Meat Grade Refresher
Most people know the three basic USDA grades of beef, but are somewhat unaware of the rest of the beef, pork, chicken, and to an extent, lamb and veal grades. The following are the standards of the USDA with a few opinions of my own thrown in.
BEEF
Prime- the best quality of beef you can get! Has plenty of marbling (flecks of fat in the muscle tissue) and very tasty, tender. Used to be that Prime was reserved for your better restaurants and hotels, but can now be found in upscale grocery stores and meat markets.
Choice- has less marbling than Prime, but still very high quality. USDA Choice is the grade carried by most supermarkets and box/discount warehouses. A good high level of Choice beef can be just as good as a lower level of Prime. Why? (see below)
( for an example, you have a cow/steer that is just too good to be considered Select, but there are five cows in line that are a better Choice, but not quite Prime. So, now we have six cows that fit into the Choice grade with each one having a better quality than the one before it. Packers will take that higher level of Choice and Prime and market it at a higher price. Iowa Beef Packers normal retail Choice is from cow #s 3 and 4 and they will market #s 5 and 6 as their own Chairmans Reserve Beef.)
Select- a lot leaner than Choice or Prime. Sometimes it may be tender, but as a whole it is not as juicy or flavorful as the two higher grades. Wal-Mart and Albertsons, among others, feature this grade of beef. It is possible to grill the cuts from the rib, loin and sirloin, but I recommend marinating first. I personally prefer to avoid Select beef.
"No-Roll Beef
A term used to describe beef that has not been graded by the USDA. Beef carcasses graded by the USDA have a grading stamp rolled on the exterior fat of the carcass to identify the grade of the meat. Carcasses not graded have no USDA rolling stamp, hence the name “No-Roll”. Unlike the mandatory USDA safety inspection paid for by the government, grading of beef is optional and is paid for by the processor. Since only the best grades of beef (Prime and Choice) justify the expense of optional grading, a large share of the beef sold in the United States is not graded. If it were graded, most of the no-roll beef would be graded “Select”...."
Standard- has no marbling what so ever. It will be a darker red than the other grades and will have less beef flavor, if any at all. Not so much now, but quite prevalent a few years ago, Standard grade was the store brand, as in "IGA Brand Beef". It may also be sold as ungraded or no-roll beef.
Commercial, Utility, Cutter and Canner- are older, mature beef and devoid of any marbling and tenderness. This beef is mostly sold as ground meat and other processed meats (soups, canned meat, TV dinners, etc)
PORK
Pork is not labeled any grade quality, but is USDA inspected for wholesomeness. Tech-nically, for packers, not consumers, pork IS graded US1, US2, 3 and 4 and each is determined by the amount of back fat thickness over the last rib. Most pork processed in the United States today falls in US1 category. When buying, make sure the pork is grayish-pink in color, firm and has some degree of marbling.
POULTRY
Chicken- Practically ALL chicken sold at retail level is Grade A. Chicken in this category will be firm, full breasted, meaty, no blemishes, no broken skin or broken bones. Grades B and C can have any or all of the defects listed above. As a rule, when supermarkets feature a loss leader item, such as .29 Leg Quarters, etc, they are Grade B or C and the grade label or may not even be labeled at all. If the word "blem" is mentioned, consider it B or C.
Turkey and Ducks- see above
LAMB
Prime- same as Beef Prime
Choice- same as Beef Choice
Good, Utility and Cull- these grades are not sold at retail level.
VEAL
Prime- see Beef Prime
Choice- see Beef Choice
Good- see Beef Select
Standard- see Beef Standard
Utility- see Beef Utility
Unlike mature animals (beef), veal is lighter in color and will be grayish pink to light pink. The bones may be reddish in color.
