The beef cuts in a Nairobi butchery, and what each one is actually for

Most people buy the same three cuts their whole life: stewing beef, a steak, and mince. That is not a failing — it is what the labels encourage. But a butchery counter has perhaps fifteen cuts in front of it at any time, and knowing four more of them will change how you cook.

Here is what we actually sell, in plain language, and what each one is for.

Stewing beef (chuck, blade, shin)

The workhorse. Cut from the shoulder and lower leg, full of connective tissue that dissolves into gelatine after an hour or two of gentle heat. This is your wet fry, your beef stew, your pilau.

What to look for: pieces with visible white streaks running through them, not just lean red blocks. Those streaks are what make the gravy thick without flour. If the pack is uniformly lean, it will be dry at the end of cooking.

Steak cuts (sirloin, fillet, ribeye, T-bone)

Sirloin is the balance point — enough fat for flavour, enough structure to eat with a knife. Fillet is the tender one with almost no fat, which means it depends entirely on how you cook it; overcook it and there is nothing to rescue it.

Ribeye is the forgiving one. The fat melts through the meat as it cooks, so it stays juicy even if you take it a minute too far. For a home cook feeding people who like their meat well done, ribeye is the kindest choice.

Buy these at least 2 cm thick. A thin steak cannot be browned properly without going grey inside.

Mince

Ask what went into it. Ours is cut from whole beef, not trim, and it is ground the same day. Minced meat has the shortest shelf life of anything on the counter because every surface is now exposed to air.

If you are buying mince for the week, buy it frozen or buy it daily. There is no middle ground.

Soup bones and oxtail

Underrated and cheap. Bones with marrow, simmered for three hours, make a stock that will improve every stew you cook for a month. Oxtail is the same idea with more meat attached — slow, rich, and impossible to rush.

If you have never made stock, start with a kilo of bones, an onion, and water. That is the whole recipe.

Offal (liver, kidney, matumbo)

Liver is the fastest protein in the shop — three minutes a side, no more. Soak it in milk or salty water for twenty minutes first and it loses the metallic edge people object to.

Matumbo needs the opposite treatment: long, slow cooking until it is tender, then a hard fry at the end to give it colour. Cook it fast and it will be like rubber.

What we would buy if we were cooking tonight

• For a family stew: 1 kg stewing beef, cut into 3 cm pieces.
• For a grill with friends: ribeye, 2.5 cm thick, one per person, plus a kilo of sausages for the children.
• For a Sunday: oxtail, four hours, served with mukimo.
• For a quick weeknight: mince and a bag of frozen peas.

None of this is complicated. The trick is asking for the cut by what you want to cook, rather than by the name on the label. Tell the person at the counter what the dish is and they will hand you the right piece — that is literally the job.