I know a butcher and he says what I ask may have regional names.
First up, I recommend getting friendly with a proper butcher - find a butcher that either makes the cuts or can order them in. Friendly butcher will quite often give you freebies to try. I have had Tail, Shin & Cheek to try. All tasty cheap cuts.
There is a lot of 'butchers' around my way who sell everything pre-packed & cut ready...
As well as knowing a butcher with 40 years experience, I am also lucky enough to have a small arbiter that has a butcher shop attached. Anything I want, they will go out into the cold room, bring in a carcass & saw/cut the beef in front of me... no surprise food hygenie only gives them a rating of 1
Pork Butt - He says this is the Hand & Spring and you would want it bone in & not rolled.
Tri Tip - now this gets confusing as it can be known as the Point (not point end) or point steak.
It is at the bottom of the rump/thin end where it joins the sirloin. It is also trangular shape & should weigh about 1kg-1.5kg - It can also be known as the butchers choice. my Butcher friend charges £10 a kg.
Brisket - Packer Brisket as it is called in the USA is both a Point end & a flat end. - Point end has nothing to do with a trip-tip. Brisket comes from the forequarters, Tritip from the Hindquarters.
If you want a whole Packer brisket, you want the flat & point ends in one slab & unrolled. You can ask the butcher to trim the fat if you wish... which is a clever way to get the price down (I remember my mum in butchers would order a brisket & ask for the fat to be cut off. Once weighed & price calculated, she would then ask for the fat to cook the brisket in for the gravy - never got charged for the fat!) - current price on Brisket is around £9 a KG
Ribs - I can only get whole ribs from a different butcher - they are always frozen, but I can cut them St Louis Style & get a good portion of point ends. Got 2x Racks last week for £6 each - They was only £4 last year
- but they are done on weight. Again specify you want them left whole. 1st time I asked, the butcher got his clever out & started chopping them!Want to share what you know? or if you have Q's about other cuts, I can try to find out.
