My Fearless Kitchen

Quick tips and easy recipes to chase the fear out of your kitchen.

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter

  • mfk_utensils
  • Recipes
      • Quick and Easy
      • Slow Cooker
      • Grill
      • Freezer Friendly
      • Dips & Snacks
      • Breakfast & Breads
      • Dessert Recipes
      • Main Dish Recipes
      • Side Dish Recipes
      • Soups & Salads
  • Kitchen Tips, Tricks, & More
  • About Farming & Food
    • About GMOs
    • Antibiotics
    • Meat
    • Pigs
    • Eggs
    • Poultry
  • Disclosure, Disclaimers, & Privacy Policy
Home » Beef quality grades

Beef quality grades

By Marybeth Feutz 1 Comment

So all this talk about how farmers raise beef cattle, but what does that mean to you at the grocery store? The way farmers take care of and feed their animals affects how they grow muscle, and the muscle is what we eat as beef. In general, better care and better quality feed means the animals will have better quality meat. But we can do better than just saying “this one is good and that one is better.”

T bone steak

 

The USDA‘s Agriculture Marketing Service is responsible for grading beef based on quality. This is a voluntary program, and the farmer or processor who requests the grading must pay for the service. The benefit is that with a higher quality grade, the farmer or processor can charge more to sell the beef.

There are three quality grades that you may have seen in grocery store. Prime is the highest quality. A cut of beef that is graded prime is tender and well marbled. (Marbling is the amount of fat within the beef. On the t-bone steak above you can see the white streaks in the middle of the beef – this is marbling.) Marbling gives the beef a little more tenderness and a lot more flavor. And the animals need to eat more to get more marbling.

Remember, marbling is basically small deposits of fat. A steer that is just eating enough food to grow, but not get fat, will not have much (if any) marbling. So farmers need to feed their cattle more than they need to just grow up – they need to feed the cattle enough to also grow “out” a little bit and get just a little fat. This costs more (and the beef tastes better), so prime graded beef will be more expensive.

Choice is the next grade level. Choice beef still has some marbling, but not as much as prime beef. This is what is easiest to find in most grocery stores – it is still a good quality cut, but has less marbling and is less expensive than prime beef. (In fact, my local grocery store doesn’t carry prime beef at all.)

USDA choice beef label

 

Select is the third quality grading. This is a much leaner grade of beef, and may have a little less flavor. (Remember, the marbling is a big part of what gives beef its flavor.) Most select cuts of beef should be marinated before cooking or should be braised, because they can dry out easily while cooking.

The next grade is standard or commercial. This grade usually isn’t labeled, and is often used for “store brand” beef.

T bone steak without quality grade

 

Finally, there are utility, cutter, and canner grades of beef. These grades are not usually sold at grocery stores, but are used by meat processors to make ground beef or processed beef products (like hot dogs).

Do you look for a quality grade when you buy beef? What are you looking for when you are at the grocery store?

Share this:

  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)

Related

Filed Under: Kitchen Tips, Tricks, & More, Meat, Where is My Food From? Tagged With: beef, cattle, cow, food, food labels, USDA

« Feed additives in beef farming
Little boys all grown up »

Comments

  1. Dani says

    04/12/2012 at 7:48 am

    Mmmm..beef. Hungry now.

Comment Policy

I welcome comments and conversation. All comments are moderated, and may not appear immediately. As long as you are respectful and courteous, your comment will be approved.
(Read my comment policy for more details.)

Leave a Reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Hi! I'm Marybeth, the blogger behind My Fearless Kitchen! Jump in, and let me share what I'm learning about food, farming, quick kitchen tips, and easy recipes to chase the fear out of YOUR kitchen! Read more.
Follow Us On Pinterest

Popular Posts

Half-Sour Refrigerator Pickles

Honey-BBQ Oven-Baked Ribs

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter
Comment Policy — Disclosures, Disclaimers, & Privacy Policy

Copyright © 2025 · My Fearless Kitchen

 

Loading Comments...
 

You must be logged in to post a comment.