Cuts of meat

I really get confused about the cuts of meats. I read a post by Lleechef regarding prime cuts. She indicated that prime was rarely available and I understand that they are extremely expensive. I doubt that I have ever bought prime. Is there the value for this cut. What is the difference between prime and the next couple of cuts down?Thanks

Paul E. Smith
Knoxville, TN

Lets just say you don't need a knife for prime! It's the best of the best cut.. Have had it several times, but price is a definite factor... If you go to a butcher shop, you have a good chance of getting a prime cut if it hasn't already been sold off that section your interested in (my guy asks me, otherwise you have to ask or you'll get choice)..

Check out this link Paul: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beef

Prime has more to do with fat than anything else. It is generally fatty, but the fat is well distributed through the meat in thin "veins" of fat. This makes for great flavor and tenderness.

Choice is what you will mainly find in the supermarket. It has less fat and is not distributed as well in the meat. Less tenderness and flavor but not at all bad.

Select, once unknown in supermarkets around here has been creeping in. It is lean, tough and usually has an off flavor. It is cheap though.

I find if you pick carefully through the Choice packages, looking for the well defined fat veins, you can come close to prime by being your own USDA grader. As for Select, forget it.

quote:

Originally posted by Greyghost


Select, once unknown in supermarkets around here has been creeping in. It is lean, tough and usually has an off flavor. It is cheap though.

Thats a fact... Any they seem to be charging choice prices for this leather..

USDA Select used to be USDA Good. The name of the grade was changed back in the late 1980s. It's one step above USDA Commercial. As far as I'm concerned, USDA Select would be fine for grinding.

Paul, whattya say we go scout out a meat market on Monday that will sell us a few prime steaks?

quote:

Originally posted by Poverty Pete

Paul, whattya say we go scout out a meat market on Monday that will sell us a few prime steaks?

I probably cannot afford it

Paul E. Smith
Knoxville, TN

I do the same as Greyghost. Just go look at some prime beef and you can see what the fat viens should look like. That said, nothing beats a great cut of prime beef. Prime bone in ribeys are my fav! I ate a whole one raw once, no bone, room temp w/ melted butter, salt, pepper, and garlic powder, mmm. You must be carefull about the blade being disinfected befor it was cut though.
Joe

Boy,PapaJoe8,you ARE a carnivore !!! LOL...

I think the terminology needs to be cleared up a bit. Prime refers to the quality grade of the animal being butchered. If the half or quarter of the cow is graded Prime..or Choice...or Select.. or Commercial, the price of the pieces (Cuts) of that large critter will be adjusted for whatever the packing house decides is the current price for that GRADE of Beef.

The Cuts refer to the names of the pieces of that grade of beef taken from the half or quarter of the butchered critter. Example- The Chuck (Chuck Roast or Chuck Steak, Ground Chuck and Stew Meat and other cuts including the Shoulder Clod) Technically these could be any of the Grade of beef, but usually this "Cut" comes from a Choice or Select Grade when used in retail meat cutting.

The difficulty arises when the terms are intermixed and cause confusion...Like when a Standing Rib Roast is called "Prime Rib". It may be Prime Grade, but most Rib Roasts sold in retail groceries are not Prime Grade beef. They more often are "Choice Grade."

Another term often mis-used is Rib-Eye when the cut labeled that way is a Rib Steak. The Rib-Eye Steak is just the center core of the Standing Rib Roast cut into steaks. It does not have the long tail, the rib-bone, or the fatty cap that you find on the Rib Steak. It is just the "Eye" of the Rib Steak. Accordingly, when cut correctly, the Rib-Eye can and should be priced higher than the regular Rib Steak, because the Rib Steak has a lot of lower quality fatty meat and bone. However the retailer these days has educated the public to think that the cheaper cut is really the 'top-of-the-line' cut. The same attention needs to be focused on KOBE and KOBE-STYLE BEEF

Advice. Do your homework on the grades and cuts of meat before you spend a lot of money on something that is actually a "Mis-Label"

I'm not mislabeling anything. I don't know what cut it will be yet, but Paul is having a prime steak Monday night. Depending on the current prices, the rest of us may be having burgers, but I'm bringing Paul a STEAK!

Al, as usual, is 100% right. Prime, choice and select are ways of grading beef. There's even "no roll" (as it did not pass USDA grading, but is still edible). Prime is pretty hard to find here in AK but can be found in a regular grocery store in Iowa!

Go for it PP!!! And take lots of pics showing Paul enjoying that prime meat!

Never heard of "No Roll".. I learned my meat cuts from a Mexican Meat Market, needing a customer to translate to me of what the employee was trying to ask and tell me.. (Burton Meat Farm on the SW side of Grand Rapids, actually located in Wyoming, MI (burbs)..

I can remember back some years ago when buying meat at your local grocer you could see a blue ink stamp from the USDA on the fat.
I haven't seen that in years.
Here in Boston the only butcher shop that I know of that you can still get PRIME is Savenors. They also carry dry aged prime, I don't even have a clue of what that might cost. www.savenorsmarket.com
Chow Jim

During various Holiday Seasons Jungle Jim's, the Specialty market in Cincinnati will advertise "Dry-Aged Prime Grade" Standing Rib Roasts and Various Steak Cuts. Last winter they were in the $10 a lb range.

Al: thanks for the very good clarification.

Paul E. Smith
Knoxville, TN