After reviewing several threads posted asking about different cuts of meat etc. I find it very surprising the amount of misconception and confusion that is out there about what good beef is and what to look for when buying it. While at UNL I was on both the Jr. and Sr. Livestock and Meat judging teams and have sent thousands of steers to market. I do not know if that qualifies me as any expert but my love for quality steaks surely does.
To start with the terms used need to be clarified as they are often used interchangeably in threads in here.
1} Cuts-Cuts are the different steaks-roasts etc from different parts of the animal. A prime rib for example is a prime rib-there is no difference in cuts of prime rib-there may be difference in quality but not cuts. Same could be said for T-Bones, Filets etc. A cut is like comparing a tire to a transmission-they are both auto parts like a prime rib and a t-bone are beef parts
.There are different quality of tires but a tire is still a tire. http://www.businessinsider.com/beef-cuts-chart-2014-10
2} Grading-- The grades are Prime-Choice-Select and Commercial with commercial being mainly dog food type products -Select is the leanest-and toughest generally. Prime and Choice are what most consumers prefer.
A quality grade is a composite evaluation of factors that affect palatability of meat (tenderness, juiciness, and flavor). These factors include carcass maturity, firmness, texture, and color of lean, and the amount and distribution of marbling within the lean. Beef carcass quality grading is based on (1) degree of marbling and (2) degree of maturity..http://meat.tamu.edu/beefgrading/
Understand that everyone may not like prime beef because it is going to have a large % of marbling which is fat and some consider prime steaks to be greasy. Therefore Prime is not considered "better" by every consumer.
The Biggest marketing ploy in the beef industry that contributes to much of the confusion is calling meat Angus Beef. This is what it is and it is all about marketing and driving the prices up.This is from the Angus association and is pure BS.It is neither a cut nor a grade so calling it a cut above USDA Prime, Choice etc is misleading because it has to be graded prime or choice by its own standards.
The Certified Angus Beef ® brand is the best Angus brand available. It's a cut above USDA Prime, Choice and Select. https://www.certifiedangusbeef.com/cuts/
What is Angus: Angus is a breed of cattle. It is not a quality of beef, it does not imply that the beef is organic, natural, or of a higher grade than any other type of beef. http://bbq.about.com/od/beef/a/Angus-Beef.htm
Angus the breed is not synonymous with the brand "Certified Angus Beef"—an up-market product started in 1978 by the American Angus Association. (All Certified Angus Beef patties are made from Angus cattle, but not all Angus cattle are "Certified Angus Beef.) CAB sells only beef that's in the top two-thirds on the USDA quality scale—it must be Prime or Choice, with "modest" marbling, a 10- to 16-square-inch rib-eye area, and no "neck hump" that exceeds 2 inches. (It's worth noting that "Certified Angus Beef" is not itself a government designation, like ("USDA Choice") McDonald's, by contrast, offers Angus burgers but doesn't claim to impose the same stringent requirements.There are no requirements or restrictions stopping anyone from referring to their beef as angus beef !
Now do not get me wrong Angus beef is a good quality of beef but understand what you are buying(and paying more for) CAB is prime or choice beef that has a black hide. Very rarely are any pure breds used in the feedlot as the majority of slaughter animals are x-breds which due to genetics are far superior which is another lesson.Since angus are predominately black and black is a genetically dominant color every X-bred with angus in its pedigree will have a dark hide. Most of the total cattle on feed have a black hide because they have angus or limousine in their lineages therefore they are eligible for CAB! CAB is a breed promotion and requests 51% angus but that is not enforced and or regulated and basically the black hide is all that is a determining factor.
85% of all cattle on feed are controlled by 5% of the feeders. Basically they have got together and figured out a marketing tactic that supports what they are already doing! It is all about $
Research has demonstrated that marbling contributes significantly to beef’s eating quality—primarily to flavor and juiciness—but also to tenderness. Furthermore, a recent study showed that consumers are willing to pay 50% more for well-marbled USDA Prime grade steaks than for lesser-marbled USDA Select grade steaks ($3.66 vs. $2.44/lb). At the production level, feedyards are paying significant premiums for feeder cattle that are known to have a propensity to marble and produce carcasses capable of grading Mid-Choice or higher (Modest degree of marbling or higher). Packers are likewise providing premiums for cattle of this type. It is estimated that the demand for highly-marbled beef for upscale restaurants and retail stores accounts for approximately 30% of the U.S. beef market
The scientific literature indicates that British breeds have a greater ability to marble than Continental and Brahman-influenced breeds. Among British breeds, Angus, Red Angus, and Shorthorn have a greater propensity to marble than most other breeds
Aging. Steak from a freshly slaughtered cow is stringy and tough. For this reason, beef is aged, a process that tenderizes it and enriches the flavor. Traditionally, beef was hung in a cold room, where natural enzymes would break down the muscle fibers. Dry aging, as it's known, isn't cheap. The beef loses weight to evaporation, and the moldy crust that develops on the exterior has to be lopped off, which makes the remaining beef more expensive. In the 1970s, industrial meat processors opted for wet aging—sealing entire cuts of beef in cellophane—because it's cheaper. But most beef connoisseurs agree that dry-aged beef tastes better.
Bottom Line -What to buy
1] Stay in your prime or choice grades - Do not look for prime grade lean hamburger-they are not synonymous. With steaks and roasts stay with choice or prime.
2} Stay with higher cuts of meat {ie a T-Bone will always be better than the Sirloin cut.}
2] Learn what you like the best and why!I like my Prime Rib to be prime grade but I find a prime grade rib-eye steak too greasy so I prefer choice for my Rib Eye Steaks.
3] Do not pay more for Certified Angus Beef but do not shy from it either if it is priced competitively.It is no different than other choice or prime beef of a similar grade.
4] Aging is the most important part of the tenderness process and hard to find that local butcher that still does it. Pay more for that dry aged beef if you can find and enjoy it!
To start with the terms used need to be clarified as they are often used interchangeably in threads in here.
1} Cuts-Cuts are the different steaks-roasts etc from different parts of the animal. A prime rib for example is a prime rib-there is no difference in cuts of prime rib-there may be difference in quality but not cuts. Same could be said for T-Bones, Filets etc. A cut is like comparing a tire to a transmission-they are both auto parts like a prime rib and a t-bone are beef parts
.There are different quality of tires but a tire is still a tire. http://www.businessinsider.com/beef-cuts-chart-2014-10
2} Grading-- The grades are Prime-Choice-Select and Commercial with commercial being mainly dog food type products -Select is the leanest-and toughest generally. Prime and Choice are what most consumers prefer.
A quality grade is a composite evaluation of factors that affect palatability of meat (tenderness, juiciness, and flavor). These factors include carcass maturity, firmness, texture, and color of lean, and the amount and distribution of marbling within the lean. Beef carcass quality grading is based on (1) degree of marbling and (2) degree of maturity..http://meat.tamu.edu/beefgrading/
Understand that everyone may not like prime beef because it is going to have a large % of marbling which is fat and some consider prime steaks to be greasy. Therefore Prime is not considered "better" by every consumer.
The Biggest marketing ploy in the beef industry that contributes to much of the confusion is calling meat Angus Beef. This is what it is and it is all about marketing and driving the prices up.This is from the Angus association and is pure BS.It is neither a cut nor a grade so calling it a cut above USDA Prime, Choice etc is misleading because it has to be graded prime or choice by its own standards.
The Certified Angus Beef ® brand is the best Angus brand available. It's a cut above USDA Prime, Choice and Select. https://www.certifiedangusbeef.com/cuts/
What is Angus: Angus is a breed of cattle. It is not a quality of beef, it does not imply that the beef is organic, natural, or of a higher grade than any other type of beef. http://bbq.about.com/od/beef/a/Angus-Beef.htm
Angus the breed is not synonymous with the brand "Certified Angus Beef"—an up-market product started in 1978 by the American Angus Association. (All Certified Angus Beef patties are made from Angus cattle, but not all Angus cattle are "Certified Angus Beef.) CAB sells only beef that's in the top two-thirds on the USDA quality scale—it must be Prime or Choice, with "modest" marbling, a 10- to 16-square-inch rib-eye area, and no "neck hump" that exceeds 2 inches. (It's worth noting that "Certified Angus Beef" is not itself a government designation, like ("USDA Choice") McDonald's, by contrast, offers Angus burgers but doesn't claim to impose the same stringent requirements.There are no requirements or restrictions stopping anyone from referring to their beef as angus beef !
Now do not get me wrong Angus beef is a good quality of beef but understand what you are buying(and paying more for) CAB is prime or choice beef that has a black hide. Very rarely are any pure breds used in the feedlot as the majority of slaughter animals are x-breds which due to genetics are far superior which is another lesson.Since angus are predominately black and black is a genetically dominant color every X-bred with angus in its pedigree will have a dark hide. Most of the total cattle on feed have a black hide because they have angus or limousine in their lineages therefore they are eligible for CAB! CAB is a breed promotion and requests 51% angus but that is not enforced and or regulated and basically the black hide is all that is a determining factor.
85% of all cattle on feed are controlled by 5% of the feeders. Basically they have got together and figured out a marketing tactic that supports what they are already doing! It is all about $
Research has demonstrated that marbling contributes significantly to beef’s eating quality—primarily to flavor and juiciness—but also to tenderness. Furthermore, a recent study showed that consumers are willing to pay 50% more for well-marbled USDA Prime grade steaks than for lesser-marbled USDA Select grade steaks ($3.66 vs. $2.44/lb). At the production level, feedyards are paying significant premiums for feeder cattle that are known to have a propensity to marble and produce carcasses capable of grading Mid-Choice or higher (Modest degree of marbling or higher). Packers are likewise providing premiums for cattle of this type. It is estimated that the demand for highly-marbled beef for upscale restaurants and retail stores accounts for approximately 30% of the U.S. beef market
The scientific literature indicates that British breeds have a greater ability to marble than Continental and Brahman-influenced breeds. Among British breeds, Angus, Red Angus, and Shorthorn have a greater propensity to marble than most other breeds
Aging. Steak from a freshly slaughtered cow is stringy and tough. For this reason, beef is aged, a process that tenderizes it and enriches the flavor. Traditionally, beef was hung in a cold room, where natural enzymes would break down the muscle fibers. Dry aging, as it's known, isn't cheap. The beef loses weight to evaporation, and the moldy crust that develops on the exterior has to be lopped off, which makes the remaining beef more expensive. In the 1970s, industrial meat processors opted for wet aging—sealing entire cuts of beef in cellophane—because it's cheaper. But most beef connoisseurs agree that dry-aged beef tastes better.
Bottom Line -What to buy
1] Stay in your prime or choice grades - Do not look for prime grade lean hamburger-they are not synonymous. With steaks and roasts stay with choice or prime.
2} Stay with higher cuts of meat {ie a T-Bone will always be better than the Sirloin cut.}
2] Learn what you like the best and why!I like my Prime Rib to be prime grade but I find a prime grade rib-eye steak too greasy so I prefer choice for my Rib Eye Steaks.
3] Do not pay more for Certified Angus Beef but do not shy from it either if it is priced competitively.It is no different than other choice or prime beef of a similar grade.
4] Aging is the most important part of the tenderness process and hard to find that local butcher that still does it. Pay more for that dry aged beef if you can find and enjoy it!
