Honor the Animal. Nourish the Body. Embrace the Lifestyle.
When most people walk up to a butcher counter, they see two or three familiar options: ribeye, filet, maybe sirloin if they’re feeling economical. But those who live the carnivore lifestyle, those who understand ancestral health and nutrient density, know that a cow is far more than a few fancy steaks.
Each cut of beef has its own story, its own flavor, and its own purpose in a truly healing diet.
Understanding where each cut comes from, and how to prepare it, isn’t just culinary know-how. It’s a form of reverence.
And that’s what this guide is all about.
Inspired by the article “All the Cuts of Beef and How to Cook Them” and aligned with the foundational principles of the book The Carnivore Lifestyle, let’s explore the cow from nose to tail.
Why This Matters: The Carnivore Philosophy of Wholeness
At ImmerHealth, we don’t believe in wasting good food, or squandering good biology. A whole-animal approach to eating delivers better nutrition, deeper satisfaction, and a more sustainable footprint.
Industrial food systems have taught us to chase the leanest, most uniform slices. But ancestral cultures, including traditional butchers and Indigenous tribes, understood that every cut offers something essential. Whether it’s collagen, iron, marrow, or fat-soluble vitamins, the treasure is in the variety.
Benefits of Eating Diverse Beef Cuts:
- 🧠 Improves nutrient density (especially iron, zinc, B12, vitamin A, and K2)
- 💪 Supports connective tissue health (oxtail and shank)
- 🩸 Promotes blood-building and fertility (especially with organ meats)
- 🐄 Reduces waste and respects the animal
Front to Back: Key Cuts of Beef and How to Use Them
🥩 1. Chuck: The Workhorse with Soul
Where it’s from: The shoulder area
Cuts include: Chuck roast, chuck steak, shoulder clod
Texture: Tougher, but deeply flavorful
Cooking methods: Braise, stew, pressure cook, slow roast
Why carnivores love it: Chuck is rich in collagen and connective tissue, which helps support your joints, skin, and gut lining. When slow-cooked, it transforms into melt-in-your-mouth nourishment.
💡 Tip: Cook chuck in bone broth with garlic and sea salt for a powerhouse, anti-inflammatory meal.
🔥 2. Rib: Rich, Fatty, and Celebrated
Where it’s from: Upper midsection
Cuts include: Ribeye steak, prime rib, back ribs
Texture: Marbled and tender
Cooking methods: Grilling, pan-searing, oven-roasting
Why carnivores love it: Ribeye is often considered the king of steaks thanks to its high fat content and buttery texture. It’s also rich in stearic acid, a saturated fat that supports mitochondrial health and fat-burning metabolism.
🍳 Cook ribeye in tallow with a runny yolk for animal-based decadence.
🦴 3. Brisket: The Hidden Healer
Where it’s from: Chest or breast area
Cuts include: Brisket flat, point cut
Texture: Tough but unctuous when slow-cooked
Cooking methods: Smoking, braising, sous vide
Why carnivores love it: Brisket is deeply satisfying when done right. Its high collagen content makes it a joint-supporting marvel, and it pairs beautifully with nothing but salt and fire.
🫀 Nutrient insight: Brisket contains glycine, an amino acid that helps balance methionine and supports liver detoxification.
🦵 4. Shank: The Forgotten Superfood
Where it’s from: The legs
Cuts include: Beef shank, osso buco
Texture: Tough and dense, but collagen-rich
Cooking methods: Braising, pressure cooking
Why carnivores love it: The marrow in beef shanks is packed with fat-soluble vitamins, stem-cell stimulating lipids, and iron. Eating this cut is a direct nod to how our ancestors consumed every nutrient the body needs.
🦴 Pro tip: Save the bones after cooking to make rich, gelatinous broth.
🐮 5. Plate: Fat-Forward and Flavorful
Where it’s from: Below the rib, near the belly
Cuts include: Skirt steak, hanger steak, short ribs
Texture: Coarse, deeply flavorful
Cooking methods: Grilling, pan-searing, slow roasting
Why carnivores love it: Skirt and hanger steak may be lesser-known, but they’re loaded with flavor and bioavailable iron. Short ribs, on the other hand, offer a fatty, collagen-rich feast when slow cooked.
🔥 Serve short ribs with a side of rendered tallow and you’ve got a meal made for metabolic healing.
🐂 6. Loin: The Luxury Section
Where it’s from: Behind the ribs, top of the animal
Cuts include: Strip steak (NY strip), tenderloin (filet), T-bone, porterhouse
Texture: Tender and leaner (especially tenderloin)
Cooking methods: Grilling, searing, roasting
Why carnivores love it: These are the classics, the steaks people order when they want something luxurious. For high-fat carnivores, pairing these leaner cuts with a fat source (like butter, bone marrow, or egg yolk) balances the macros.
⚖️ Balance = longevity. Don’t fear fat, embrace it.
🍖 7. Round: Lean, Mean, and Muscle-Friendly
Where it’s from: Rear leg
Cuts include: Top round, bottom round, eye of round, rump roast
Texture: Lean, slightly tough
Cooking methods: Roasting, jerky, braising
Why carnivores love it: These are excellent budget cuts that become tender with the right technique. Great for meal prepping, slicing, or making homemade beef jerky without sugar or preservatives.
💪 Carnivore fuel: Combine top round slices with hard-boiled eggs for an on-the-go protein hit.
Eat More Than Muscle: The Carnivore Completeness Principle
Muscle meat alone isn’t enough. Our ancestors didn’t stop at steak, and neither should we.
True carnivore living includes:
- Bone marrow
- Liver, kidney, and heart
- Suet and tallow
- Bone broth and skin
- Tongue and oxtail
This “completeness principle” honors the whole animal while delivering crucial nutrients like retinol (active vitamin A), CoQ10, heme iron, and choline, nutrients often missing from modern diets.
🙌 Health is wholeness. Eat accordingly.
Cooking Tips for Carnivore Living
- Use animal fat instead of seed oils: Tallow, lard, butter, duck fat
- Salt & pepper generously: Especially if you’re low-carb or zero-carb
- Don’t overcook: Aim for rare to medium-rare to preserve nutrients
- Simmer the bones: Bone broth is a daily healer
- Cook low and slow: Especially for collagen-rich cuts like shank and chuck
Let’s Debunk Some Myths
🥩 “Red meat causes heart disease”
🔍 Myth. Meta-analyses have shown no clear causal link between unprocessed red meat and cardiovascular disease when refined carbs and seed oils are removed (Zeraatkar et al., 2019).
🥩 “Fat will make you fat”
🔍 False. Dietary fat, especially saturated fat, is essential for hormone production, cellular integrity, and satiety. The real culprits are ultra-processed carbs and inflammatory oils (Ludwig et al., 2020).
🥩 “You need fiber to be healthy”
🔍 Not necessarily. Multiple studies have shown that a zero-fiber diet does not cause constipation when adequate fat and hydration are maintained (O’Keefe et al., 2015).
A Carnivore’s Manifesto: Eat with Intention
Choosing which cuts to eat isn’t about gourmet flair, it’s about ancestral intelligence. Every slice, every stew, every bite of collagen or marrow is a vote for vitality, not conformity.
This is the carnivore lifestyle.
It’s not about trends. It’s about truth.
You can go in and out of the carnivore lifestyle to get the best of all worlds.
📘 Ready to Go Deeper? Download The Carnivore Lifestyle
Your ancestors thrived on fat, marrow, muscle, and fire. Now it’s your turn.
Our Amazon book, The Carnivore Lifestyle, is your complete guide to reclaiming energy, healing the gut, reducing inflammation, and finally understanding what it means to eat like you’re designed to.
👉 Get the book now on Amazon
Inside you’ll learn:
- Which cuts build bone, heal tissue, and balance hormones
- How to source, store, and cook every part of the animal
- Meal plans for zero-carb living
- The science behind why meat heals
⭐ Loved The Book? Leave a Review
If you’ve read The Carnivore Lifestyle, we’d be honored if you shared your experience. Your review on Amazon helps others discover a path to better health, and helps us spread this healing movement.
💬 Leave a review today, your story could change someone’s life.
Final Thought: The Cow Is Sacred
A cow isn’t just meat. It’s a multivitamin. A sacred teacher. A source of strength.
By learning to eat it well, and wholly, you’re choosing deep nourishment over shallow convenience.
This is more than eating. It’s remembering.
Now go fire up the skillet, grab your chuck or shank or skirt steak, and live like you’re meant to.
