Menu Concepts & Diner Insights
Explore ideas for building exciting menus around beef.
Beef Makes Every Menu Better
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There’s no shortage of options for getting more beef on your menu, from appetizers to mains, and seasonal specialties. Get cutting-edge intel on menu planning, customer preferences, operations, and more.
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Serving the New Appetite: Beef's Role in Portion-Conscious Dining
As more Americans turn to weight loss medications, such as GLP-1s, for managing weight and chronic conditions, foodservice operators are witnessing a notable shift in how, what, and why people eat.
Today’s Beef Consumer: Key Insights for Retail & Foodservice
Today’s beef consumer is adapting to shifting habits, health goals, and economic pressures. Whether cooking at home or dining out, choices reflect evolving priorities around taste, value, nutrition, and trust.
2025 Beef Trends that Drive Traffic
Beef is featured on 90% of U.S. restaurant menus, underscoring its widespread appeal, versatility across a wide range of menu applications, and delicious capacity to satisfy a diverse range of customer tastes and dining occasions. Data also shows that 87% of diners who order beef report a positive eating experience. This combination of ubiquity and proven satisfaction makes beef an ideal choice for restaurateurs looking to align with evolving preferences and capitalize on emerging menu trends.
Steak Descriptor Sheet for Restaurants
The Steak Descriptor Sheet is a handy guide that details the key attributes of various steak cuts, including their name, primal cut, tenderness, marbling, flavor, and overall eating experience. This resource can be incredibly useful for restaurant wait staff, enabling them to confidently recommend the best steak options to customers based on their preferences.
BBQ Beef Cut Guide
Beef cuts for barbecue go far beyond just brisket. There is a wide variety of beef cuts that can be utilized on the grill or in the smoker. No matter the budget, or application, this guide will help you find the perfect cut to enhance the BBQ eating experience.
Fajita Cut Guide
Explore the range of versatile cuts to create delicious beef fajitas! Fajitas reign as a beloved favorite dish in restaurants and home kitchens. The flavorful beef strips can be crafted from an array of traditional and lesser-known cuts.
Lean Beef as Part of a Healthy Menu
Check out this inspiration sheet for lean beef nutritional information and some inspirational menu concepts you can bring into your own kitchen.
Corned Beef Menu Inspiration
While most consider Corned Beef synonymous with St. Patrick’s Day, this versatile cut of Beef Brisket offers a variety of unique and delicious menu inspirations that can be featured year-round.
Sirloin Bavette Menu Inspiration
This boneless cut comes from the Sirloin primal and is similar to Skirt and Flank Steaks. While commonly used as fajita strips, the Sirloin Bavette provides chefs with a canvas for creative and innovative menu ideas.
Beef and Alcohol Menu Pairing
Looking for ways to maximize both beef and alcohol sales? Check out these creative menu applications that are likely to resonate with your customer base.
Asian Beef Trends
Flavors from Korea, Japan, Vietnam and the Philippines are influencing beef dishes across the country. These cuisines can stand on their own or be fused together, evidenced by the French-Vietnamese, Pacific-Rim and Pan-Asian fare trending on menus today.
Shoulder Petite Tender Menu Inspiration
Don’t let this little cut from the Chuck primal fool you — the Shoulder Petite Tender is loaded with flavor and makes a great addition to any menu and is well suited to a variety of applications, from appetizers to entrees.
Diner and Operator Data
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See what’s cooking — and selling well — at dining establishments across the country.
The beef burger: How to describe this menu staple
There are many kinds of crave worthy foods. From foods that are sweet and salty to savory, there is one crave-able item that sure gets consumers talking. National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, a contractor to the Beef Checkoff, recently conducted research on consumer preferences for burgers when dining out. Consumers’ own words highlight just how enticing burgers are for them.
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Beef's sustainability: Beef's role in a resilient food system
The path to sustainability is never complete. Rather, it is a continuous journey being carried out by the farmers and ranchers responsible for raising and supplying beef to the U.S. and across the world. To the beef community, sustainability comprises much more than environmental considerations. Today, a sustainable food supply balances efficient production with environmental, social and economic impacts.
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Love Beef Tender: How aging affects beef's tenderness
Tenderness is one of the biggest influencers of consumer approval of beef. Since most consumers can differentiate between tough and tender beef, improving tenderness is a high priority for the beef industry. One of the best methods to do this is by aging beef.
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Sustainability and your bottom line: How beef plays a role
Restaurant foodservice operators know sustainability is more than just a buzz word… it impacts an operation’s bottom line and restaurants’ sustainability efforts factor into about half of diners’ decisions on where to dine.
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