Marbled meat
Marbled meat is meat, especially red meat, that contains various amounts of intramuscular fat, giving it an appearance similar to marble.
Important terms defined
Beef quality grades - A quality grade is a composite evaluation of factors that affect palatability of meat (tenderness, juiciness, and flavor). These factors include carcass maturity, firmness, texture, and color of lean, and the amount and distribution of marbling within the lean. Beef carcass quality grading is based on (1) degree of marbling and (2) degree of maturity.[1]
Marbling - (intramuscular fat) is the intermingling or dispersion of fat within the lean. Graders evaluate the amount and distribution of marbling in the ribeye muscle at the cut surface after the carcass has been ribbed between the 12th and 13th ribs. Degree of marbling is the primary determination of quality grade.[1]
Maturity refers to the physiological age of the animal rather than the chronological age. Because the chronological age is virtually never known, physiological maturity is used; the indicators are bone characteristics,
Beef yield grades - In beef, yield grades estimate the amount of boneless, closely trimmed retail cuts from the high-value parts of the carcass–the round, loin, rib, and chuck. However, they also show differences in the total yield of retail cuts. We expect a YG 1 carcass to have the highest percentage of boneless, closely trimmed retail cuts, or higher cutability, while a YG 5 carcass would have the lowest percentage of boneless, closely trimmed retail cuts, or the lowest cutability. The USDA Yield Grades are rated numerically and are 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5. Yield Grade 1 denotes the highest yielding carcass and Yield Grade 5, the lowest.[1]
United States grading system
The
See also
- Artificial marbling
- Boston butt
- Entrecôte
- Jamón ibérico – Type of cured pork leg product
- List of steak dishes
- Piedmontese beef
- Rib eye steak
References
- ^ a b c d "USDA Beef Quality and Yield Grades". Meat Science.
- ^ U.S. Meat Animal Research Center, ARS, USDA (September 9, 1994). "Effect of Marbling Degree on Beef Palatability in Bos taurus and Bos indicus Cattle" (PDF). USDA.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)