Steak Marbling Grade

A quality grade is a composite evaluation of factors that affect palatability of meat tenderness juiciness and flavor.

Steak marbling grade. Australia is one of the biggest producers of wagyu beef in the world and uses its own grading scale the aus meat marbling system. Beef that is given a higher grade is usually from younger cattle and has more fat marbling. Tenderness and marbling don t necessarily go hand in hand so while the beef tenderloin is possibly the most tender cut of beef it doesn t usually have much marbling. For the prime grade the minimum degree of marbling required is a minimum slightly abundant amount for carcasses throughout the range of maturity permitted in the bullock class.

To make things simple we ll focus on marbling and quality grades of select choice and prime moving from lesser to greater quality in that order. View the marbling image for slight jpg. More marbling means a tenderer creamier texture and is what wagyu and kobe beef connoisseurs highly prize so the higher the bms score the more expensive the beef is. It has at least a slight amount of marbling.

Quality grades of carcass beef bullock prime. Grilling season is upon us. An infographic illustrating beef marbling. Click to see a larger version.

Beef grading fact sheet pdf courtesy of the amercian meat science association. The canner grade includes only those carcasses that are inferior to the minimum requirements specified for the cutter grade. In addition to the quantity of marbling the distribution and texture of visible fat flecks within the ribeye are also considered during assessment of marbling score. Hence the practice of wrapping tenderloin steaks with strips of bacon without it the steak would lack flavor and moisture.

That s not to say that a choice steak or even a select steak won t eat better than one of a greater quality but given a large enough sample size it s been determined that the higher the. Selecting the right usda grade of beef for your dish will help guarantee culinary success. Usda beef quality and yield grades courtesy of texas a m. Due to the abnormally high level of marbling that exists in this beef breed it often exceeds the top usda grade prime and therefore it is difficult to grade those high end carcasses.

The beef grading system developed by the united states department of agriculture is a voluntary grading system based on the meat s maturity and level of fat marbling these two factors are indicators of the beef s tenderness. The australian wagyu marbling scale. These factors include carcass maturity firmness texture and color of lean and the amount and distribution of marbling within the lean. It s time to enjoy that wonderful smell of meat cooking across neighborhood backyards.

Select beef is very uniform in quality and normally leaner than the higher grades.