It may be important a couple times in your life to know a little about ordering or making steaks. Storing the grades of beef in your brain somewhere may come in handy at some point.
It’s critical to have tidbits of information you can whip out at a moment’s notice when you’re small talking with someone. By talking about something they’re interested in, you can build rapport, trust, and liking, just ask Dale Carnegie
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Steve Jobs believed true intelligence wasn’t a deep expertise in one particular field. Rather, those who are most intelligent have an ability to make connections between fields. “Breadth beats depth,” according to the article by Inc. Magazine.
When my wife and I watch TV, it’s usually background noise, and it’s usually cooking shows. Recently, it’s been a lot of Netflix BBQ shows.
It’s had a lot of influence on me, to the point where I’ve looked into buying an electric smoker and picking it up as a hobby to help get through the monotony of 2020.
The grades of beef feel like something I should know about if I am to proceed. If nothing, it will at least be good backyard BBQ small talk.
8 Grades of Beef
There are 8 grades of beef quality, which are mainly based on the maturity of the cow at slaughter (age) and the level of marbling. If you’ve ever watched one of these cooking shows, marbling comes up a lot. Marbling is the level of intramuscular fat in the beef.
- Prime
Generally sold to hotels and restaurants, this is produced from young, well-fed cattle. There is a lot of marbling, or fat, within the lean meat, and it’s the highest in quality. 8 percent of all the beef carcasses qualify as Prime. Source
- Choice
High quality, but it contains less marbling than Prime. Chances are, this is what you pick up from the grocery store. 70 percent of beef carcasses qualify as Choice.
- Select
Typically the lowest quality you’ll find in a grocery store, Select is acceptable, but contains little marbling. Due to its leanness, it won’t be as juicy.
- Standard
Lower quality, and it has little marbling. It may be store brand meat with bargain prices.
- Commercial
Low quality, with little marbling (if any), produced from older animals. It also may be store brand meat at bargain prices.
- Utility
Ground beef, processed products (hot dogs, bologna, etc.), canned goods
- Cutter
Ground beef, processed products (hot dogs, bologna, etc.), canned goods
- Canner
Ground beef, processed products (hot dogs, bologna, etc.), canned goods
The USDA collaborated with Colorado State University to create the surprisingly in-depth video about grades of beef. Check it out below to kill some time.
Thanks for reading!
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