(In some regions, they were also called "mutton chops

.") The shift came from the fact that this part of the “burnsides” facial hair style was on the sides of the face—and of course, leaving the “burns” part in in homage to the aforementioned style.

Why is it called a chop for meat?

Chop is simply the pork word for steak and all chops come from the loin muscle, which runs from a hog's shoulder to the hip. The top of the muscle is more tender than the bottom. Now those chops will get names reminiscent of the cuts used to describe steaks that consumers are already familiar with.

What is a mutton chop?

Taryn: Each mutton chop is made up of a sheep's loins, tenderloins, and belly flap and weighs about a pound and a half. It's just seasoned with salt and popped into the broiler for each side to brown, allowing the natural sugars in the meat to caramelize. ... That's what makes it mutton, as opposed to lamb.