Tafelspitz

Beef · Top Sirloin
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The Viennese signature boiled-beef cut — anatomically the rump cap (the same muscle as Brazilian picanha), but treated in a completely different culinary tradition. Simmered slowly in beef broth with root vegetables until tender, sliced against the grain, and served with the broth, apple-horseradish, chive cream, and bone marrow on toast. A pillar of Austro-Hungarian Wiener cuisine. Reportedly the favourite dish of Emperor Franz Joseph I.

Raw Tafelspitz — Beef Top Sirloin cut

Names by country

CountryNameNotes
🇺🇸United StatesTafelspitzGerman loanword used in English-speaking culinary references; descriptive 'boiled rump cap, Vienna-style' is rarely used.
🇬🇧United KingdomTafelspitz
🇲🇽MexicoTafelspitz
🇦🇷ArgentinaTafelspitzSometimes 'picanha hervida a la vienesa' on Argentine menus.
🇫🇷FranceTafelspitzGerman loanword; sometimes 'pointe de culotte bouillie à la viennoise' on French menus.
🇪🇸SpainTafelspitz
🇵🇹PortugalTafelspitz
🇧🇷BrazilTafelspitzSometimes 'picanha cozida' in Brazilian translation, though the loanword is preferred for the Viennese preparation.
🇮🇹ItalyPunta di scamone alla vienneseItalian descriptive name; the German loanword 'Tafelspitz' is also used.
🇩🇪GermanyTafelspitzprimaryAustrian/German primary; literally 'table point' — refers to both the cut and the dish.

Similar cuts

Picanhaclose

Anatomically the same muscle (rump cap, biceps femoris). Tafelspitz is the Austro-Viennese boiled preparation; picanha is the Brazilian grilled/skewered preparation. Same cut, opposite cooking traditions.

Sirloinapproximate

Adjacent primal — the rump cap sits at the bottom edge of the sirloin/round area depending on the regional butchery system.

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