | Richly flavored and juicy | Budget-friendly | ||||
| Chuck Eye | 5th rib | 6.5/10 | Reasonably flavorful | poor man’s rib eye | |||
| Rib | Short ribs | lower rib bone | |||||
| Prime rib | upper rib bone | ||||||
| Rib eye steak | ribs 6-12, longissimus dorsi, complexus and spinalis muscles | steak | tender | extremely flavorful with high fat content | Expensive | ||
| Brisket | from the breast or lower chest | Barbecue, corned beef or pastrami | tough with collagen fibers | ||||
| Shank | Stews and soups | leg | Toughest | ||||
| Plate | pot roasting | upper belly | tough and fatty meat | ||||
| Skirt steak | crura, or legs, of the diaphragm | fajitas, should only be cooked rare to medium-rare to avoid getting a chewy texture | Tough | prized for its flavor, stronger beefy flavor than flank steak | Budget-friendly | ||
| Hanger steak | tender | prized for its flavor | butcher’s choice | ||||
| short loin | T-bone steak | abdominal internal oblique muscle 腹內斜肌 | steak | tender | Very flavorful moderate fat marbling | Most expensive | tenderloin of at least 0.5 inches wide |
| porterhouse steak | steak | tender | Most expensive | tenderloin of at least 1.25 inches wide | |||
| strip steak | longissimus | steak | tender | Very juicy and flavorful with strong beefy taste | Expensive | ||
| sirloin | top sirloin | gluteus medius 臀中肌 and biceps femoris 股二頭肌 | steak | less tender | more flavorful | most prized of sirloin, above average | |
| bottom sirloin (tri-tip) | tensor fasciae latae 阔筋膜张肌 | steak | less tender | relatively rich beef flavors, leaner than top sirloin | Budget-friendly | ||
| bottom sirloin (flap steak) | abdominal internal oblique muscle 腹內斜肌 | steak | beefy flavor coming from its higher fat content. | low-end beef steak | |||
| tenderloin | Psoas major muscle 腰大肌 | steak | the most tender | mild flavor | Most expensive | ||
| round | round steak | rear leg of the cow | steak | moderately tough | lower fat, very flavorful | Budget-friendly | |
| eye of round | |||||||
| top round | |||||||
| bottom round | |||||||
| flank | flank steak | steak | substantially tougher | most affordable steaks | |||
| rest of flank | abdominal muscles | grinding | |||||
| Doneness | Remove from Heat | Final Internal Temp |
| Rare (cool red center) | 120°F (49°C) | 125°F (52°C) |
| Medium-rare (warm red center) | 130°F (54°C) | 135°F (57°C) |
| Medium (warm pink center) | 140°F (60°C) | 145°F (63°C) |
| Medium-well (pale pink center) | 145°F (63°C) | 150°F (66°C) |
| Well Done (little pink) | 155°F (68°C) | 160°F (71°C) |