Supermarket Lingo [Meats]

Meats

Moving to a Latin American country, I spent an unnecessarily long time shopping for ordinary groceries. I stressed over not having the proper vocabulary to ask what I'm looking for, especially because the words differ slightly for every Spanish-speaking country and I couldn't find one for Panamanian Spanish! Now that I've (mostly) conquered this problem, I hope this simplified guide is able to help someone.

First up is MEATS, only because I struggled the most with all the different names for cuts.

Beef:carne de res
Ground beef: carne molida ormolida de res
Boneless:deshuesada/o, pulpa, oren trozo
Very finely chopped:picada

To shred:deshebrar
Roasting: asar/asada
Cocido: cooked
A la plancha: grilled

Frito: fried
A la parrilla: BBQ
Meat for stewing:carne para guisar
Meat for shredding (fortacos): carne para deshebrar

Bistec de primera (prime cut) : solomillo (tenderloin), lomo alto (top loin) / lomo bajo (bottom loin), babilla, cadera, tapa, contratapa (these are all round cuts)
|*[carne molida de primera (first-grade ground beef) is taken from these cuts]

Bistec de segunda (secondary cut): aguja, espaldilla, morcillo (these are rib cuts)
* [carne molida de segunda (second-grade ground beef) is taken from these cuts]

Beef Cuts

Chuck: pot roast, stew meat, hamburger

  • Pescuezo (neck): for soup
  • Paleta: shoulder

Brisket: corned beef and barbecued beef

  • Pecho: Cooked, soup, or as asado (roast)

Rib

  • Costilla : rib
  • Rib Eye : This is usually labeled "Bistec Rib Eye"
  • Agujas cortas: short ribs

Plate

  • Entra ña : the skirt steak. A popular Argentinian cut; it is extremely tender, served rare/medium rare, and rich and full of flavor

Loin: A very common cut in supermarkets.

  • Filete (Bistec de Filete ): Short loin/tenderloin
  • Solomillo: Tenderloin, premium. Juicy and soft.
  • Palomilla : Loin/Sirloin
  • Lomo (Bistec de lomo): Loin, usually top loin (strip) steak. (deshuesado would mean boneless)
  • T-bone: T-Bone steak(same in Spanish)
  • Chuleta de lomos: Porterhouse
  • Lomo alto: top loin
  • Lomo bajo: bottom loin

Flank

  • Babilla: the rump end of the thigh meat including the tendons. A more tender cut that can be braised, stewed.
  • Ropa Vieja: Means "old clothes." Flank steak, also the name of an authentic Cuban dish which is shredded flank steak braised in tomato sauce.
  • Falda:  faldameans "skirt" in Spanish, but this is really a flank steak. Fibrous and gelatinous. Good in stews or as stuffing

Round: Top round can be roasted; other cuts cooked using moist-heat methods. Sometimes, cuts are roasted and served very thin, as in deli-style roast beef.

  • Redondo: round
  • Pulpa Blanca : Bottom Round (sometimes flank)
  • Pulpa Negra : Top Round

Shank, or leg: is best braised, stewed, or in stocks.

  • Jarrete : beef shank. Generally it's used for stews and can get very soft with a pressure cooker. However, it can be a little game-y, with tendons/collagen remaining

Ground beef

  • Carne molida de primera : first-grade ground beef
  • Carne molida de segunda : second-grade ground beef

Others

Ternera: veal

Mondongo: innards

Tuétano : bone marrow

Lengua: tongue

Pork

Pork is generally labeled by how it's cleaned, rather than specific cut. Most common are Puerco liso (boneless), chuleta (pork chop), or en trozos (pieces of pork).

  • Lomo : Filet pork
  • Puerco liso: boneless
  • Chuleta : pork chop
  • Solomillo de cerdo: pork tenderloin
  • Tocino: bacon
  • Jamón : ham

Chicken

Chicken is very popular in this country. Despite this, boneless chicken is not easily found. People thought I was crazy or didn't understand me every time I asked for it. The correct way to ask is for deshuesado (boneless). Otherwise the packaging labeled Filete is boneless (filete de encuentro is boneless thigh, filete de pechuga is boneless breast). Otherwise there are only four different types of cuts.

  • Muslo : Thigh meat
  • Pechuga : breast
  • Encuentro (Muslo encuentro) : drumstick
  • Ala : wings
  • Filete de Pechuga: boneless breast meat

Other Meats

Duck: pato

Lamb: cordero

Next Up...

Fish and Seafood

Find out how to look for all the common grocery store items [seafood edition]

What you can read next