Cut · Plate
Short plate
The short plate (also plate, navel or beef belly) is the lower part of the beef rib cage, below the rib primal and between the brisket and the flank: a flat slab of layered fat and lean. Sliced paper-thin it is the meat of Japanese gyudon, East Asian hot pot and Korean usamgyeop; cured whole, the navel is the traditional cut of New York pastrami.
At a glance
- Primal
- Plate: forequarter, below the rib, ribs 6–12
- Content
- Layers of fat and lean from the rib wall and belly
- Weight
- Bone-in 9–16+ kg / 20–35+ lb · boneless from 5.4 kg / 12 lb
- Lean
- Roughly 60–65% lean, the rest fat (boneless)
- Best cooked
- Paper-thin and fast (hot pot, gyudon, grill) or whole and slow (pastrami, braise)
What it is
The short plate is the belly of the forequarter. In American butchery it is what lies below the rib primal once the chuck, rib and brisket are separated: the lower ends of ribs 6 to 12 with the muscles, fat and membranes that cover them. Its meat is not one muscle but alternating layers of lean and fat from the rib wall and the belly, so it is fatty, coarse-grained and rich in connective tissue. That is why it is either cooked for a long time or sliced so thin that toughness stops mattering.
The names overlap. Plate on its own can mean the whole lower forequarter including the brisket (IMPS 122, the full plate); short plate is the part without the brisket (IMPS 121). The fatty, boneless lower part is traditionally called the navel, and in retail and export the piece is often sold as beef belly, by analogy with pork belly. In Asia the analogy is part of the name: Vietnamese ba chỉ bò takes the word for pork belly, ba chỉ, and Korean usamgyeop means "beef samgyeop", after pork samgyeopsal.
An industry estimate puts boneless short plate at roughly 60–65% lean meat, the rest fat. Because that fat runs in layers through the lean rather than sitting in one cap, a slice 2 mm thick stays juicy in boiling broth, which a slice of lean beef does not.
Where it comes from
The US specification (IMPS 121) defines the short plate as the part of the forequarter immediately below the primal rib, with seven ribs, the 6th to the 12th; the flank end follows the curve of the 12th rib. The rib is cut off no more than 15 cm / 6 in from the ribeye at the loin end and 25.4 cm / 10 in at the chuck end, so a short plate always carries the lower half of the rib wall. In front of it lies the brisket, behind it the flank. A bone-in short plate is ordered in weight ranges from about 9 kg / 20 lb to over 16 kg / 35 lb; boneless (IMPS 121A), from about 5.4 kg / 12 lb.
Several well-known cuts come out of it. On its inner face lie the outside skirt (IMPS 121C), the costal part of the diaphragm, and the inside skirt (121D, the transversus abdominis): see skirt steak and entraña. The lower ends of ribs 6 to 8 are sawn off as plate short ribs (IMPS 123A), the big "dino ribs" of Texas barbecue: see short ribs; a short plate with its short ribs removed is IMPS 121F. The meat between the bones is sold as plate rib fingers (IMPS 124B). What is left, boned and stripped of the diaphragm, the membrane and the thin inner muscle (IMPS 121B), is the short plate of the hot-pot and beef-bowl trade.
Other butchery traditions cut the area along different lines, so there is rarely an exact match. In Argentina the comparable piece is the falda, from the lower chest behind the tapa de asado, which carries the cartilage ends of ribs 7 to 10 and goes into puchero, stews and onto the grill. French butchery divides the lower rib wall into the plat de côtes, the middle part of the ribs with their muscles, and the tendron, cut at the level of the floating ribs. British butchers split it between the brisket and the thin flank, which is sold boned and rolled from a three-rib section for slow cooking.
Ba chỉ bò, gyū bara, usamgyeop: short plate names by country
Most of the world meets the short plate under a trade name for sliced meat rather than a cut name, and several of those names are also used for brisket or chuck sliced the same way.
| Name | Where | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Short plate · plate | United States | IMPS 121: the lower rib wall, ribs 6–12, without the brisket |
| Navel | United States | The fatty, boneless lower part of the plate: the classic pastrami cut |
| Full plate | United States | Short plate and brisket together (IMPS 122) |
| Beef belly | Export and retail | Trade name for boneless short plate |
| 牛バラ gyū bara | Japan | Belly and rib meat in general; the usual meat of gyudon |
| ともバラ tomobara | Japan | The rear bara: plate and flank (肩バラ kata-bara is the brisket end) |
| カルビ karubi | Japan | Yakiniku menu word, often bara meat: not one cut |
| 업진살 eopjinsal | South Korea | Belly meat of the yangji (brisket and flank) primal |
| 우삼겹 usamgyeop | South Korea | Eopjinsal or imported plate, frozen and sliced thin; often confused with chadolbagi (brisket point) |
| 肥牛 féiniú | China, Taiwan, Hong Kong | "Fatty beef": frozen hot-pot rolls, often short plate; a trade name, not a cut |
| Ba chỉ bò · ba chỉ bò Mỹ / Úc | Vietnam | Short plate, often imported (Mỹ = US, Úc = Australia), frozen and sliced for lẩu |
| Falda | Argentina | Lower chest and belly wall with the cartilage ends of ribs 7–10 |
| Plat de côtes · tendron | France | The middle of the ribs with their muscles · the floating-rib end |
| Thin flank | United Kingdom | Belly wall with a rib section, boned and rolled; British cut lines do not match the US plate |
How it's cooked
Paper-thin, in broth. Most short plate is eaten in slices 1.5–2 mm thick, cut on a slicer from frozen blocks. Such slices cook in seconds, before the fat can render out, and the coarse fibres are too short to be chewy. This is the meat of Chinese and Taiwanese hot pot, Japanese shabu-shabu and Vietnamese lẩu, and the cheaper alternative to marbled loin in sukiyaki.
Gyudon. The Japanese beef bowl, gyudon, is thin beef simmered with onion in a sweet soy and dashi broth and served over rice. Short plate is its most popular cut, with brisket as the alternative, and the large chains rely heavily on imported US short plate graded Choice: in 2017, 93.5% of the frozen beef the United States exported to Japan was brisket and short plate items.
Grilled thin. In Korea, usamgyeop is cooked quickly on a hot grill plate, like pork samgyeopsal; the slices shrink and curl as the fat renders, much like chadolbagi. US exporters describe short plate in Korea as typically sliced thin, marinated and served in hot pot and Korean barbecue-style meals. Japanese yakiniku uses bara meat under the name karubi, usually cut thicker than hot-pot slices.
Whole and slow. Cured, spiced and smoked in one piece, the navel is the traditional cut of New York pastrami; many delis now use brisket, whose fat sits mostly on the outside while the navel's runs through the middle. A slab of short plate also suits braising: in Argentina the falda goes into puchero and stews, and its gelatinous, fatty meat repays hours of gentle heat.
Buying it
The short plate is above all an export cut. About 95% of US short plate is exported, and its main destinations are Japan, China, South Korea and Taiwan. Most buyers therefore never see the slab: they buy frozen, pre-sliced rolls or trays under a trade name, such as short plate or beef belly in English, ba chỉ bò, usamgyeop or féiniú in Asia.
In Vietnam, ba chỉ bò is sold in supermarket frozen sections as imported meat, labelled by origin: ba chỉ bò Mỹ (US) or ba chỉ bò Úc (Australian), often marked for hot pot. Imported short plate is commonly graded: US product sold for hot pot is often labelled USDA Choice.
Check that the label names the cut, short plate or plate, and not only "hot-pot beef", since chuck and brisket are sliced and packed the same way and cook differently. Look for thin, even layers of white fat running through the lean rather than one thick band, and for slices of uniform thickness. Thin frozen slices thaw in minutes: separate them while still cold and keep them in the refrigerator until the pot is boiling.
Names around the world
17
The same muscle, named by language and by trade system.
| English | Short plate · plate · navel · beef belly |
| Tiếng Việt | Ba chỉ bò |
| Español | Falda (Argentina) |
| 한국어 | 업진살 · 우삼겹 |
| 日本語 | 牛バラ · ともバラ |
| Français | Plat de côtes · tendron |
| Italiano | Costine |
| Русский | Короткие рёбра |
| 中文 | 肥牛 (hot-pot slices) |
All the cuts' names, country by country →
Trade and national systems
| System | Name | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| United States | Short plate · plate · navel (beef belly) | IMPS 121 / 121A / 121B · 122 |
| United Kingdom | Thin flank · brisket (no exact equivalent) | AHDB |
| Argentina | Falda (falda deshuesada · falsa entraña) | |
| France | Plat de côtes · tendron | Larousse |
| Japan | 牛バラ (gyū bara) · ともバラ (tomobara, plate and flank) | |
| Korea | 업진살 (eopjinsal) · 우삼겹 (usamgyeop, sliced thin) | |
| China · Taiwan · Hong Kong | 肥牛 féiniú (hot-pot rolls; a trade name, not a cut) | |
| Vietnam | Ba chỉ bò · ba chỉ bò Mỹ / Úc (imported, sliced for hot pot) |
Frequently asked questions
What is beef short plate?
The lower part of the beef rib cage in the forequarter, below the rib primal and between the brisket and the flank (ribs 6–12, IMPS 121). It is fatty, layered meat, usually sliced thin for hot pot and gyudon or cured whole for pastrami.
What is the difference between beef plate and brisket?
They are neighbours. The brisket is the front of the lower chest, made mainly of the pectoral muscles; the short plate is the rib wall and belly behind it. In US specifications the two together are the full plate (IMPS 122).
What is short plate used for?
Mostly hot pot and shabu-shabu, Japanese gyudon, thin-sliced Korean-style grilling (usamgyeop), sukiyaki and beef rolls. Kept whole, it is braised or cured for pastrami.
What cut of beef is used for gyudon?
Mostly short plate (gyū bara), sliced 1.5–2 mm thick; brisket is also used. Japan's beef-bowl chains rely heavily on imported US short plate.
What is beef belly?
A trade name for boneless short plate, also called the navel, by analogy with pork belly. It is sold sliced thin for hot pot and barbecue, or whole for pastrami and braising.
Is short plate the same as short ribs?
No, but the plate short ribs are cut from it: the lower ends of ribs 6 to 8 (IMPS 123A). Short plate usually means the boneless belly meat that remains.
What is féiniú (肥牛) in hot pot?
"Fatty beef": frozen beef sliced paper-thin into rolls for hot pot. It is a trade name, not a cut; short plate is a common source, but brisket and chuck are sold the same way.
What is usamgyeop?
Korean thin-sliced beef belly, named after pork samgyeopsal: plate meat (eopjinsal) or imported short plate, frozen and sliced thin, grilled quickly. It is often confused with chadolbagi, which is brisket point.
What cut is pastrami made from?
Traditionally the navel, the fatty lower part of the plate, whose fat runs through the middle of the meat. Many delis now use brisket.
How thin should short plate be sliced for hot pot?
About 1.5–2 mm. It is easiest to slice from a partly frozen block; commercial hot-pot rolls are cut on a slicer from frozen meat.
Sources
14
- USDA Agricultural Marketing Service. Institutional Meat Purchase Specifications: Fresh Beef Series 100. Washington, DC, 2014. www.ams.usda.gov/sites/default/files/media/IMPS_100_Fresh_Beef%5B1%5D.pdf
- U.S. Meat Export Federation. "As China obstacles persist, promotions move more U.S. beef short plate in Korea." Denver, 25 June 2025. usmef.org/news/as-china-obstacles-persist-promotions-move-more-u-s-beef-short-plate-in-korea
- Halladay, Kerry. "Japanese raise tariffs on U.S. beef." Western Livestock Journal, 7 August 2017. www.wlj.net/japanese-raise-tariffs-on-u-s-beef
- Kay, Steve. "Kay's Cuts: Japan's beef bowl tariff blow." Beef Central, August 2017. www.beefcentral.com/?p=135094
- Certified Angus Beef. "Short Plate" (cut guide: primal plate; also known as navel, belly). www.certifiedangusbeef.com/en/cooking/cuts/Short-Plate
- Vaughan, Kelly. "What's the difference between pastrami and corned beef? We asked Katz's deli." Salon (from Food52), 12 April 2022. www.salon.com/2022/04/12/whats-the-difference-between-pastrami-and-corned-beef-we-asked-katzs-deli_partner
- Kang Dong-wan (강동완). "차돌박이보다 더 차돌박이 같은데 가격은 저렴해요" (on Hanwoo samgyeop cut from eopjinsal). Sidae, 7 February 2014. www.sidae.com/article/2014020521018089295
- Electronic Dictionary Research and Development Group. JMdict, entry ともバラ ("cut of meat comprising the plate and the flank"), via Jisho.org. jisho.org/search/%E3%81%A8%E3%82%82%E3%83%90%E3%83%A9
- Costco Wholesale Taiwan. 冷凍美國特選肥牛肉卷 / Frozen US Choice Pastrami Roll (part: 胸腹部; 0.15 cm hot-pot slice). Product 147120, accessed October 2026. www.costco.com.tw/p/147120
- Bách Hóa Xanh. Thịt, cá đông lạnh (frozen meat and fish): "Ba chỉ bò Mỹ Hot pot", "Ba chỉ bò Úc đông lạnh". Accessed October 2026. www.bachhoaxanh.com/ca-hai-san-dong-lanh-mrt
- Infocampo. "De la falda a la cima: el corte de carne económico que es tendencia y tiene múltiples formas de preparación." Buenos Aires, 29 October 2023. www.infocampo.com.ar/de-la-falda-a-la-cima-el-corte-de-carne-economico-que-es-tendencia-y-tiene-multiples-formas-de-preparacion
- Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB). Thin Flank B011: Thin Flank Boned and Rolled (beef cut specification). ahdb.org.uk/thin-flank-boned-and-rolled
- New Viet Dairy. "Canada Beef Short Plate" (frozen beef belly, 10 × 450 g; suggested for shabu-shabu, sukiyaki, beef rolls with mushrooms, pan-frying and braising). Product 7834NVCR, accessed October 2026. newviet.vn/en/product/canada-beef-short-plate-7834nvcr
- Dictionnaire Larousse (online), entries "plat de côtes" and "tendron". www.larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais/tendron
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