The first major division of a carcass — chuck, rib, loin, round on beef. Every steak and roast is subdivided from a primal.
A primal cut is one of the first major sections a butcher cuts a whole carcass into. Beef has eight (chuck, rib, short loin, sirloin, round, brisket, plate, flank); pork has five (shoulder, loin, belly, ham, jowl). Retail cuts — ribeye, strip, chop — are all sub-cuts of primals.
Primals determine what ends up in your half beef: roughly 26% chuck (roasts + ground), 9% rib (ribeye, prime rib), 8% short loin (T-bone, strip, tenderloin), 9% sirloin, 24% round, 13% brisket/plate/flank, 11% shank and other.
Ribeye primal
Yields ribeye steaks, prime rib roast, back ribs
Short loin primal
Yields T-bone, porterhouse, NY strip, tenderloin
Marbling
Intramuscular fat flecks inside a muscle — drives flavor, juiciness, and USDA quality grade.
Hanging Weight
The weight of a butchered animal after hide, head, and viscera are removed — but before cuts and trim. What most farmers price on.
Take-Home Weight
The actual packaged meat that ends up in your freezer — after the butcher cuts bone, trim, and fat from the hanging carcass.