Where's the Beef?

• Two factors influence the cost of beef: the grade and the cut. Since 1926, U.S. beef has been graded according to the level of marbling. Expect to pay top dollar for fuller-flavored USDA prime beef, the top 3 percent of the market. Otherwise, the more expensive cuts are those from the parts of the cow that have worked the least during the animal’s lifetime. The choice cuts, therefore, are from the loin along the spine, with a typical cow yielding just 4 pounds of loin meat. Most coveted by gastronomes is the filet mignon, a delectable medallion of meat so tender it can be cut with a fork. Farther back, the bone-in T-bone and porterhouse steaks combine loin and strip steak for the larger appetite. All loin steaks benefit from minimal seasoning and cooking.

Luxury Lamb

• Like beef, the lamb loin yields the most expensive cuts, which can be intensely rich and flavorsome, though lacking the distinctive marbling of beef. The most exquisite cut is the lamb loin chop, the thick-cut chop from the animal’s saddle, so tender it is often served pink. Even more indulgent is the English chop, a double loin chop with meat from both sides of the saddle. Equally spectacular is the loin roll, the boneless preparation of loin meat that is usually tied, seasoned, or stuffed and roasted. Loin meat is the leanest cut and needs careful cooking, ideally on a dry heat. Grilling and roasting are ideal; stewing or braising would be a sacrilege.

Pork for a Prince

• The average hog yields roughly 140 pounds of meat, but just 2 of these make up the connoisseur’s favorite: pork tenderloin. While there is a distinct pleasure in attacking a moist rack of pork rib (the animal has 14 rib bones), fine dining focuses its attention on the tenderloin and chops along the animal’s backbone. Indeed, the expression “living high on the hog” comes from the fact that the cuts along the loin were reserved for the wealthy. To reduce the cost of buying pork tenderloin, consider buying it still on the bone and separating the backbone from the ribs at home, a process called “chining.”

Exotic Birds

• While many cuisines around the world prize the darker bone meat of the thigh and legs, these are often the budget cuts in western and North American cooking. Where chicken is concerned, lean, boneless breast meat commands the highest price. However, it almost makes sense to buy the whole chicken and prepare it at home, since most of the cost of breast meat derives from skinning and filleting it. While chicken is hardly a luxury dish, duck is frequently a gourmet’s delight. For a special treat, go for duck Magret, the gamey, full-flavored breast of the moulard duck, a specialty breed force fed for foie gras. The bloody breast is typically seared like steak and eaten rare.