How much customer I could see completely lost when choosing a piece of meat for this or that recipe!
Over time, eating habits, and time allotting to the preparation of meals, the consumer knows nothing about butchery.

The main criterion sought is mostly tenderness and this, often to the detriment of the taste! Not that I find that abnormal away from it, he never enjoyed chewing a steak such as a chewing gum or a shoe soles.

So I'll give you some tips for choosing your pieces of meat, and today I'll talk about the beef.

To begin with, it must be understood that there are mainly three modes of cooking:

-Fast cooking (called "grilling"): steack, grill, plancha, fondue, rosbeef ....
-long cooking (called "braised"): bourguignon, daube, beef fashion ...
-the cooking called "boil": pot au feu, soup ...

Each piece of meat therefore has a specific destination, although certain can be used in several types of cooking, but at the moment do not complicate things.
As a general rule it can be said that all the front part of an animal (shoulder, collar ...) and intended for long cooking, and the back part (sirloin, thigh, false net) for fast cooking.
And this is valid for all the different breeds of beasts (beef, veal, pork, lamb ..) except poultry.

Once understood, I think the main criterion to look at and the category of the animal (meat, mixed, milk).
Obviously the best when you want to grill a good steak and take a meat breed!
There is also the race (limousine, angus ...) to take into account, something I would present in another post.
You can also buy mixed cows or dairy cows for a long cooking, because it is the fact that you cook the meat for a long time, but I would encourage you always to take the meat breed because it has The gustatory quality that is sought when eating meat.

Then it is the age of the animal to be taken into account. Is it a young cattle? A heifer? a beef ? a cow?
In the self-service departments of large areas, very often you will find young cattle and cow, prized for their red color that attracts the eye of the consumer, and also for their cheap prices on which they can be made a comfortable margin.

Do not be fooled 70% of the meat if not more is sold in the big retailer, I do not say that all it sells is poor quality away from the, but if you want Really eat something good, prefer the so-called "traditional" or "stand" rays.
Admittedly very often the meat and very often more expensive but !!

• it is a professional who serves you, who can inform you and guide you in your choices
  -the animals present on the stalls are of good quality (in the majority of cases)
  -the cup is made before you, so you see what you are buying.

I know, meat is expensive. But if I can give you a tip it is to eat a lot less and prefer quality products.
Do you know that in order to satisfy our nutritional needs we need only 500g of meat per week !!

There are two other tips that I can give you:

1:

Stop looking for lean meats from lean, especially for long cooking, fat brings taste and texture to your piece, in the absence of fat you will have a dry and flavorless meat! We do agree that nobody likes to have a big piece of fat on his plates, but well left (we call it the parsley meat) you will find your account.
No. 2:
This advice is only valid for beef!
Do not be afraid to prefer a matured meat (stale, you know when the meat takes on a black color), the neophytes will only see an outdated meat, whereas it is when a meat is matured that, It will release all its potential, tenderness, taste and texture !!
To make simple, to restore a meat consists in making him lose all its water in order to release its taste.

I think I have done roughly you have given the main advice to choose your meat well, I will now make a small list of pieces as well as their culinary destination.

Fast cooking:
-Fillet:
Which is often said to be the most tender, the most expensive, but devoid of flavor (in my opinion), very popular with the elderly
-Rump steack:
Made of very good steak, devoid of fat, ideal for children.
Rump steack heart :
One of the best roast beef (in my opinion) made of very tasty paved
-Pear and whiting:
Excellent steak or fondue, tender and tasty, provided that your butcher has to dull the pear! The whiting is always firmer than the pear.

• Round Parisian:
  Specific part of the fat slice, also called round slice, it is a wonderful roast, which also makes a good fondue piece
  -Sirloin:
  We do not show it anymore! One of the best steak
  -Rib & for rib:
  So yes! It is the same pieces, one is with bone the other without !! This is one of my favorite pieces because it gathers tenderness, taste and texture, the meat is confit with the fat when cooking, just great !!
  -Sirloin steak:
  Pieces very popular, gouty and tender but has the particular texture, it is a stringy meat, which does not necessarily agree with everyone.
  -Hanger steack:
  These two are also part of my favorite steaks, these are what are called red offal, the texture is close to that of the flap, but their taste and much more pronounced, tab and thicker and often more Tender than the shaft!

Here is already a very small list but which should help you to choose from the wide range of pieces that you can find on the stall of a butcher !!
I would make you another list afterwards, I would introduce you to another piece very little known steak, as well as cooking pieces long !!

(Sorry for the translation I am French and I do not master perfect English! Then google is my friend lol!In addition we do not have the same cut according to the country!)