The Purpose and history of USDA grading

The USDA grading system is a voluntary system paid for by the beef industry. Through this program, inspectors of the US Department of Agriculture assign a grade to each beef carcass during processing to help ensure a uniform quality in the sales and marketing of beef. This is in recognition that not every cow that rolls off the line is created equal, and the prices should reflect this fact.

The program itself dates back to the early 1920’s when an organized effort was underway within the livestock and retail meat industry to establish a beef grading and stamping service by the Federal Government for all federally inspected plants that would make the benefits of such a service available to all consumers. As a result, in 1926 the Secretary of Agriculture promulgated the beef grade standards as the official U.S. Standards for Market Classes and Grades of Carcass Beef, and by 1927 a one-year, national experimental program of Federal grading of beef carcasses was underway.

How beef is graded

Grades are based on the amount of marbling in the meat and the age of the animal. Marbling is the flecks and streaks of white fat you find distributed throughout the meat. In general, the higher the degree of marbling, the more tender, juicy, and flavorable the meat will be. Consequently, higher grade meats come at a higher cost. Age also plays in an important part. Beef is best in flavor and texture when cattle is between 18 and 24 months old, so the grading favors younger animals. There are eight distinct grades of beef recognized by the USDA. In order of descending quality they are:

• Prime
• Choice
• Select
• Standard
• Commercial
• Utility
• Cutter
• Canner

Studies suggest that beef graded at least USDA Select are likely to acceptable in eating quality for most consumers, so this is usually the lowest grade you’ll ever hear mentioned by name in the supermarket. (Mmm! 100% UTILITY GRADE BEEF!) Unlabled cuts of meat are either commercial or utility grade, or more likely were never graded in the first place. The lowest grades, cutter and canner, are used in disgusting things like potted meat and those meat sticks you find in the gas station. Let’s look a little closer at the three primary grades of meat you’ll likely to be selecting from.

USDA Prime beef

This is the grade of beef that contains the greatest degree of marbling. It is generally sold to finer restaurants and to some selected meat markets. It is significantly higher in price because less than 3% of the beef graded is Prime.

Prime grade beef is the ultimate in tenderness, juiciness, and flavor. Prime Rib is a USDA Prime rib roast for example, and many top steak houses serve only Prime cuts. Here’s an example of a Prime cut with heavy marbeling.

USDA Choice beef

Choice grade beef has less marbling than Prime, but is still of very high quality. This is the most popular grade of beef because it contains sufficient marbling for taste and tenderness, while costing less than Prime. Just over half of the beef graded each your earns a grade of Choice. Choice cuts are still tender and juicy. Here’s an example of a Choice cut.

USDA Select beef

This is generally a lower priced grade of beef with less marbling than Choice. Select cuts of beef may vary in tenderness and juiciness. Select has the least amount of marbling, making it leaner than, but often not as tender, juicy and flavorful as, the other two top grades. About a third of beef graded falls into this category. Here’s a sample.

Selecting the perfect steak

If cost were no object, we’d all feast on Prime beef. Reality being what it is we must weight our options. Most markets today offer a selection of Choice and Select cuts, while a few high end stores will offer a selection of Prime as well. If your super market doesn’t carry Prime beef, you may have better luck at a local meat market.

Choice grade cuts are a good compromise in terms of cost and taste, but if you are planning on marinading your meat, you can save some money by purchasing one of the cheaper grades. The marinade will help soften an otherwise tougher cut.

When selecting an individual piece of meat, look for a cut that doesn’t have an excessive amount of outer fat, but with a good, even marbeling. The fat should not be yellowed or gray, but creamy and moist looking. The color of the meat itself should be a rosy, cherry red and evenly hued. It should be firm to the touch and have a fine texture.

Ideally, you can obtain Prime beef that has been aged from four to six weeks. Aged beef has more flavor, so you’ll want to avoid beef that is “too fresh”. Aging however is a controlled process, so it’s not the same as beef that’s been setting in the cooler for a month. Don’t be afraid to ask the butcher about the source and quality of their beef.

The Perfect Steak

Steak meat comes from young cows: the steer (young unsexed male) and the heifer (female kept away from bulls). The primary source of meat comes from the back, and can be separated in these categories:

1. Shell: A side of meat past the ribs that is connected to the filet by a thin bone. The shell is sliced into strips typically known as "shell steak", or the "New York Strip."

2. Filet: A side of meat past the ribs, connected to the shell by a thin bone. When sliced into steaks, make up the filet mignon. (While especially tender, filet mignon isn't really the best part of the steak.)

3. Filet and Shell: When the shell and the filet are left on the bone and sliced accordingly, the resulting steaks are the T-bones and porterhouses. (Peter Lugers serves these. Mm.)

4. Ribs 6-12: The ribs 6-12 (starting the count from the shoulder going toward the rump) make up the rib steaks (known as "rib-eyes") and rib roasts.

5. Loin: The loin is from the section between the 12th and the 13th (and final) rib. From this area is the sirloin steak.

The Steaks of Yesteryear

However, the steaks are today are not the same as the steaks of yesteryear, and not entirely for the better.

1. USDA's Beef Grading Practices

   The United States Department of Agriculture first developed a rudimentary set of classes to grade beef in the early 20th century, and were established in practice by 1927. 12 degrees of marbling (lines of fat) were determined initially: "extremely abundant", "very abundant", "abundant", "moderately abundant", "slightly abundant", "moderate", "modest", "small", "slight", "traces", "practically devoid", and "devoid." Nowadays, only 6 of the 12 still exist, with the outer 6 extremes dropped ("extremely abundant", "very abundant", "abundant", "traces", "practically devoid", and "devoid"). At this moment, only Japan still currently keeps most of the grading guidelines, including that of the highest 3.

   The 1950s saw the change in the definition of USDA "Prime" beef to what we know today: the categories "Prime" and "Choice" combined. Today, the majority of Prime grade beef (1-2% of all beef graded) is shipped to Japan and South Korea, who are willing to pay top dollar for good beef; the rest go to various assorted restaurants. (Having been to South Korea, I can assure you that beef of any sort is prohibitively expensive and meant for special occasions; I wouldn't imagine Japan to be any different.)

   In 1987, the term "Good" was changed to "Select", which is quite lean beef. Most "USDA Certified" items today are beef selected from the "Select" class, right beneath Prime, as part of a larger marketing directive to support the beef market.

   Currently, today's "Kobe" beef, which is considered rather sinful with its exorbitant prices (Kobe hot dogs are $19 in New York City), has marbling that resembles that of USDA Prime from several decades ago.

2. Cattle Breeding

   Aside from USDA's changes in grading scale to support the meat market, cattle breeding according to market preference has changed the face of beef today:

   "The beef industry has started feeding cattle differently in order to produce leaner beef. . .as a result, the production of USDA Prime is down. The grading system has also been changed. The highest level of USDA Prime isn't even produced anymore. American beef is 27 percent leaner today than it was 20 years ago."

   As a result, USDA "Prime" meat today is not quite as good as "Prime" of 20-30 years ago, and not entirely because the grading practice has changed. Considering that extremist diets like Atkins are on the rise, perhaps leaner beef might be a better idea for today's society, though it is a pity for those who want a good steak.

3. Beef Aging Practices

   Aging steaks is a common practice before bringing them to the potential diner's plate; meat from a cow freshly slaughtered tends not to have much of a taste to it beyond a "bloody," "gummy" taste. The time it takes to bring the meat to the market ages the beef enough to make it marketable, but properly aging it allows flavor to develop.

   1. Dry-aging

      Dry-aging beef was the common practice before the 1970s, though nowadays it is a rarity. There are very few steakhouses today that still employ the process, and only two at the moment currently dry age beef for more than five weeks: Peter Lugers in New York and Berns in Florida. Why does this matter? Because dry-aged steaks taste wonderful. There is a "beefy," chewy, buttery taste to it that steaks these days, traditionally wet-aged, don't quite have.

      Dry-aging is only done to sides of beef that have made the USDA Prime grade; they are sufficiently marbled enough to protect the outer shell while the steak ages.

      The process is fairly simple. Whole cuts of beef - or carcasses - are hung on hooks inside giant refrigerated warehouses for several weeks. There, the natural enzymes in beef break down the muscle fibers, developing tenderness to the meat, and the protein breaks down, developing flavor. (Protein itself has no real flavor - if you taste meat from veal, or chicken, or beef without any fat, they taste virtually the same - but when broken down into its constituent amino acids, flavor is born because the acids are full of it.) As time passes, the beef carcass shrinks as it loses moisture, and mold typically forms on the outside, which must be removed after the aging is done. The carcasses can hang anywhere from a two weeks to more than five; in the 1960s, good beef was expected to be aged for around six weeks. While flavor develops most rapidly in the first three weeks, beef continues to improve as it ages; after ten, the carcass becomes "high", and the meat begins to smell unpleasantly sweet, not unlike that of something fermenting.

      The complexity of the process is in the details. The temperature of the warehouse must not fluctuate too much from 32-36 Fahrenheit (0 - 2.22 Celsius); the humidity must not fall too much out of the 80-85% range; air movement must move at a constant ~3 miles per hour, or 1.5 meters per second. Fall too much out of these ranges, and disaster looms: too warm, and dangerous bacteria start breeding in plenty; too dry, and the beef carcass loses too much water and shrinks; not enough air, and water will condense on the beef and cause spoilage. It is not an easy task, keeping beef to age perfectly and with as little trouble as possible.

      As it can be seen, dry-aging comes with no small amount of expense. The time involved (several weeks); the storage involved (warehouses); and the result involved (loss of up to 25% of the carcass due to mold/dehydration) adds up, and nowadays, most restaurants will prefer the newer method, wet-aging.

   2. Wet-aging

      The traditional means of aging beef today, developed during the 1970s. Meat is vacuum-sealed in plastic ("cryovac") and stored in a refrigerator for a few weeks (not more than three, typically). The same enzymes break down the proteins and the muscle fibers in the beef, and since the water isn't lost in the process as it is during dry-aging, wet-aged steaks are much juicier than dry-aged steaks. The aging process is much faster than that of dry-aging; a perfectly fine steak will result within three weeks.

      However, the taste is vastly different. Most people will find wet-aged steaks to taste "metallic" and "bloody"; wet-aged beef will taste rawer than dry-aged steak. Also, while people enjoy tender steaks (and to some extent, valued as highly or even more so than the fattiness of the steak, known as marbling, which determines the beef grade), wet-aged steaks will taste unpleasantly mushy and lack the slight resistance that a dry-aged steak will have.

      However, since the carcass need only be refrigerated for a few weeks and water is not lost, there is no loss in steak quantity. The overhead for maintenance during the process is fairly low, considering that threat of bacteria and spoilage is not at issue here, since the meat is vacuum packed.

   3. The Hybrid

      The new fashion in certain upscale restaurants that serve steak but cannot go all out for dry-aging will instead combine both processes; this is kind of the best of both worlds: the taste of dry-aging along with the cheap convenience and speed of wet-aging.

      Meat is dry-aged first for about three weeks, perhaps more (though any more and the wet-aging becomes a moot issue), before being sealed in plastic and wet-aged for an additional few days. Since most of the expense comes from the storage of meat during the time it ages, the shorter duration time required for a hybrid brings down costs significantly. Also, in a shorter period of time, less shrinkage and mold will form on a dry-aged carcass, which means that the loss of meat becomes a much smaller issue.

These days, there are very few restaurants that will employ dry-aged, beautifully marbled steak, but I'd recommend everyone to try it out at least once. The famous steakhouse Peter Lugers is a given, of course, but not far behind are: Gallagher's in Las Vegas (the New York, New York casino); Berns in Florida; The Palm and Smith & Wollensky's in New York City; The Precinct, in Cincinnati; Pierpont, Post House in Kansas City; Ruth's Chris in New Orleans.

Rated on the basis of superb quality, selection and price, The Kansas City Steak Co. stands alone in a class all its own.

Kansas City Steak Co.

Charolais cattle have changed beef production concepts almost as much as the original British breeds did in the American Southwest more than a century ago.  They originated  around Charolles in Central France.  The breed became established there and achieved considerable regard as a producer of highly-rated meat in the markets at Lyon and Villefranche in the 16th and 17th centuries. In 1864 a herd book was established by Conte de Bouillé in Nevers for the Nevers-Charolaise breed. Another herd book was started in 1882 in Charolles. They were combined in 1919 as the Charolais herd book. The breed attained international importance after World War II. 

Charolais are medium to large framed beef cattle with a very deep and broad body. Their color is white to cream with a pink muzzle and pale hooves. They have a short, broad head and heavily muscled loins and haunches. Charolais have demonstrated a definite superiority in growth ability, efficient feedlot gains and in carcass cut-out values.  With excellent meat conformation, especially of the valuable parts and relative late maturity they are well suited to fattening for high finished weight. They are well suited to all purpose cross breeding.

Herefords are an ancient breed, kept in Herefordshire in western England for centuries. They gained their modern appearance around 1800 by crossing with cattle from Flanders.  Originally, Herefords were large framed draught cattle, some weighing over 3,000 pounds. During the nineteenth century there was selective breeding for early maturity, which entailed a reduction in the size of the frame. The first herd book was published in 1846, and later adopted by the 'Hereford Herd Book Society', founded in 1878. 

Polled Herefords were developed from the horned Hereford breed which was founded in the mid-18th century by the farmers of Hereford County, England. Among the horned Herefords an occasional calf would be born which did not develop horns. This change from parents' characteristics is known as a "mutation." These cattle soon came to be called "polled," which means naturally hornless.

Polled Hereford are medium framed cattle with distinctive red body color with the head and front of the neck, the brisket, underside, and switch in white. They have well developed fore-quarters, a deep brisket, broad head and stocky legs. Polled Herefords are generally docile and fast growing cattle with good beef quality.

  Angus are solid black cattle, although white may appear on the udder.  They are resistant to harsh weather, undemanding, adaptable, good natured,  mature extremely early and have a high carcass yield with nicely marbled meat.   Angus are renowned as a carcass breed. They are used widely in crossbreeding to improve carcass quality and milking ability.  Angus females calve easily and have good calf rearing ability.  They are also used as a genetic dehorner as the polled gene is passed on as a dominant characteristic.

The breed arose in north-east Scotland in the counties of Aberdeen and Angus. Excavations have revealed that polled cattle existed there in prehistoric times. Deliberate breeding began at the end of the eighteenth century. The breed was first formally recognized in 1835 with the first herd book published in 1862. The first animals were exported to the USA and other countries in 1878.  

The American Aberdeen-Angus Breeders' Association (name shortened in 1950s to American Angus Association) was founded in Chicago, Illinois, on November 21 1883, with 60 members. The growth of the Association has paralleled the success of the Angus breed in America.

In the first century of operation, more than 10 million head were recorded. The American Angus Association records more cattle each year than any other beef breed association, making it the largest beef breed registry association in the world.

How to Contact the Breed Association: