Meat Cuts in Monterrey: How to Order Like a Local

Monterrey is a meat city, and meat here comes with its own vocabulary. If you are visiting, it is easy to order badly for no reason other than the names meaning something different from what you expect. This is the short guide: what each cut is, what to expect, and what to order first.

For the wider picture of northeastern Mexican cooking — machaca, charro beans, glorias — see the guide to the best food in Monterrey.

First: what "carne asada" actually means

It is not a cut and not a dish. It is the gathering. A charcoal grill, several cuts going at once, flour tortillas, charro beans, salsa, grilled spring onions and guacamole, and people around it for hours. It is the most deeply rooted social custom in the city, and when someone from Monterrey says "let's do a carne asada," they are inviting you to their house, not to a restaurant.

In a restaurant, what you order is specific cuts.

The cuts you will see

Arrachera. Skirt steak, and the cut most associated with Monterrey. Thin, fibrous, full of flavour, almost always marinated, cooked fast and eaten in tacos. If you only order one, this is the most representative.

Agujas norteñas. Beef short ribs cut thin, on the bone. Very flavourful and probably the most "home cooking" item on the list.

Diezmillo. Chuck. Affordable and tasty — what a lot of families grill on an ordinary Sunday.

Rib eye. Thick and marbled. The restaurant cut, and best at medium or below.

Sirloin and New York. Leaner and firmer. A good pick if you prefer less fat.

Puntas de filete. Small pieces, usually stewed with vegetables or a la mexicana. Not a grill item — this is a diner dish.

Fajita. Careful with this one. In northern Mexico, fajita is the cut — the skirt — not the Tex-Mex dish of peppers and onions served in a tortilla.

And cabrito, which sits apart

Cabrito is not a beef cut: it is the signature dish of the northeast. Young goat roasted slowly over coals and served by the piece. Each part has its own name — leg, shoulder, riñonada, ribs — and they differ a lot.

If it is your first time, the leg is the safest. The riñonada is the fattiest and the most divisive.

How to order

Doneness. The scale runs rojo (rare), término medio (medium), tres cuartos (medium well) and bien cocido (well done). On a thick cut like rib eye, medium gets the best out of it. On a thin cut like arrachera, cooking is fast by definition and asking for rare makes little sense.

Sides. The standard set is charro beans, flour tortillas, grilled spring onions, guacamole and salsa. If you are asked corn or flour tortillas, the local answer is flour.

Quantity. Restaurant cuts arrive generous. For two people, one thick cut plus something thin for tacos works better than two thick cuts.

Where to eat it

Three formats, and they are not competing:

• A traditional cabritería — for cabrito and the classic experience.
• A steakhouse — for rib eye and company, with a menu and doneness to choose.
• A taquería de asada — arrachera in a taco, cheap and very good. Often the best meat of the trip comes from here.

A few details that help

• Salsa here is not sweet. It is chilli-based and it genuinely burns. Taste it before you drown the taco.
• Charro beans are part of the meal, not an extra. Brothy, with bacon and chilli, eaten with a spoon between tacos.
• Timing. The main meal in Monterrey is mid-afternoon, not noon. Arriving at a cabritería at one o'clock is arriving early.

If you would rather grill it yourself, supermarket and local butcher meat here is excellent and costs a fraction of a restaurant. A self-contained studio for two in Guadalupe — with a kitchenette, private entrance, free parking and self check-in — suits that kind of trip. Message us on WhatsApp and we will check availability for your dates.