Welcome to City-Data.com Forum!
U.S. CitiesCity-Data Forum Index
Go Back   City-Data Forum > General Forums > Food and Drink
 [Register]
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
View detailed profile (Advanced) or search
site with Google Custom Search

Search Forums  (Advanced)
Reply Start New Thread
 
Old 12-31-2022, 05:46 PM
 
Location: Redwood Shores, CA
1,651 posts, read 1,266,694 times
Reputation: 1600

Advertisements

I had some Select grade steak cooked to medium. I felt it was a bit tough. I wonder if it is because of the cooking, or the fact that it's select trade has something to do with it as well.

Traditionally we think of grades as relating to distribution of fat. Does it also affect the tenderness of the meat after cooking?
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message

 
Old 01-01-2023, 12:43 AM
 
Location: Tricity, PL
61,082 posts, read 85,880,338 times
Reputation: 130720
There are eight total quality grades: Prime, Choice, Select, Standard, Commercial, Utility, Cutter and Canner. They have been used by the beef industry since 1927

Beef grades explained here:
https://www.clovermeadowsbeef.com/meat-grading-system/

If you want to know more, please read this:
https://meatnbone.com/blogs/the-clev...-understanding

More about beef cuts:
https://www.lonemountainwagyu.com/bl...uts-and-grades
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 01-01-2023, 12:57 AM
 
Location: Tricity, PL
61,082 posts, read 85,880,338 times
Reputation: 130720
Here is a great guide about the best ways to cook selected cuts of beef:
https://www.masterclass.com/articles...ch-cut-of-beef
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 01-02-2023, 01:17 PM
 
Location: North Idaho
32,482 posts, read 47,415,214 times
Reputation: 77701
Generally marbling helps with tenderness, but not always. Tenderness is most affected by the amount of use the muscle got and it is affected by the aging process.

Select grades of meat will not have had much aging. They sell for less money so they get less time invested in them. To me, select grade usually smells "green". I've had it turn out fine to eat after I age it awhile at home, but it is generally not what I would buy if I want a nice steak. I have bought whole loins that were graded select and aged them and cut them into steaks and they were quite nice. Flavor is usually good. Toughness can be an issue with select grade.

For beef with less fat, you must limit the cooking time as it will get tougher the longer you cook it.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 01-02-2023, 01:29 PM
 
6,691 posts, read 4,669,499 times
Reputation: 25621
https://www.usda.gov/media/blog/2013...heat%20cooking.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 01-02-2023, 02:03 PM
 
Location: Kaliforneea
2,518 posts, read 2,033,729 times
Reputation: 5258
as a consumer, I only ever see 3 grades in the market: Prime, Choice & Select. I think Select is seldom labled or its the store-brand generic.


Since the increase in beef prices since Biden-flation, I pay more attention. I rarely see Prime, and I have looked for it. I think I mainly shop at bargin or organic markets, tho'. rib eye runs about $26-$29/lbs here so its fallen out of my grocery list.



Since I am a creature of habit, I mainly stick to a few cuts of beef I am familar with and cook well. I'm not looking for "the most tender" outcome, for instance I do not like filet mignon. I dont mind a nice chewy tri tip, but I'm not grilling outdoors in the cold. So what cooks up in the broiler is the winner for the next few months.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 01-02-2023, 02:12 PM
 
119 posts, read 69,637 times
Reputation: 182
When Nolan angus beef is on sale,I buy
Angus beef may not be the most tender,but it is tasty
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 01-02-2023, 02:46 PM
 
16,349 posts, read 30,056,253 times
Reputation: 25378
Being close to the border in Arizona, we buy a lot of ungraded beef as it is more affordable. If you are making stews, chilis and the like, why pay so much more for choice or prime?

My FIL raised dairy cows for years. Every once in a while, we would send out an older cow for slaughter and distribute the meat among the family. Almost all of the meat was either ground, cut into stew meat or canned by his BIL. I liked the taste of the meat as it was more flavorful than what you buy in the store. Tenderness was NOT an issue as well, due to the methods of preparation used.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 01-02-2023, 06:21 PM
 
19,957 posts, read 29,996,781 times
Reputation: 39982
Top 3 grades is
Prime choice and select

45 plus yrs ago most grocery stores carried mostly choice grade beef
In the late 80’s the lean and low fat craze began … the want for lean and less marbled beef happened… this is when select grade beef became popular- select is also cheaper than choice allowing cheaper advertised price points

Some stores carry. All three grades .. some stores in poor areas just carry select for cheaper prices

There is cheaper beef than select grades… not just lower grades but .. there’s also ungraded
Beef called no-roll … and there’s Mexican beef called Sukarne… that is super cheap and lean
I can sell t bones and porterhouse for 4.99lb maybe Even 3.99lb
Of Sukarne- the tenderloin is very popular at less than $10lb

If you cherry pick the grocery store flyers for lossleaders you can get some great deals… some stores will sell below cost just to get you thru the door … that’s the time to stock up

I’ve bought select grade … before and had good luck… just don’t overcook… as in a rib eye or strip steak… if you buy a select roast or lean steak on price… like a London broil .. then you can cut these into stew … use for jerky .. or throw in crock pot where it falls apart…
Choice and prime grade have the most marbling and will have more flavor/tenderness
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 01-02-2023, 07:36 PM
 
16,349 posts, read 30,056,253 times
Reputation: 25378
Quote:
Originally Posted by mainebrokerman View Post
There is cheaper beef than select grades… not just lower grades but .. there’s also ungraded
Beef called no-roll … and there’s Mexican beef called Sukarne… that is super cheap and lean
I can sell t bones and porterhouse for 4.99lb maybe Even 3.99lb
Of Sukarne- the tenderloin is very popular at less than $10lb

If you cherry pick the grocery store flyers for loss leaders you can get some great deals… some stores will sell below cost just to get you thru the door … that’s the time to stock up

In Arizona, the local Food City which is geared toward a Mexican customer base was offering chuck roasts for $5.49/ lb. However, their ad was offering carne para tamales for $2.99/ lb. I looked that meat over for a while and finally one of the butchers came out. I asked him what part of the steer it came from. And yes, I was right, it was chuck roast. I bought a 9# package and trimmed it up into chuck roasts for future use.

I guess that the lesson from this experience is to stock up on chuck roast during the period when people are making tamales since that product has been on sales from Thanksgiving on.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.

Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.


Reply
Please update this thread with any new information or opinions. This open thread is still read by thousands of people, so we encourage all additional points of view.

Quick Reply
Message:


Over $104,000 in prizes was already given out to active posters on our forum and additional giveaways are planned!

Go Back   City-Data Forum > General Forums > Food and Drink

All times are GMT -6.

© 2005-2024, Advameg, Inc. · Please obey Forum Rules · Terms of Use and Privacy Policy · Bug Bounty

City-Data.com - Contact Us - Archive 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37 - Top