Prime Beef Location in Red Dead Redemption 2! How to find and cook it?

Cooking food and consuming them are a couple of crucial survival aspects for healing and rejuvenating players’ Health, Stamina, and Dead-eye abilities in the world of Red Dead Redemption 2. Apart from recovery, food also grants players a few small and unique bonuses to keep them always at the top of their game.  

Nearly all cooking recipes require some kind of meat as an ingredient. Players can gather and cook 15 types of meat in the game, including Prime Beef, to gain certain healing benefits. 

Prime Beef is acquired by looting Bison, Bulls, Cows, and Oxen in Red Dead Redemption 2. It can be used in a cooking recipe to make Plain Prime Beef, Thyme Prime Beef, Oregano Prime Beef, or Minty Prime Beef. 

Generally, you can easily find these animals in the wild or on various farms throughout the RDR2’s virtual world, but if you are looking for their sure-shot spawning location, take a look at the maps below. 

1. Bison Locations in Red Dead Redemption 2 

Bison can be found in the following regions of New Hanover and West Elizabeth: 

1. Heartland Overflow; 

2. Between Citadel Rock and Caliban’s Seat; 

3. South of ‘The Heartlands’ label on the map, northeast of Flatneck station; and 

4.  Great Plains region of West Elizabeth.  

Bison are strong, bulky, wild creatures and cannot be killed that easily. It is recommended to use a Long Shot rifle or a bow with enhanced arrows to hunt them down. 

2. Bull Locations in Red Dead Redemption 2 

Bulls are commonly found on the farms in the regions: 

1. North of the Little Creek River in northern West Elizabeth; 

2. North of Heartland oil fields in the northern part of New Hanover; and 

3. South of Bluewater Marsh near the east coast of Lemoyne. 

Pro tip: As Bulls always spawn on a farm, lure them away to an isolated place before killing them; otherwise, it may lead to a shoot-out or bounty.  

Like Bison, a Bull is a muscular animal and thus hard to kill. Use a powerful rifle or bow with improved arrows to hunt it. 

3. Cow Locations in Red Dead Redemption 2 

Cows are the most readily available domestic animal in Red Dead Redemption 2 and can be found on the following ranches: 

1. MacFarlane’s Ranch, which is located in Hennigan’s Stead region of New Austin, close to the West Elizabeth border; 

2. Manzanita Post that lies in the forests of the eastern region of West Elizabeth; 

3. Hanging Dog Ranch, located along the Little Creek River in northern West Elizabeth; 

4. Wapiti Indian Reservation, situated west of the Calumet Ravine in Ambardino. 

5. Painted Sky ranch, found on the Dakota River’s eastward curve in West Elizabeth. 

6. Carmody Dell in the northeast of The Heartland Oil Fields in the southern region of New Hanover; 

7. Emerald Ranch to the south of the Heartland Overflow in central New Hanover; 

8. Hill Haven Ranch, which is located west of Mattock Pond in Lemoyne. 

Before you go ahead and massacre a herd of poor cattle, note that your honor will drop with every cow you kill. The Honor system acts as a measure of the social acceptability of your character’s actions in Red Dead Redemption 2. 

4. Ox Locations in Red Dead Redemption 2 

Oxen are also domesticated beings similar to bulls and cows and are found on the farms such as: 

1. Beryl’s Dream ranch of the northwestern West Elizabeth, located in the Big Valley region next to the western slopes of Mount Shann; 

2. Emerald Ranch in central New Hanover; 

3. Gunthrie Farm straight northwest of Emerald Ranch in New Hanover; 

4. Braithwaite Manor and Calliga Hall, located in the southernmost region of the Lemoyne; 

5. Robard Ranch, west of Mattock Pond in Lemoyne; and finally 

6. Hill Haven Ranch in Lemoyne, located west of Mattock Pond. 

5. How to cook Prime Beef in Red Dead Redemption 2? 

To cook Prime Beef related recipes in Red Dead Redemption 2: 

1. Loot Prime Beef from a Bison, Bull, Cow, or an Ox. 

2. Locate a campfire. 

3. Press square near the campfire to bring up the crafting menu. 

4. Select the Plain Prime Beef option. 

You can also move left or right over a particular recipe to select and cook its other flavored variants, considering you have already gathered the required spices. 

There are three major spices that you can use in your cuisines. Each spice affects different stats’ recovery: 

• Wild Mint: 25% increases Health Core Recovery. 
• Oregano: 25% increases Stamina Core Recovery. 
• Creeping Thyme: 25% increases Dead Eye Core Recovery. 

6. About Red Dead Redemption 2

Red Dead Redemption 2, prequel to 2010’s Red Dead Redemption, is an action-adventure game produced and released by Rockstar Games in 2018. The story, set in 1899, follows outlaw Arthur Morgan, a member of the Van der Linde gang.

Red Dead Redemption 2 portrays the Wild West, while being set in the fictional Western and Southern United States.