Beef

Beef, the meat of an adult (over 1 year) bovine, wasn't always as popular as it is today. America has had cattle since the mid-1500s, but most immigrants preferred either pork or chicken. Shortages of those two meats during the Civil War, however, suddenly made beef attractive and very much in demand.

Today's beef comes from cows (females that have borne at least one calf), steers (males castrated when very young), heifers (females that have never borne a calf) and bulls under 2 years old. Baby beef is the lean, tender but not too flavorful meat of a 7- to 10-month-old calf.

Grading

Meat packers can request and pay for their meat to be graded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). The grading is based on three factors: conformation (the proportion of meat to bone), finish (proportion of fat to lean) and overall quality

Beginning with the best quality, the eight USDA grades for beef are Prime, Choice, Select, Standard, Commercial, Utility, Cutter and Canner. The meat's grade is stamped within a purple shield (a harmless vegetable dye is used for the ink) at regular intervals on the outside of each carcass. USDA Prime and the last three grades are rarely seen in retail outlets. Of all beef carcasses offered for quality grading in the U.S., 2% are graded U.S. Prime, 44% U.S. Choice, 27% U.S. Select. The remainder, about 27%, are not quality graded, and may be referred to in the industry as "No Roll" carcasses.

Young beef with the most marbling is given the Prime or highest quality grade. Prime is usually sold to restaurants, but may be available in some specialty markets. Choice is the most widely available grade in the retail market. Select has the least amount of marbling, but may not be as tender, juicy or flavorful as Prime or Choice. The lower-quality grades are generally only used for sausages and in cured and canned meats. Ideally, beef is at its best — both in flavor and texture — at 18 to 24 months. The meat at that age is an even rosy-red color. If the animal is over 2 1/2 years old it is usually classified as "well-matured beef" and, though more full-flavored, the meat begins to toughen and darken to a purplish red. Slow, moist-heat cooking, however, will make it perfectly delicious.

Storage

To store fresh beef:  If the meat will be cooked within 6 hours of purchase, it may be left in its plastic-wrapped package. Otherwise, remove the packaging and either store unwrapped in the refrigerator's meat compartment or wrap loosely with waxed paper and keep in the coldest part of the refrigerator for up to 2 days for ground beef, 3 days for other cuts. The object is to let the air circulate and keep the meat's surface somewhat dry, thereby inhibiting rapid bacterial growth. Cooked meat should be wrapped airtight and stored in the refrigerator. Ground beef can be frozen, wrapped airtight, for up to 3 months, solid cuts up to 6 months.

Aging

Aging is a natural process that improves primarily the tenderness, but also the flavor of beef, especially in cuts from the rib and loin (rib, ribeye, Porterhouse, T-Bone, top loin, sirloin and tenderloin steaks).

Aging allows the natural enzymes in beef to tenderize the meat by breaking down specific proteins (connective tissue) in muscle fibers; most of the tenderization occurs within the first 7 to 10 days of the aging process. The increase in tenderness after 7 to 10 days is relatively small compared to the increase during the first 7 to 10 days.

Two Types Of Aging Are Practiced Commercially: Dry And Wet Aging.

Dry Aging

- Dry aging is the process of placing an entire carcass or wholesale cut (without covering or packaging) in a refrigerated room (320 to 340F) under humidity controlled conditions for up to 28 days. Too much humidity allows excessive microbial growth; too little causes excessive shrinkage. If the temperature gets too high, microbial growth increases significantly. During properly controlled dry aging, beef usually loses moisture. The dry aging process also adds flavor to beef, often described as "brown-roasted beefy flavor." Today most dry aging is done by upscale steakhouses and specialty beef purveyors.

Wet aging

- Wet aging refers to the aging of beef in vacuum bags under refrigerated conditions of 320 to 340F. Humidity control is not necessary for wet aging as the beef is tightly sealed in the packaging. Because most beef is vacuum packaged at the site of carcass cutting, wet aging is the predominant method of aging used today. By the time the vacuum-packaged beef reaches the retail store, at least 7 to 10 days (the time needed for much of the tenderization to occur) have usually elapsed. However, additional tenderization will occur with longer aging. (Ideally rib and loin cuts should have a minimum of 14 days for aging; tender-loins a minimum of 7 days; sirloins a minimum of 21 days and preferably 28 days; and chucks and rounds a minimum of 7 days.)

Cuts

The first step in breaking the carcass is to separate it into primal cuts that can be handled more easily. The primal cuts correspond fairly closely to the units that a retail butcher might order from a wholesaler or abattoir. The primal cuts of beef are shown below. The separation of the forequarter and the hindquarter leaves only the last rib on the hindquarter.

Primal Cut	Retail Cuts	Retail Cuts
Chuck	Chuck Eye Roast Arm Pot Roast Cross Rib Pot Roast Blade Roast 7-Bone Pot Roast Flanken Style Ribs	Short Ribs Under Blade Pot Roast Mock Tender Boneless Shoulder Pot Roast Boneless Top Blade Steak
Rib	Rib Roast Large End Rib Roast Small End Rib Eye Roast	Back Ribs Rib Eye Steak Rib Steak Small End
Short Loin	Boneless Top Loin Steak Porterhouse Steak T-Bone Steak	Tenderloin Roast Tenderloin Steak New York Strip Steak
Sirloin	Sirloin Steak, Round Bone Sirloin Steak, Flat Bone	Top Sirloin Steak
Rump	Rump Steaks
Round	Round Steak Top Round Roast Boneless Rump Roast Tip Roast, Cap Off	Tip Steak Eye Round Roast Bottom Round Roast Top Round Steak
Flank	Flank Steak	Flank Steak Rolls
Short Plate	Skirt Steak
Brisket	Corned Brisket, Point Half Brisket, Flat Half	Brisket, Whole
Fore Shank	Shank Cross Cut