prime grade

We talk a lot about industry naming and labeling, and for a good reason: There are many confusing beef cut names, quality grades, and beef industry marketing tricks. Consumers are likely to have no idea that there are differences between USDA prime beef, organic steak, and grass-fed, grass-finished meat.

One brand name that has been used by the beef industry, steak restaurants, and fast food joints alike is “Angus.”

Angus beef is often used to designate a better quality product. But in fact, the term doesn’t have anything to do with quality grades, far better marbling, superior taste, or even beef that is raised to some sort of stringent requirements. If anything, the term Angus may be nothing more than a way to charge a higher price for beef that is quite ordinary, yet, in limited supply. In fact, Angus is so prevalent, both McDonald’s and Burger King have served their own “Angus” burgers at one time or another.

If Ronald McDonald and the King are slinging a product, that should be an indicator that a product is not quite what you might expect.

What exactly is Angus beef?

Angus is a term used for any beef that comes from the specific type of cattle known as the Angus breed. There are two types of Angus: Black Angus and Red Angus, and both can trace their roots back to Scotland.

According to the American Angus Association — which claims to be the largest beef breed organization in the world — a Scot named George Grant imported four Angus bulls from Scotland to Kansas in 1873, where he cross-bred the naturally-hornless, black-hided bulls with Texas longhorn cows. The Angus Association asserts that the original bulls came from the herd of a man named George Brown from Westertown, Fochabers, Scotland — to be specific. Also, the breed used to be called Aberdeen Angus, but some of the Scottish roots seem to have been lost through the whims of beef marketing interventions.

The black cattle ended up being quite resilient; they were able to last the winter better than other breeds without losing much weight. And although Grant died a few years after arriving in the United States, his legacy left a lasting impression. Between 1878 and 1883, twelve hundred Angus cattle were imported to the Midwest from Scotland. Today, it is the most common breed of meat-producing cattle in the country.

In 1978, a group of Midwest ranchers formed the Certified Angus Beef brand, setting up an organization to give specific certification to some Angus producers. This label has nothing to do with how the animals are raised or fed. To get the Certified Angus classification, a producer must meet ten standards related to tenderness, marbling, and flavor.

So, is Angus beef any better?

Likely, you’ve seen the term Angus — as well as Black Angus or Certified Angus beef — on restaurant menus and at the grocery store. The implications made by the brand are that consumers are getting a superior product — and likely, paying a higher price for it. However, Angus is far more common than you might realize.

The difference, according to the American Angus Association, has to do with the better taste. It asserts in much of its marketing advice that the “Angus breed is superior in marbling to all other mainstream beef breeds.”

Angus has become the prevalent type of beef found in America; it is also the marbled, rich-flavored type of beef the Americans have gotten used to over the past 50 years as the brand has flourished.

However, even the advice given by the American Angus Association on how to raise Angus cattle will demonstrate the differences between Angus beef and cattle that are grass-fed or organic and raised humanely. The AAA recommends producers’ use of “a corn-based, high-starch ration” of feed to fatten up the cattle and has other guidelines for Angus feedyards, vaccinations and more.

Unlike ranchers obsessed with making sure their cattle flourish on grass-fed diets, enjoy grazing on a pasture, and don’t receive antibiotics and hormones, the goals of Angus producers are quite different. The ultimate goal of the Angus arm of the beef industry is to raise the fattest cattle that will result in the marbled, tender beef that consumers have grown accustomed to, whether this profile of beef is good for their health or not.

So, now you are armed with a little more information on what the term Angus beef means when you next encounter the term on a grocery store label or at a steakhouse. In reality, Angus is little more than any other American brand like Coca-Cola or Pepsi. It certainly doesn’t imply any benefit to your health, and, to our mind, the branding doesn’t make it taste better than a grass-fed, grass-finished cut of beef.

If you’ve dined at a local steakhouse recently, you may have seen USDA Prime Beef advertised on your menu. What does this mean? Is prime beef better or healthier than other beef?

Prime is a designation given by the USDA and is a label that producers can choose to pursue, to distinguish their meat from lower-quality products. However, in the case of USDA meat grades, “quality” refers to the amount of flavor, the juiciness, and the tenderness of the meat. It has absolutely nothing to do with the level of nutrients within the cut, nor does it refer to how the animal was raised or what that animal ate during its lifetime (as organic, non-GMO, or grass-fed food labels or designations do).

It’s also important to note that any cut of meat can receive any grade, no matter how sought-after or expensive that particular cut happens to be. For example, a ribeye can be graded as prime or standard, a lesser-quality grade.

Finally, the quality grade has nothing to do with health or sanitation. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) ensure all meat sold within the United States — either locally or nationwide — is inspected for safety, diseases, and other necessary measures. Once again, the quality grade is entirely optional; producers actually pay the USDA to grade their meat so they can price and sell the cut accordingly.

What are the different grades of beef?

There are two different ways to “grade” a cut of beef. The first, and better-known method is the quality grade. There are eight different USDA quality grades, evaluating the steak or roast for tenderness, flavor, and juiciness.

The second method doesn’t grade the actual cut — it grades the entire carcass. Yield grade measures how much lean meat can be used compared to the amount of marbling (fat). Yield grades are given a number between one and five, with one being considered “the best,” with the highest portion of lean meat; and five the lowest quality, with the lowest portion of lean beef available.

Less than two percent of all meat in the United States is graded “Prime.” Viewed as the highest quality grade, prime beef is produced from young, well-fed beef cattle. Prime beef is known for its abundant marbling, as 11% (or more) of the cut is from intramuscular fat.

The only time(s) you’ll cut into a prime cut of beef is either at a steakhouse or an upscale hotel. You will rarely (if ever) find prime beef at your local supermarket — although they can be found at a few chains.

Choice Grade

One step down from prime is “Choice” grade. USDA Choice is still considered a high-quality grade; it just has less marbling than prime (only 9.5-11% intramuscular fat). A tender cut of meat, like a ribeye or filet mignon, will still be very tender and juicy (honestly, you probably won’t notice the difference from prime). A less tender cut could dry out, so it’s best to use a meat thermometer while cooking.

Select Grade

“Select” grade is considered of lesser quality than choice or prime, but still higher than the average steak you’ll find at the supermarket. Select beef has less marbling than either choice or prime, making it a leaner cut of meat. It’s still reasonably tender, but since it contains less fat, it might lack some of the juiciness found in the two higher grades.

Standard and Commercial Grades

“Standard” and “Commercial” are the two grades you’ll typically find at the meat counter as “store brand” meat. As you probably guessed, it contains less marbling than the three higher grades, thereby lacking some of the juiciness and flavor. Many times, these grades will be packaged as “store grades” or “un-graded” at the grocery store.

Utility, Cutter, and Canner Grades

You won’t find filet mignon labeled as utility, cutter, or canner. These three, lower grades are reserved mainly for ground beef and processed products. You won’t find a cut of steak with any of these three grades.

How to cook different grades of beef

Since the amount of fat varies so much between the quality grades, it’s important to know how to cook them. The less marbling in a cut, the higher your chances of overcooking it. Consider using a meat thermometer to prevent drying out your dinner (Remember: our recommendation is 125°F for medium rare).

When dealing with the two highest grades — prime and choice — almost any cut can be cooked by any method. Even if you’re cooking a less tender cut (like a rump or round roast), you should be able to cook with dry heat, such as roasting, broiling, or grilling.

When cooking a select steak or either of the store grades, you should only cook the tender cuts (those from the loin, ribs, or sirloin) with dry heat. Any other cut, you should consider marinating the beef prior to cooking. You could also consider braising — or cooking with another form of added moisture — to keep your meat nice and tender.

Grades for Poultry

Unlike beef, there are only three grades for poultry: A, B, or C. There are no yield grades for poultry, so the three grades apply whether you’re purchasing a whole chicken or a single, boneless skinless chicken breast.

Grade A

Grade A poultry ensures the meat is free of bruises, feathers, or other defects. If it’s a bone-in product (like bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs), the bones should not be broken. For “whole” products, like your center stage turkey at Thanksgiving, should not have any tears or exposed skin that could dry out when cooking.

Grade A is, in all likelihood, the only label you’ll ever see in a store. It applies to all chicken, duck, turkey, and other poultry products if they meet the above standards. The few exceptions are gizzards, wing tips, tails, necks, and ground meat, which are not graded — no matter their condition.

Grade B and C

To our knowledge, poultry labeled grade B and C is not sold whole in stores. Typically, poultry that falls under either one of these grades will be saved for further-processed products, like ground turkey.

Grades for Other Types of Meat

There is no USDA grade for pork, the only other meat we sell on this site. However, we thought we’d share two other types of meat graded for quality by the USDA.

Grades for Veal

Veal is beef produced from a young calf. The grades are similar to that beef quality grades, with fewer options: prime, choice, good, standard, and utility. Like beef, prime and choice are considered the highest quality and suitable for almost any cooking method. Good, standard, and utility decrease in quality and marbling, with standard and utility usually being reserved for ground veal.

Grades for Lamb

Similar to veal, lamb has five quality grades. The highest quality grades, prime and choice, are typically the only grades found in grocery stores. Good, utility, and cull grades are rarely labeled as such.

What Grade Comes in Your ButcherBox?

None of them.

While there is absolutely nothing wrong with quality grade standards, it has nothing to do with the health or well-being of the animal a cut of meat came from. We would rather ensure our meat came from animals that were humanely raised, grazed on grass, and were never given growth hormones or antibiotics than simply measure the amount of marbling within a cut.

Grain-fed cattle are raised to get fat quickly, which enhances their marbling. Grass-fed cows are leaner, and therefore have less intramuscular fat within each steak. While the USDA beef grades consider this a disadvantage, we look at it as a selling point. We prefer grass-fed beef because they were fed a healthy diet of grass and forage, resulting in a cut of meat that is lower in bad fats and higher in key nutrients.

The purpose of USDA meat grades is to evaluate a cut of beef for flavor, but we happen to prefer the taste of grass-fed beef. But hey, don’t take our word for it.

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What is Angus beef and why the label really doesn’t matter