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What is the ranking of common grocery store beef cuts?

evernoob said:
This thread is about common grocery store meats, which should have a quality rating.
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Hay-Zeus Crisco, you'r a dense mu'fugger when you try to be :homer:

These are the USDA ratings:

Listed from highest to lowest quality:
  1. U.S. Prime
  2. U.S. Choice
  3. U.S. Select
  4. U.S. Standard
  5. U.S. Commercial
  6. U.S. Utility
  7. U.S. Cutter
  8. U.S. Canner
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If you want or need more info., here's a source: https://www.primesteakhouses.com/usda-beef-quality-grades/




If you need it spoonfed to you, here's the contents of the link:

usda-beef-grades.png
Prime Steakhouses is reader supported. When you buy through a link on our site we may earn an affiliate commission.

Perhaps you’ve just come out of your first prime steak experience. You wonder to yourself: why can’t ALL steaks taste this good?

The answer (mostly): beef quality grades.

The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) grades beef based on degree of marbling and the maturity (estimated age) of the animal at slaughter. The three top quality ratings are primarily what you’ll see in your local supermarket: Prime, Choice and Select.

The USDA started grading beef in 1927. Since then, these gradings have become a trusted symbol that reassures consumers they are purchasing safe, high-quality American beef.

Originally, the USDA grading system was developed as a marketing technique to combat the agricultural recession. Farmers created this grading system to generate a demand for fattier (marbled) meat from corn-fed, purebred cattle.
The 8 USDA Beef Grades
“Beef is graded in two ways, quality grades for tenderness, juiciness, and flavour and yield grades for the amount of usable lean meat from the carcass.” USDA website.​

When it comes to grading beef, marbling is everything. The more marbling, the higher the quality grading.

There are eight beef quality grades (8) set by the USDA. Beef is assessed by highly-skilled USDA meat graders that determine where it is categorized.

Listed from highest to lowest quality:
  1. U.S. Prime
  2. U.S. Choice
  3. U.S. Select
  4. U.S. Standard
  5. U.S. Commercial
  6. U.S. Utility
  7. U.S. Cutter
  8. U.S. Canner
Many people mistake Wagyu for a beef grade, but it is not. Wagyu stands for “Japanese cow.”

Wagyu beef is based on the Japanese Meat Grading Association (JMGA) guidelines. Wagyu is graded based on a 1 to 5 scoring system, with one representing poor and five representing excellent.

Unlike USDA grading, Wagyu is assessed on the color and texture of the meat and fat. Like USDA grading, marbling is also assessed.
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US Prime


Prime beef is produced from young, well-fed steers (male cattle) where the marbling is abundant (8 to 13 percent fat). The age of the steers selected range between 9 to 42 months. They are not produced from heifers (younger female cattle) because heifers are used for breeding, and therefore the meat is tougher.

Cattle raised on grain will have more marbling than grass-fed beef. What’s interesting about this is that many people prefer grass-fed beef (with less marbling) because of its flavor.
Marbling is the white streaks of fat within lean sections of meat. It gets this name because it looks similar to a marble pattern. These white streaks melt away when cooking, hence the term “mouth-watering flavor.”
Where to buy prime beef. Since only the top 2.9% of all beef is graded as prime, it is generally only sold in high-end restaurants and hotels (of course, sometimes you can find it in supermarkets & via mail order steak companies).

Best cooking method. Prime beef is excellent for dry-heat cooking, such as broiling, roasting, or grilling. Top-quality restaurants will dry-age their meat for approximately 21 days before cooking your steak to perfection.

Certain cuts of beef will have more marbling than others. For example, beef rib and short loin are one of the most marbled sections. Steak cuts that come from the short loin include T-Bone, Strip, and Porterhouse.
US Choice


Choice beef is high-quality beef that comes from younger cattle, but it has less marbling than prime (4 to 10 percent). Choice grade beef accounts for approximately half of all graded beef. The age of the steers selected range between 9 to 96 months.

Where to buy choice beef. You can purchase choice grade beef from restaurants and grocery stores. For example, Walmart began stocking choice grade steak in 2012. Regarding value for money, choice beef will give you a tasty steak at a fairly affordable price.

Best cooking method. There are various cuts of beef that are graded as choice. Ribs and loin cuts tend to be the best meat in this category, and when cooked properly, they are tender, juicy, and full of flavor.

You can grill and roast more tender cuts like rump and round (back leg) steak. Be mindful because you can easily overcook choice beef and make it dry and tough.

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US Select


Select beef is leaner than prime and choice beef cuts because it has a lot less marbling (2 to 4 percent). Since it does not have as much (if any) marbling, it may be dry, tough in texture, and lacking in flavor.

Where to buy select beef: You can purchase select beef in grocery stores.

Best cooking method. Moist heat methods are the best ways to cook select grade beef. Select grade beef steak cuts include blade chuck and lean steak with limited marbling. The types of moist heat methods available include stewing, steaming, braising, and poaching. Irish Beef Stew and Beef Masala Curry are moist heat recipe examples.
Standard and Commercial


USDA beef grading is completely optional. Standard and commercial beef grades are often sold as ungraded or as store brand beef.

Cattle producers who would like their beef to be graded must pay a service fee. USDA grading differs from mandatory meat inspections. Meat inspections are required by law, but they do not consider the quality and tenderness of the beef.

Since standard and commercial beef is ungraded, you run the risk of buying beef that lacks flavor and is not as tender as USDA graded alternatives.

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Utility, Cutter, and Canning Grades


This beef is a lower grade of meat that does not make it to our plate as a steak. This grade of beef is produced from older cows in the herd. For example, if a cow is no longer “reproductively fit,” a farmer may opt to retire this animal. This beef is leaner and has less fatty marbling, making it more suitable for this beef grade. Of the three, canning is the lowest grade of meat produced.

Where to buy utility, cutter, and canning beef: You cannot buy this beef unprocessed at any restaurant or grocery store. However, you can buy the output of this beef in the form of ground mince, jerky, hot dogs, and dog food.

That said, if you prefer to ground your beef at home, you may be able to arrange to buy this unprocessed grade at your local butcher. If you want to do this, you may need to include some fat, as utility beef is extremely lean.

Best cooking method. There are heaps of different ways to cook ground beef. Some of the best ways include making hamburgers, spaghetti meatballs, and tacos.

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Is it Ever ‘OK’ to Ignore the Grading?


It’s been almost a century since the USDA established their grading system. Since then, the Department of Agriculture has continued to improve their standards to evolve with the industry and consumer needs.

When I am dining at a steakhouse, I value these gradings because they give me comfort that I am devouring one of the finest quality steaks in the United States. USDA grading has a lot of strengths – mainly that you have a great guide to understanding how fatty the beef cut is and the age of the animal.

However, there are some weaknesses in the system. Three key criteria that are not factored into the existing grading assessment. These are:
  1. The cut you are buying.
  2. What the animal has been fed (e.g., grass or grain-fed).
  3. How the animal has been raised.
This is important to consider because grass-fed cattle often create less marbling but deliver more flavor.
NOTE: I call bullshit on the "more flavor" hipster opinion in the preceding sentence.
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If you're off your meds / just trolling . . . here:

fetch
 
SanDiegoCJ said:
IMO that video is horseshit. We've gotten steaks from CostCo for decades, cooked them rare to medium rare and NEVER had a problem.
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And tons of others have too, but that doesn't mean it's bullshit you dumb ass. Once I found out it just wasn't for me any more. I'll tenderize it at home if I need to.

Tenderized meat is the leading reason for recalls with beef.
 
I usually get something called "tips". No idea what they actually are. Aside from those, rib eye, ny strip, and filet.
 
TatonkaII said:
And tons of others have too, but that doesn't mean it's bullshit you dumb ass. Once I found out it just wasn't for me any more. I'll tenderize it at home if I need to.

Tenderized meat is the leading reason for recalls with beef.
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Fuck you, and the horse you rode in on. Like so much else the "dangers" in that video or extremely overblown. Go hide in your cave and the rest of us will live without your paranoia.
 
SanDiegoCJ said:
IMO that video is horseshit. We've gotten steaks from CostCo for decades, cooked them rare to medium rare and NEVER had a problem.
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It's not bullshit you moron. Just because you dont catch COVID now it doesnt exist and you're not at risk? What kind of piss shit logic is that? Same with raw eggs, pink hamburger, cookie dough, etc.

Costco blade tenderizes. They legally have to disclose that they do. Check your label next time, it will state blade tenderized. It needs to hit 165* INT for it to be 100% germ free and safe to eat just like Hamburger otherwise you do run the risk of E.Coli. Good steak doesnt need to be tenderized. Kroger Choice is just as good of meat without the tenderization and you can ask the counter to make thicker cuts for you. I wont buy meat from Costco thats been tenderized, not when I can get better non tenderized meat at Winco and Kroger for the same or less.

As for cuts, my favorite is a NY strip. Close second is Ribeye. T-Bones/Porterhouses, sirloins, filet's etc are good too, but with the T-bones you end up paying for a lot of bone at a premium price and filets and sirloins are generally more $$$ than I think they're worth.
 
SanDiegoCJ said:
Fuck you, and the horse you rode in on. Like so much else the "dangers" in that video or extremely overblown. Go hide in your cave and the rest of us will live without your paranoia.
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Ummm . . . not that this matters to you, but you're coming across at an FJC11-level of obtuse there, gramps.

Blade tenderizing can inject surface bacteria into parts of the meat that won't reach "food-safe" temps in a red-rare steak.
If that blade-tenderized steak is cooked immediately, absolutely no problem - rock on.
If it sits for a few days, bacteria could build up to an unsafe level in those areas.

Enjoy your pork sushi :flipoff2:
 
ExWrench said:
Ummm . . . not that this matters to you, but you're coming across at an FJC11-level of obtuse there, gramps.

Blade tenderizing can inject surface bacteria into parts of the meat that won't reach "food-safe" temps in a red-rare steak.
If that blade-tenderized steak is cooked immediately, absolutely no problem - rock on.
If it sits for a few days, bacteria could build up to an unsafe level in those areas.

Enjoy your pork sushi :flipoff2:
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Really ? :flipoff2:
 
SanDiegoCJ said:
Fuck you, and the horse you rode in on. Like so much else the "dangers" in that video or extremely overblown. Go hide in your cave and the rest of us will live without your paranoia.
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To be fair, I didn't even watch entire the video. I was just using it to make a point the tenderized meat is a no for me.

But you go a head and be a key board bad ass you fucking pinecone. Costco obviously feels the need to tell you it's tenderized and to cook it to 160*F to cover their liability..... ya know, because it's bullshit. :flipoff2:
 
Wow, there's a whole lot of paranoids here. The danger spewed out in that video is way overblown, just as the danger from the Kung Flu is overblown. Go run and hide if it scares you.
 
ExWrench said:
Go read the multipage pickle-tag slapfight you & some other doofus had in the Meme thread.

If you're sober now, you should experience deep and biting shame :laughing:
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I am for now but I got annoyed with some wet behind the ears asswipe who was trying to apply todays morals to something that happened over 150 years ago.

Please forgive I'll try and not do that as much. :laughing:
 
TatonkaII said:
And tons of others have too, but that doesn't mean it's bullshit you dumb ass. Once I found out it just wasn't for me any more. I'll tenderize it at home if I need to.

Tenderized meat is the leading reason for recalls with beef.
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driving to work is dangerous too, you should probably stop doing that as well.
 
surpip said:
driving to work is dangerous too, you should probably stop doing that as well.
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That's another stupid comparison.

It's just a preference you fucks! :flipoff2:I'd prefer a ribeye that hasn't been mechanically tenderized. Jesus..
 
ExWrench said:
No, you're irrationally terrified & should hide like a bitch :flipoff2:

- <gary> said so, & he knows everything (just ask him :laughing:)
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Na, just don't have a Costco near me anymore. :flipoff2:

I'm out. It's the weekend. Time go shoot come coyotes and boar. See you fellas monday.
 
SanDiegoCJ said:
Our CostCo's around here sell "choice" grade beef. Most major chain groceries sell "select" grade, which is one grade lower than "choice".
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my costco has choice in white packaging then then prime in the blue packaging and imo theyre both awesome :smokin:
 
I wish I could find out just how many pounds of blade tendered meat was consumed in any given year.
Then we could a grip on the actual odds of something bad happening. Seems like the odds are insanely tiny to even blink about worry over it.

"In 2009, 21 people in 16 states were infected with the most common strain of dangerous E. coli"
 
Yota Up said:
I wish I could find out just how many pounds of blade tendered meat was consumed in any given year.
Then we could a grip on the actual odds of something bad happening. Seems like the odds are insanely tiny to even blink about worry over it.

"In 2009, 21 people in 16 states were infected with the most common strain of dangerous E. coli"
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Its likely the same percentage as catching the rona.:homer:
 
DuckTape said:
KungFooMASTA Figured you would chime in with Cowboy ribeye from T&W Meats. :smokin:
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The only thing I have had from T&W was some kind of sausage my mom got and it was very good.

I dont know much about meats and cuts but my Grandpa was a butcher at Safeway for over 40 years back when they would bring in swinging beef. Back when grocery stores had real butchers in the back.

Last month I helped a friend butcher a steer. Holy shit I gained a lot of respect for what my grandpa did. There was 4 guys cutting and 3 or 4 women packing and it was an all day deal. That was with industrial band saw, grinder and hamburger packer. He gave me a cooler full of meat and all the beer we could drink. I learned a lot and will help him again if he needs it. Years ago I helped a friend with a hog but don’t remember much about it. I know it did not take very long for it. That steer was just never ending.
 
Yota Up said:
I wish I could find out just how many pounds of blade tendered meat was consumed in any given year.
Then we could a grip on the actual odds of something bad happening. Seems like the odds are insanely tiny to even blink about worry over it.

"In 2009, 21 people in 16 states were infected with the most common strain of dangerous E. coli"
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That's the whole point. The "danger" from blade tenderizing is virtually non-existent. People are jumping at shadows.
 
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