In general, cannibalism is a bad idea because whatever killed the person you're eating might also kill you. There are a lot of species-specific parasites and germs, so you're more at risk of these from eating a cow than from eating a human. Apes are actually nearly as dangerous, since they're so similar to us, and a lot of diseases that affect them also affect us.
The story you heard is probably about "kuru", the laughing sickness. It's similar to mad cow disease, and probably has a similar cause. Like mad cow, it mostly concentrates in the brain, so you probably won't get it if you avoid the brain and spinal cord. Besides, kuru is rare out side of certain parts of Africa.
The hamstring muscles are large and obvious, but they're also going to be tough, because they receive so much use. It corresponds to the chuck and rump cuts on a cow. Then again, the cuts corresponding to the tender loin muscles are also going to be tough in a human, since they do all the work of keeping us vertical. (Cows don't work those muscles as hard since they go on all fours.)
So you'd want to go with a braise, which is also better for keeping down parasites. That will tend to kill off whatever bugs were affecting your victim.
It's still not a good idea, for legal reasons if nothing else. I won't do it personally for moral reasons.
