USDA Prime beef

[Warbird]

April and I budget so that we can eat pretty well and feed Jay good quality food.  Most times, we can afford to eat steak once a week and have always purchased what our grocer's butcher labels as "Angus" beef.  I'm particular to the New York cut over all the rest.

I'd always figured that this 'Angus' they'd labeled was one of the highest qualities of beef.  I'm on vacation and got to talking to the butcher yesterday and asked him why the USDA "Prime" was a few dollars more per pound than the Angus.  I was given a very succinct and thorough lesson on beef grading!  He basically told me that the Prime was the best beef available in Fairbanks unless someone special ordered Kobe beef.

On a whim, I went ahead and purchased 2 nice looking New York steaks of the Prime variety.  The Mrs grilled 'em up on the Foreman grill and we noticed right away they looked and smelled just a tad bit different.  And then came the eating.

Oh my goodness!  That was one of the best steaks I've ever had!  Never really paid that much attention to beef ratings before but I will now.  With beef prices the way they are, we probably won't get Prime every week but we will certainly appreciate it when we do!

[DouginUtah]

It was probably corn-fed, not grass fed.  :D

[Magicman]

As you found out, Angus is simply a breed of cattle such as Brahma, Jersey, etc. 

The USDA grades are:   Prime, Choice, Select, Standard, Commercial, Utility, Cutter, & Canner.

These grades have nothing to do with the breed of cattle, but are based on the items that affect taste and tenderness.  Some breeds such as Angus do tend to produce a higher grade of "eating meat", but it is not the only breed capable of producing USDA Prime beef.

[Kansas]

Its a myth that Angus beef is somehow better than other breeds. Granted, there are some breeds that would rarely if ever yield prime or even choice. It all has to do with how it grades out. Not many cattle ever make prime. Possibly Angus make more Prime and Choice than other breeds, although Herefords, with the right genetics, can give it a run for the money. Again, its all about the grade. But also, you can match what you are doing with the meat, to the grade you need. I cook steak fajitas, that marinate for 24 hours before going on the grill. I usually use flank steak, which is a lower quality cut, or just go to the store and get some round steak. (the flank steak tastes better). But if you are going to have a regular steak, go prime or at the worst, choice. Forget select. Unless, of course,  you are going to be marinating it or somehow tenderizing it.

[Mooseherder]

A few of the Stores I cover carry some Prime middle meats such as the Strips, Rib or Tenderloins.  Then you can step it up even more to dry aged product. Nothing like a good quality steak to enjoy.
Another part within the grading is Yield.
Our specs on choice grade is it has to be at least a yield grade 3.
Lots of times when I was cutting there was Prime Beef that was in boxes labeled Choice.  When I'd see that it made me say I guess they filled all their Prime orders up and are probably backed up with it.  They had to move it thru the pipeline.  Lots of times you can find some nicely marbled Choice Strip Steaks that sure cook up nice on the grill.  Porterhouse when on sale are a good buy also.  You can bone out the top which is the strip steak and give the mrs. The bottom steak which is the tenderloin.

[WDH]

DanG, I need to go get some coals hot  .

[thecfarm]

WDH,what would you like me to bring?

[WDH]

Like we say in the South, you bring the fixin's  ;D.

[Norm]

We very seldom see prime beef in our area because of the small population and low wage scale. Some time back I posted a cook called pit beef. I had asked for the cut you usually buy for this but they were out. The butcher came back and said he had a piece of prime grade cut that was similar and he'd give me a good deal on it. It was some of the best beef I've ever had!

[LeeB]

The last beef we took to butcher graded out prime and happened to be angus. The next one is hereford. Hope he turns out as well. A couple of months in a small pen and all the corn you can afford helps a lot.

[Kansas]

A friend of mine has a custom feedlot, and feeds some on out. He also has a retail beef store, along with some other stuff in the meat part of things. He uses mostly one guy's cattle that will probably always rate prime or choice for his store. Top of the line angus genetics. I had a heck of a time persuading him to save the flank steaks for fajitas. He was convinced it was a junk cut, and just should be ground into hamburger. Finally got him around to my way of thinking. He actually has some grass fed beef, due to customers wanting it, although he is absolutely convinced its the worst thing in the world. One of these days I will get one of those steaks from him. And I don't care if it tastes like an old boot, I will tell him how wonderful it is. Just for the fun of it.

A couple of years ago, K-State university came down and did ultrasounds on that guys cattle as they came in off of grass, before being fed out. They could instantly tell which ones would make prime, choice, or select. And that is before 90-120 days of corn. I think the guy used that to know which ones to use for replacement heifers.

[ashes]

where I live there is a pride associated with grass finished beef. I would like to ask the collective if there is a particular benefit in taste or if there is more of an economic drive for this as we grow grass well in this climate, but would need to import corn feed.

as always, you know it all folks are great. ;D

[DouginUtah]

I used to live in Nebraska and usually ate rib-eye steaks, which I am sure were corn-fed. When I moved to Utah the steaks tasted so bad I complained to the butcher that the meat was nothing like I was used to eating in Nebraska. He told me I was eating Utah, grass-fed meat.

It is the taste. Probably less fat with grass-fed, hence less marbling.

[sawguy21]

Canadians generally consider grain fed to be the premium beef, our advertising reflects that. It is all in what consumers are used to.
So many people are terrified of fat and want the leanest cut yet to me so much of the flavor is lost. Make mine medium with just a hint of pink in the middle. ;D

[Norm]

When I was younger I would not touch a steak unless it was well done. As I got older I'd tolerate a tiny but of pink in it. Now days on a really good cut like tenderloin I get a cast iron pan smoking hot and sear each side. Rest under foil for a little bit and dig in! I know rare is not for everyone and to be honest on burgers I like mine well done for some reason.

[chevytaHOE5674]

I have a few customers who prefer and actually pay more for grass fed/finished beef. What I've noticed is the lack of fat and marbling which makes it different to cook, as it will get dry and turn to leather in a hurry. If prepared right then its not soo much different.

But since I like a nice juicy steak on the grill I finish most of my beef out on a little grain so  8).

[Kansas]

Its interesting. Beef tends to be judged on the marbling, or to put it in a different way,fat. Prime has more fat than choice or select. But pork went the other way. There is virtually no fat in the pork you get at the grocery store. Norm had a nice thread about, I believe, Berkshire hogs that carry more fat, and how much more flavor it has. Wonder if there is a difference in chickens, if there are varieties that have more flavor than the standard chicken you get in the grocery store. And as stated, grain vs grass fed, can make a bunch of difference. Diet makes a lot of difference on some things. On the rare occasion I buy eggs at the store, I pay a little extra for the brown eggs that are high in Omega 3. I just like the taste better.

[Dodgy Loner]

A little known fact about "Angus" beef is that it need not actually be Angus to be sold and marketed as such. Any cow with a black hide can be sold as Angus beef. Unfortunately, all the marketing hype about Angus and the price premium attached to it has served to decrease the numbers of many other fine breeds of cattle. Many farmers will raise Angus cattle in an area in which another breed would be likely to fare better just because of the price difference. In reality, the grade of beef is a much better indicator of the quality of the meat than the breed of cattle. I go for choice beef for any steak I buy. Prime is practically non-existent around here.

By the way, I say all this not to put down Angus beef - it's a great breed, and we used to raise Angus ourselves, as well as Herefords - but all the marketing hype associated with it is just puzzling to me.

[Norm]

If I have my druthers an angus hereford cross is my favorite tasting beef. When we used to feed 2 teenagers my buddy would fatten one out extra heavy for me. They were not graded but it sure was tasty!

[chevytaHOE5674]

My neighbor only raises black cattle, and just about everybody assumes that they are "black angus" and he actually fetches a little more for them because the buyers think that because they are black they must be angus and must be better. When in reality most of his cows are mutts and just happen to have a black hide.

Myself I raise anything that walks regardless of breed or color. Once they are in the freezer I can't really tell them apart. I don't get as much out of them but I also don't have as much invested...

[reride82]

We raised an angus cross herd growing up and we ended trying a Salers(Sa'lair) bull for their ease of birthing and high birth weight (counter-intuitive, I know) but were surprised at how well the carcasses graded through our 4-H steers. My sister's steer placed 2nd in the state for 4-H carcass judging and we always had great marbling on all of our own butcher steers. We would start them on grain/hay in July and feed them up until about late november, butcher and let them age until mid December before being cut up and frozen. Store bought meat just doesn't compare to a good grain or even corn fed beef. That Salers bull was the biggest bull we ever had, standing 6' 2" at the shoulder and weighing in at 2800 lbs+ as a 4 yr old, he could give a horse a run for its money when he got up to speed. 

[Bandmill Bandit]

I used to cross some of my smaller dairy heifers to a black Saler bull. made most of the calves black some with minimal white spots.

Had a local buyer that bought on the hoof weekly for the Keg and the White Spot in Calgary and he liked the cross steers as the cuts came out leaner and they dressed out better on the rail. I didn't mind at all cause the price was a lot better than the market at the time.

Oh and by the way "If it aint Alberta beef it just aint beef"! 8) eh eh

[DouginUtah]

Let's not forget Red Angus. Is it as good as Black Angus, all things being equal?

[Kansas]

Interesting you should ask about red angus. Back in my cattle days, I had certain guys with red angus that I would not buy from when they went through the local auction barn. I would sit with the old timers who had bought cattle for years and they would tell me, don't buy that guys cattle. I kind of learned the hard way to take their advice. Hard to beat years of experience. That is actually how I wound up buying heifers instead of steers, and light ones at that. They gave me the advice, I never bid against them, as they weren't looking for those. And they never steered me wrong (okay, bad pun). I think a number of breeds can be of the highest quality fed out right. At one time, we had some guys feeding out Holsteins back in my feed store days. They got them at about 300 lbs or so, and put them on a straight grain diet ration. They actually graded well. My guess is, good genetics in red angus would produce a good finished product.

[Bandmill Bandit]

yea kansas you are bang on. Genetics is important but a good cowman that knows cattle and knows how to look after his cattle good is still the most the important factor. I used to feed about 200 to 260 head every winter in the feed lot and had about 160 moma cows with about 30 to 40 bred heifers. We calved out around 200 head every spring beside the 60 ish dairy year around. Raising cattle goes back a lot of years in our family. When you get buyers coming to the farm and offering you top $ you know you are doing something right. Thanks to my years of "genetics" in training from my Great Grampa, Grampa and Dad and many generations prior to that.

I still miss the calving every spring and silaging time the most.