Meat in Mexico: Beef

If you’re like me, the labels here at the Mexican grocery stores can be somewhat confusing, particularly those on the meats.  I am hoping to help you all, through my Aztec articles and information available on my blog, to decipher some of the confusing labels, and learn how to use all the interesting cuts that are available here in Mexico.  Even if you're not in Mexico, you still might learn a little something.  For this post we’ll talk about beef, and in the coming posts we’ll cover all the different types of meat, including fish.

First of all, I wanted to say that “butchery” and being able to identify cuts of meat and decipher the different names, even in English, is a tricky business and there are many ways to get confused.  Although in the United States most butchers, wholesalers and businesses generally follow the standards of the North American Meat Processors Association (NAMP), it is, in the end, up to the individual butcher or store to fabricate the meat and label the precise “cut” the way they see fit.  There are also fads in the meat industry, just like any other industry.  Cuts come in and go out of vogue.  And of course, the way they butcher meat here in Mexico is completely different. 

What I hope to is give you through the diagram of general cuts shown here (downloadable and printable version available here), as well as the spreadsheet below outlining specific labels, is an easily accessible, home-cook’s guide to buying meat here in Mexico.  If I get something wrong or leave something out, please let me know! 

A couple of things I’ve noticed about Beef in the Mexican Grocery stores:

·         The steaks I’ve seen here that are pre-cut are extremely thin.  These thin steaks (<1in) are better for sautéing and using in stir-fry or tacos.  If you want to grill, either find a thick Argentinean-style cut or ask the butcher at the market to cut it for you.  If you don’t speak Spanish, you can do this by pointing to the cut you want on the shelf and using your fingers to estimate your desired thickness!

·         Mexican beef has a tendency to be tough since it is generally not aged.  When in doubt, marinate your meat prior to grilling, or slow cook it.

·         Many times the package is labeled for the dish made from that particular meat, not the actual cut.

·         There are not a lot of “large” cuts of meat that we as Americans generally use as “Pot Roasts”, which is actually a braising technique…check out my blog post on braising to learn more.  However, you can always ask to have anything cut for you.  Ask for the particular type of meat “en trozo” and specify how many kilograms you want.

·         If you want larger sub-primal cuts of meat (such as a whole beef rib, entire top sirloin, top round, etc.) you must go to a butcher or a place like Costco as these are not generally offered at regular grocery stores, but you can always ask them.  Much like in American grocery stores, these items are pre-fabricated before they get to the store so you would probably have to special order.

·         There are many types of ground beef or “molido” available, but you should feel free to ask the butcher to ground any cut of meat you like or even to finely chop it, known as “picada”.

·         You should also feel free to ask for any cut of meat you like formed into a “milanesa”.  The butcher will pound the meat very thinly for you so you can take it home, bread it and fry it.

·         If you’re going to buy meat at the open-air markets, get there early and take home the meat that hasn’t been sitting out all day.

There is so much to be said on beef that it has filled many many books.  A couple that I recommend, if you’re REALLY into this sort of thing, are ­Meat: Identification, Fabrication,and Utilization by Thomas Schneller as well as The Meat Buyer’s Guide, published by NAMP.  If you’ve always wanted to be the person who knows exactly where the cuts come from on the animal (not just cows but all animals) or if you want to learn how to butcher your own meat, make your own sausage, etc., these are the books for you.  In researching this article for all of you, I utilized these books heavily, and I scoured grocery stores to find all of the crazy labels out there.  

 

Below, in spreadsheet form and also downloadable and printable here, is my comprehensive list of all these labels.  Please note that all the prices are in Mexican Pesos, and are “by the kilogram” unless otherwise stated.  Additionally, these prices are really just a reference for you to be able to compare prices between different cuts, as of course the price varies from store to store and day to day.  Please also be lenient with me and my definition of “traditional” when it comes to recipes.  I realize that, in some cases, the use of these cuts is in no way traditional to one or either cultures, but generally what I’ve characterized here is a way that it is currently used, whether traditional or not.  Finally, I have provided for each cut a direct translation of the label as well as the American equivalent.  Please use these two pieces of information in conjunction with one another, as sometimes the literal translation has nothing to with what the cut really is, and sometimes there is no American equivalent.

 

COMMON LABELS FOR BEEF / RES
Label	Price per Kilo	Translation	American Equivalent	Cooking Method	Traditional American Dish	Traditional Mexican Dish
Aguayon en Trozo		Large Piece of Sirloin	Sirloin Tip Roast	Roast	Sirloin Tip Roast	Not traditionally used; must special order
Aguja Larga	$69MXP	long ribs	short ribs (Flanken Style, thin and bone-in, cross-cut); the last few ribs towards the rear of the cow	Braise	Many folks use flanken-style ribs the same as Korean Style since they're just a different way of cutting the same ribs, but I prefer Korean Style!
Agujas Cortas	$65MXP	short ribs	short ribs (Korean Style, 2-inch portions, bone-in); the last few ribs towards the rear of the cow	Braise	Short Ribs	Short Ribs Kabik (Yucatan)
Arrachera		no direct translation, meat taken from "por dentro las agujas" or the diaphragm of the cow; skirt steak	skirt steak (traditionally) or flank steak, sometimes pre-marinated	Grill, Sauté	Fajitas	Arrachera
Asado Tiras	$69MXP	grilled strips	None; these are thin, cross-cut portions of the ribs, a specialty of Argentina (also sold uncut)	Grill, Broil	None	Asado o Costilla Cargada, Asado de Tiras
Bife	$134MXP	beef steak	None; an Argentinean cut from either the strip loin or the ribeye	Grill	Steaks	Steaks
Bistec	Varies greatly	beef steak, usually very thin and tough, taken from the round (rear) or the chuck (front) of the cow	None; most steaks in the U.S. are classified more specifically	Marinate, then Grill	Marinated Steaks	Bistec Encebollado
brocheta		(sing.) skewer (plur.) kebabs	kebabs	Grill	shish kabobs
Cabrería	$144MXP	no direct translation; described as "the most succulent cut of beef which comes from the tenderloin attached to the bone nearest to the back part of beef"	Tenderloin steak (from the short loin portion of the cow) with the bone attached	Grill, Roast	Steaks	Steaks
Carne para Guisar		stewing meat, usually from the chuck (front) or brisket (chest) of the cow	Stewing meat	Braise, Stew	Stew	Various Stews
Carne Deshebrada		shredded meat	shredded meat, often pre-cooked	Generally just re-heat	Carolina BBQ	Salpicón o Tinga (can also be made by slow-cooking flank steak and then shredding)
Chambarete	$64MXP	shank	shank	Braise	Osso Bucco	Chambarete Español
Chuletón	$99MXP	large steak, T-bone steak; used to describe any large steak cut from the short loin portion of the cow	New York Strip or   T-Bone	Grill, Roast	New York Strip or T-Bone Steak	Steaks
Churrasco	$134MXP	Barbecue	None; practically every Central and South American country has a definition, but here in Mexico it is thinly sliced longways from the skirt steak, can also be from the bottom round (rear) of the cow	Grill, Sauté	Fajitas	Tacos, etc.
Cortadillo	$99MXP	no direct translation, boneless meat from the round (rear) of the cow	Stewing meat	Braise, Stew	Stew	Cortadilla Norteño
Cowboy	$99MXP	Cowboy	Cowboy Steak; Bone-in Rib-eye (steak cut from underneat the ribs)	Grill	Steaks	Steaks
Cuete Trozos	$92MXP	no direct translation; most commonly found "roast" in Mexican grocery stores	Bottom round or eye of round (rear), although not very fatty	Braise	Pot Roast	Cuete Mechado; often Mexican cooks lard this roast with bacon or serrano ham to add fat
Falda		"skirt", but this is NOT skirt steak as we know it from the U.S. (which is the diaphragm of the animal)	Flank Steak	Marinate and Grill, Braise or Stew	London Broil	Salpicón, Taquitos, Chalupas
Filete Entero o Centro Filete o Lomo Fino	$289 MXP	center filet	tenderloin	Grill, Sauté, or Roast	tenderloin	Tasajo (Oaxaca)
Filete Tampiqueña	$289 MXP	No direct translation; beef tenderloin that is thinly cut lengthwise	None	Grill	None	Filete Tampiqueña
Kobe Res	$2275 MXP	"Kobe" refers to cuts of beef from the Tajima breed of Wagyu cattle from Japan; a delicacy due to characteristic marbling and tenderness	In the U.S., we just re-started importing Japanese Wagyu and Kobe beef after many years of a USDA ban.  Due to this, we started breeding our own cattle to produce American Style Kobe/Wagyu Beef	Grill	Steaks	Steaks
Lengua		tongue	beef tongue	Braise, Simmer	Not traditional in U.S., used for ethnic foods	Tacos
Medallones de Filete	$289 MXP	filet medallions	filet mignon	Grill, Sauté	filet mignon	medallones de filete con salsa
Milanesa	$107MXP	no direct translation; meat from many cuts that has been pounded out to 1/4-1/2"; often from the round (rear) or chuck (front) of the cow	Milanese-style	Pan-Fry	Breaded, like Schnitzel	Milanesa
Molida, Centro Filete Limpio	$299 MXP	ground tenderloin "clean"	ground tenderloin, although not commonly found in the U.S.	Grill	Hamburgers	Chiles en Nogada, Albondigas
Molida, Estabulada	$99MXP	ground beef from stabled cows	somewhat lesser quality ground beef, such as ground chuck	Grill, Roast	Hamburgers, Meatloaf	Chiles en Nogada, Albondigas
Molida, Premium	$109MXP	premium ground beef	most likely ground sirloin, but no guarantee of where it comes from	Grill	Hamburgers	Chiles en Nogada, Albondigas
Molida, Sonora	$129MXP	"higher quality" ground beef; Superama quality standard, U.S. Meat	supermarket brand ground beef; mostly marketing	Grill	Hamburgers	Chiles en Nogada, Albondigas
Molida, Sterling Silver	$137MXP	"higher quality" ground beef; Superama quality standard, grain fed	supermarket brand ground beef; mostly marketing	Grill	Hamburgers	Chiles en Nogada, Albondigas
New York	$229 MXP	New York	New York Strip; a steak cut from the front portion of the loin (the short loin), like a T-bone without any tenderloin attached	Grill	Steaks	Steaks
Panza		belly	tripe (the belly and tripe sold together)	Braise, Simmer	Not traditional in U.S., used for ethnic foods	Panza de Res, Menudo (caldos), Mole de Panza
Pecho Curado		Cured Chest, commonly unavailable but you can order "pecho" (brisket) and cure it yourself	Corned Beef Brisket	Braise, Simmer	Corned Beef	Not traditionally used; brisket is normally used for stew so special order it
Picana	$134MXP	a conversion of a Portuguese word; refers to the rump cap which has a large layer of fat	top sirloin cap, between the tenderloin and the top sirloin (opposite the tri-tip)	Grill, Sauté	Great substitute for Tri-tip once most of the fat is removed	Picaña o Picanha
Porterhouse		Porterhouse	Porterhouse; a steak cut from the front portion of the loin (the short loin), with tenderloin attached that is >1.25in/3.2cm	Grill	Steaks	Steaks
Pulpa		Boneless Meat	Used widely, but often refers to meat from the round (rear) of the cow	Braise, Stew	Stew	Stew
Ribeye	$294 MXP	Ribeye	Ribeye; a steak cut from underneat the ribs	Grill	Steaks	Steaks
rollo		roll	roulade	Grill or Roast	Beef Matambre	Rollos para Asar
Suadero	$96MXP	No direct translation; thin cut of beef from the brisket (or the "breast") of the cow	None; this is a smooth-textured cut whereas brisket in the U.S. always has quite a bit of muscle grain, so it is a specialty of Mexico	Grill	None	Tacos de Suadero
Tapa		Round (rear) of the cow	Top Round Roast, Rump Roast	Roast	Rump Roast	Not traditionally used; usually must special order
T-Bone	$112MXP	T-Bone	T-Bone; a steak cut from the front portion of the loin (the short loin), with tenderloin attached that is <1.25in/3.2cm	Grill	Steaks	Steaks
Trozo de Rosbif		Large rib; also called costillar	Bone-in Rib Roast	Roast	Standing Rib Roast	Not traditionally used; usually must special order