Grand reopening, now taking pre-orders: 20% off everything until Wednesday 4 November, 17:00
Order now and secure your cuts. The first orders ship on Wednesday 4 November with SEUR Frío (refrigerated courier) and arrive the next day (Balearic Islands: two days).
On orders over €129: free delivery and a free tray of 4 criollo sausages.
Buey · Ox · Castrated male over 48 months · Royal Decree 1698/2003
What Is Buey? Spanish Ox Beef, the Legal Definition and the Real Thing
If you have seen buey on half the menus in town and wondered how there can be so many oxen, good question. Buey is ox. In Spanish law (Royal Decree 1698/2003) it means beef from a castrated male over 48 months. A castrated male younger than that is a cebón, a female over 48 months is a vaca, and an entire male over 48 months is a toro. Real ox is rare and expensive, and the word is often used loosely on menus. We sell a retinto ox chuletón of 1 kg.
See the ox chuletón Old cow beef explained
- Ox as the law defines it: a castrated male over 48 months
- Retinto cattle from the province of Cádiz, raised outdoors
- Vacuum-packed, delivered chilled on Thursday before 13:00 on the Spanish mainland
Ox to order, and what sits next to it
The ox chuletón is a bone-in rib steak of 1 kg from a retinto ox, listed at €99.90. The second card is a loin from a castrated male, sold by weight. Its Spanish name says macho castrado and we describe it as exactly that: a steer loin. We do not call it ox. The third is the Gourmet BBQ box, approx. 5.5 kg for 8–12 people, which contains an ox chuletón; the ingredients and allergens of its sausages are on the product page. The shop reopens on Thursday 5 November 2026; pre-orders until 4 November carry 20% off in the basket.
Ox chuletón (buey), native retinto breed, 1 kg
Chuletón de Buey Retinto – Raza Autóctona 1 kg99,90€ VAT incl.Add to basketSteer loin (castrated male)
Lomo de macho castrado Price range: 59,90€ through 64,90€ VAT incl.Choose weightGourmet BBQ box: the grill master’s selection (approx. 5.5 kg)
Kit Barbacoa Gourmet · Selección del Maestro Parrillero199,90€ VAT incl.Contains processed meat: ask us for the allergen listView product
For comparison at the same table
The same steak from the same breed at two other ages: the mature cow chuletón of approx. 1 kg, our best seller at €63.90, and the milder yearling chuletón.
Chuletón (bone-in rib steak), retinto cow, approx. 1 kg
Chuletón de vaca retinta, 1 kg aprox.63,90€ VAT incl.Add to basketChuletón (bone-in rib steak), retinto yearling beef, approx. 1 kg
Chuletón Añojo Retinto36,90€ VAT incl.Add to basket
Four legal names for a grown animal
Spanish law names beef by the age and sex of the animal. Once cattle pass 48 months there are three possible names, and a fourth for the castrated male that has not got there yet. Only one of the four is ox.
| Spanish name | Sex | Age | In English |
|---|---|---|---|
| Buey | Castrated male | Over 48 months | Ox |
| Cebón | Castrated male | Under 48 months | Steer |
| Vaca | Female | Over 48 months | Mature cow, often sold as vaca vieja, old cow beef |
| Toro | Entire male | Over 48 months | Bull |
The younger categories, from ternera blanca to novillo, are set out on our page about yearling beef and the word ternera.
Why real ox is rare and expensive
The reason is time. Most Spanish beef is sold as yearling, at 12–24 months. An ox has to be kept for more than four years before it reaches the counter. Few farmers make that commitment, so few oxen exist, and the price of a real ox steak reflects those years.
“Buey” on the menu
Because ox is scarce and the name carries prestige, the word is often used loosely on menus, and a steak sold as buey may in practice be mature cow. That is no disaster on the plate: mature cow is a fine steak in its own right, and it is the meat behind the famous Spanish chuletón. If the distinction matters to you, ask which animal it was: buey, vaca or cebón.
English is just as loose: oxtail and ox cheek are names of cuts, not of the animal. Our own ox cheek is retinto yearling, listed with the other braising cuts.
Ox, cow and yearling from one breed
All three of our chuletones are retinto, the native red breed of south-west Spain, raised outdoors on the dehesa (open oak pastureland). Yearling is mild and pale red; cow and ox are mature animals, with darker meat and a deep flavour. If you have never eaten mature beef, begin with the cow and come to the ox later.
How to cook an ox chuletón
- Take the steak out of the fridge a good hour ahead.
- Cook over embers on the barbecue (US: grill), or in a heavy pan, as hot as it will go.
- Sear both sides until dark, then hold the steak on its fat edge with tongs until the fat softens and colours.
- Serve it rare, 50–52 °C (122–126 °F) at the core, or medium-rare, 54–57 °C (129–135 °F). Use a thermometer.
- Rest it five to ten minutes, take the meat off the bone in one piece and slice it across.
- Coarse salt at the end.
Buey questions
Is buey the same as vaca vieja?
No, though they are often confused. Vaca is a female over 48 months; buey is a castrated male of that age. Both are mature beef, with different legal names.
What is a cebón?
A castrated male under 48 months: a steer. After 48 months it is a buey.
Is your steer loin ox?
No, and we prefer to be exact about it. It is a loin from a castrated male; that is all its name says, so that is all we say. The only cut we sell as ox is the ox chuletón, on its own or in the Gourmet BBQ box.
Is every “chuletón de buey” on a Spanish menu really ox?
The word is often used loosely on menus. If you want to know, ask whether the steak is buey, vaca or cebón.
Does the ox chuletón arrive fresh or frozen?
Chilled and vacuum-packed. It keeps in the fridge until the use-by date on the label, or you can freeze it on arrival.