Fire It Up - Andrew Schloss [32]
• not given hormones to promote growth, or antibiotics to prevent disease
• given “access” to pasture (certified organic beef can be fed on grain in feedlots, but for no more than 200 days, and its feed must be organic)
Beef Grades
The USDA grading program, which judges meat for quality (not safety), is voluntary. Because meat producers have to pay to have carcasses graded, only the best meats go through the grading process. Grades are based on conformation (shape and form), color, texture, firmness of the lean meat, and the degree of marbling (intramuscular fat) running through it. There are eight grades for beef—prime, choice, select, standard, commercial, utility, cutter, and canner. Only the top three grades are sold in retail markets.
Choice is the most common grade, and almost all beef for retail sale is raised to be choice. Only 2 percent of cattle meet the standards for prime. The most important characteristic of prime beef is its high degree of marbling. When grilled, the strands of fat striated throughout the lean melt, yielding rich, moist, succulent results. Marbling also tenderizes by separating muscle fibers, making them easier to chew.
Select grade beef can have as little as 3 percent marbling, which is why most supermarkets label it “extra-lean” and tack on a premium price for health-minded consumers. It is lower in fat, but extra-lean beef dries out easily when overcooked, especially on the grill.
Aged Beef
Aging makes beef more tender and flavorful. It is done under special high-humidity refrigeration to keep muscle enzymes in the meat active. The enzymes break down proteins and fat, and they attack the connective tissue between muscle fibers, causing muscle fibers to relax, tenderizing the meat.
During the weeks it takes to dry age meat a lot of water is lost, which concentrates flavor, but can result in a weight loss of up to 20 percent. That’s why dry-aged beef costs more.
The Tender and the Tough
Cattle are gigantic animals, some weighing in at almost a ton. It would be impossible to grill the creature whole, not only because of its size but also because its different parts don’t cook at the same rate, and they don’t all benefit from the same grilling method. To facilitate cooking, a beef carcass is divided into eight primal cuts, and more than thirty retail cuts of steaks, chops, roasts, ribs, stewing cubes, and ground beef.
Tender cuts come from the primal muscle groups that get the least amount of exercise, which run along the center back of the cattle––the rib (rib cage), short loin (center back), and sirloin (lower back). Tougher meats are from the primals that move or support the body––the chuck (shoulder and foreleg), brisket (chest), plate (diaphragm), flank (abdomen), and round (hind leg).
You know that the more you exercise, the bigger and harder your muscles get. The same goes for beef. But while exercise may make you stronger and more fit, too much exercise just makes a butchered cow a bunch of tough meat. Here’s how to separate the tough from the tender:
Muscles have two parts: (1) muscle fibers, the red bulky part, and 2) connective tissue, the transparent membrane that surrounds the fibers, giving the muscle shape and definition. As a muscle is exercised, the fibers take on protein, making the muscle bigger, redder, and more flavorful, and the connective tissue thickens, making the muscle harder and tougher.
The first rule for picking beef is to look at the red parts. If the surface looks rough, like coarsely woven cloth, its connective tissue is thick and the meat will be tough. A smooth, silken appearance means there’s not enough connective tissue to worry about and the meat will be tender.
How to Grill Beef
When meat cooks two things happen: (1) the protein in the muscle fibers becomes drier, firmer, and more opaque, and (2) the connective tissue melts. Tender cuts like steaks and chops are done when the protein is cooked to the desired degree of doneness. The hotter the meat gets, the drier, firmer, and browner