Steak Perfection: steak

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Wednesday, April 18, 2012

History: Butchering Before Refrigeration

PLEASE HELP

I'm researching how butchers, cowboys and pioneers slaughtered and cooked cattle in the warm months from March through November before there was refrigeration.

In the East, cattle were often slaughtered during the warm summer months to celebrate holidays (July 4) and weddings (in June), to feed armies (especially during the Civil War), etc.

In the West, drovers and pioneers trailed cattle, which were often injured and put down.

My question is: How were cattle butchered and cooked?

BUTCHERED BEFORE OR AFTER RIGOR?

The weather was warm, so butchers, cowboys or pioneers had to act very quickly before the beef began to spoil.

Did they butcher and start cooking the meat before rigor started, which would be within about 6 hours after death?

Or did they wait until rigor resolved (usually after about 24 hours after death, depending on ambient temperature) to begin to butcher and start cooking?

USUALLY BOILED?

How did they cook the beef? There would not have been enough firewood (or time) to cook entire sides of beef over a pit of coals. Since the beef could not be aged, it would have been extremely tough.

Did they boil the tenderest cuts and leave the rest of the carcass the to rot?

MODERN TRIAL?

Have you ever cooked and/or tasted beef from cattle that was slaughtered and immediately butchered and cooked without refrigeration?

Or do you know of any blogs or articles by those who have?

THANKS FOR YOUR HELP!

I'd appreciate your help in these matters.

CONCLUSION

SteakPerfection welcomes your comments. Please share them below. SteakPerfection is a complex process that involves every detail, from pasture to plate. Clink on the links below for our SteakPerfection sites:

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Friday, February 24, 2012

Grading: Percent of Each Grade

GRADES

The USDA grades beef with one of eight possible grades:

Prime
Choice
Select
Standard
Commercial
Utility
Cutter
Canner

Of these, steak and beef consumers should be concerned only with the top three grades: USDA Prime Grade, USDA Choice Grade and USDA Select Grade. These are the grades that most steakhouses, butchers and markets sell to their consumers.

SUB-GRADES

Each of the top grades have sub-grades. For example, the USDA divides the USDA Prime Grade into:

Prime⁺ (called "Prime plus")
Prime^o (called "Prime zero")
Prime^- (called "Prime minus")

UNGRADED BEEF

USDA grading is not mandatory. Beef processors must pay the USDA for the grading service. As a result, processors do not ordinarily pay for the USDA to grade any beef which is unlikely to achieve one of the top three grades.

Ungraded beef is sometimes called "No Roll", since the USDA inspector did not roll a grade stamp onto the beef carcass.

PERCENT OF EACH GRADE

The percent of each grade and ungraded beef is as follows:

Grades	Percent
USDA Prime⁺	0.1%
USDA Prime^o	0.4%
USDA Prime^-	1.3%
USDA Choice⁺	1.9%
USDA Choice^o	7.6%
USDA Choice^-	28.5%
USDA Select	15.5%
Other USDA Grades	3.2%
Ungraded (No Roll)	41.5%
Total	100.0%

PRIME⁺

USDA Prime⁺ Grade is the highest official USDA sub-grade. In 2011, the United States processed 34.4 million cattle, an average of 662,000 per week. Since only 0.1% of all cattle achieve the highest sub-grade of USDA Prime⁺, only an average of 661 cattle per week receive the highest grade.

Because USDA Prime⁺ Grade beef is so very rare, processors set this aside for only their very best customers (the "best of the best" steakhouses and butchers). As a result, the vast majority of steakhouses, butches and markets do not have any USDA Prime⁺ Grade beef.

OTHER USDA GRADES

As the Table shows, the item labelled as "Other USDA Grades" equal 3.2% of all beef. This item includes beef that is graded USDA Standard Grade or lower. Processors who paid the USDA to grade this beef made a mistake. They thought that the beef would grade higher, since otherwise they would not have paid the USDA for the grading service.

CONCLUSION

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Sunday, February 5, 2012

Pre-Cooking: Salt and Freeze First?

WHEN SHOULD SALT BE ADDED TO A GREAT STEAK?

When should a cook add salt to a steak?

This debate has raged for years and years, with 'experts' on all sides claiming to know the answer.

WHAT ARE THE CLAIMS ABOUT SALTING?

There are four basic "sides" of the debate about salting a great steak:

Salt the steak long before cooking
Salt the steak just before cooking
Salt the steak just after cooking
Never salt the steak before serving

Let's look at each of these four alternatives.

(a) SALT LONG BEFORE COOKING

Food & Wine reports that David Tanis, of Chez Panisse in Berkeley, California, and San Francisco’s Judy Rodgers, of The Zuni Café, claim that a great steak should be salted long before cooking.

Cooks Country recommends that a great steak be seasoned with both salt and cornstarch 30 minutes before cooking, and then putting the steak, uncovered, into the freezer. The theory is that the dry humidity in the freezer will help the salt draw off the surface moisture, which will make the exterior 'crustier'.

(B) SALT JUST BEFORE COOKING

Food & Wine reports that New York City chef Tom Colicchio, of Craft and Top Chef fame, claims that a great steak should be salted and seasoned just before cooking.

(a) SALT JUST AFTER COOKING

Food & Wine reports that Daniel's Jean François Bruel claims that a great steak should be salted and seasoned only just after it has been seared or grilled.

(a) NEVER SALT BEFORE SERVING

A Chowhound blogger conducted a test that showed that a great steak should be salted only by the diner, because it made the steak "[w]onderfully tender, and for my taste buds, it had a much beefier flavor and the salt was more pleasing" than on pre-salted steaks.

ALL CLAIMS AND TESTS ARE INCONCLUSIVE

All these claims and tests are inconclusive.

These claims and tests cannot be validated unless they start with identical steaks. However, steaks from a butcher or supermarket (as well as steaks served in the vest best steakhouses) are _not_ identical, even if they have exactly the same USDA Prime Grade. Virtually all beef today, including steaks, are distributed in boxes of beef. Boxes of USDA Prime Grade beef are not from the same animal, or the same farm, or even the same breed of cattle.

When the major packing houses process cattle, the beef is graded and then sorted by grade, not by the cattle breed, age, sex, farm, diet, etc. For example, a single shipment of boxed beef may contain some steak from an 18-month old, Hereford steer (male), raised in Nebraska and fed a special diet, and other steak from a 21-month old, Holstein heifer (female), raised in California and fed a different diet. Even if the steaks have the same USDA grade, they will not taste the same, because different breeds taste different, and even the same breed tastes different if raised on a different diet.

It would be possible to conduct a series of valid blind taste tests to resolve the question, assuming that it can be resolved conclusively. Such tests would be very expensive and time-consuming, since valid tests would have to control for the cattle's age, breed, sex, terrain, diet, etc. A series of tests would be necessary to compare results of cattle with each of these different attributes (age, breed, etc.)

Until then, all claims and tests must be labelled as inconclusive.

RECOMMENDATION

How do I use salt? It depends.

If I am grilling a Santa Maria tri-tip over red oak lump charcoal, at a grill-level temperature of 750°F, I season it an hour before grilling with a very, very thick layer of coarse salt, coarse pepper and garlic powder.

On the other hand, if I am grilling a great steak (e.g. a 56-day dry-aged, fully trimmed, USDA Prime Grade, abundantly marbled, New York cut, from a 19-month old, Holstein steer, raised by rancher I know personally, on a ranch I visit regularly) over mesquite lump charcoal, at a grill-level temperature of 750°F, I do not add any salt, before or after grilling. Instead, I serve the steak with a side of high-quality, coarse sea salt (e.g. Sel de Guerande), which add a third layer of taste - to complement the beefy interior first layer and the crusty exterior second layer.

A FINAL WORD ON FREEZING BEFORE COOKING

Some authorities, such as Cooks Country, recommend that a great steak be salted and put into the freezer 30 minutes before cooking. The theory is that the dry humidity in the freezer will help the salt (and cornstarch) draw moisture from the outside layer of the steak, so the the drier exterior will produce a tastier crust.

As noted above, there have been no valid tests to prove or disprove this claim. However, there is an issue about temperature that should be considered.

If a steak is to be grilled at a high temperature (e.g. 750°F at grill level), then the cook must be very concerned about the steak's thickness, its internal temperature before cooking, and its desired doneness. These four variables, and time, are inter-related. For example, if a 1" thick steak has an internal temperature of 40°F, it is impossible to have both a rare interior and a crusty exterior.

The careful cook will take these variables into consideration and will order the steak thickness in proportion to the desired internal and external doneness. Thus, a 2" thick steak, chilled to an internal temperature of 40°F, will cook very rare on the inside and with a dark, crusty exterior (which is often called "black and blue"); that same steak, 2" thick and with an internal temperature of 70°F ("room temperature) will cook to very rare on the inside and with a deep-brown crust.

CONCLUSION

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Friday, December 23, 2011

Terminology: "Never Ever 3"

SUMMARY OF "NEVER EVER 3" STEAK?

In summary, "Never Ever 3" steak means a steak from cattle which:

Have never received any antibiotics;
Have never received any growth promotants; and
Have never received any animal by-products.

DETAILS OF "NEVER EVER 3" STEAK

The details of the "Never Ever 3" program are regulated by the USDA's Agricultural Marketing Service, Audit Review and Compliance Branch, which are summarized here.

These requirements are much stricter than the USDA's "natural" definition. For example, a steak would qualify as natural if the cattle that produced it had been administered antibiotics for medical reasons, but that steak would not qualify for the NE3 program. A second example is that a steak would qualify as natural if the cattle that produced it had been administered non-hormone growth promotants, but that steak would not qualify for the NE3 program.

The USDA's website contains more information here. FSIS provides the following definition of the word "natural""

NATURAL vs. ORGANIC vs. NEVER EVER 3

Natural, Organic and Never Ever 3 have very different meanings. Click here for our blog on "Organic Steak". In addition, the Food and Marketing Institute has an excellent summary of the differences between the terms.

In summary, the three terms have very different meanings, with some steak qualifying for one or two but not all three, while some qualify for two but others qualify for none.

CONCLUSION
SteakPerfection welcomes your comments. Please share them below. SteakPerfection is a complex process that involves every detail, from pasture to plate.

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Terminology: "Age-Verified"

This is an update of a blog first posted on January 22, 2011,
which is online at http://bit.ly/iiVPKD
AGE VERIFIED

The term "age verified" has a precise and important meaning in the beef cattle industry. The term means that the age of the cattle has been tracked and verified.

This permits cattle purchasers to know the exact age of the cattle and beef purchasers to know the exact age when the cattle was processed.

IMPORTANCE OF AGE VERIFICATION

The term "age verified" became important in recent years, primarily because of the 1990's outbreak of "mad cow disease" (Bovine spongiform encephalopathy, or BSE). BSE is a cattle disease that affects only older cattle and is a major health risk for humans who eat infected meat.

To eliminate the human risk of BSE, several countries adopted regulations to prohibit trade in cattle older than 20 months and to require that all cattle be age verified.

SIMILAR TERMS

There are several similar terms that are used in the industry that have similar but very different meanings. These include the following:

Source Verified
Traceable
Trackback
Brand
Vintage
Provenance Verified or Proven

Some of these terms, like Source Verified, Traceable and Trackback, mean only that the beef can be traced back to each farm and processor where the cattle was raised and the beef processed.

Other terms, like Vintance and Provenance Verified, mean that the beef is sold with information about the ranch/farm(s) where the cattle was born and raised (including the ranch's terrain and weather), the cattle breed, sex (e.g. steer or heifer), diet, health and care (including medications, vaccines and antibiotics), the processing plant, the beef's USDA Grade, its marbling score, etc.

It is important to remember that age verification concerns only one factor: the age of the animal. Similarly, source verification concerns only one factor: where the animal and meat were raised and processed.

CONCLUSION
SteakPerfection welcomes your comments. Please share them below. SteakPerfection is a complex process that involves every detail, from pasture to plate.

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Terminology: "Source-Verified"

SOURCE VERIFIED

The term "source verified" has a precise and important meaning in the beef cattle industry. The term means that the farm(s) and/or ranch(es) where the cattle were raised have been tracked and verified by an independent organization.

This permits cattle purchasers to know the exact places where the cattle have been.

IMPORTANCE OF SOURCE VERIFICATION

The term "source verified" became important in recent years, primarily because of the 1990's outbreak of "mad cow disease" (Bovine spongiform encephalopathy, or BSE). BSE is a cattle disease that affects only older cattle and is a major health risk for humans who eat infected meat.

To eliminate the human risk of BSE, several countries adopted regulations to prohibit trade in cattle that cannot be traced back to the farm(s) and ranch(es) where they were raised.

SIMILAR TERMS

There are several similar terms that are used in the industry that have similar but very different meanings. These include the following:

Age Verified
Traceable
Trackback
Brand
Vintage
Provenance Verified or Proven

Some of these terms, like Source Verified, Traceable and Trackback, mean only that the beef can be traced back to each farm and processor where the cattle was raised and the beef processed.

Other terms, like Vintage and Provenance Verified, mean that the beef is sold with information about the ranch/farm(s) where the cattle was born and raised (including the ranch's terrain and weather), the cattle breed, sex (e.g. steer or heifer), diet, health and care (including medications, vaccines and antibiotics), the age at slaughter, the processing plant, the beef's USDA Grade, its marbling score, etc.

It is important to remember that source verification concerns only one factor: the farm(s) and ranch(es) where the cattle were raised. Similarly, age verification concerns only one factor: the age of the cattle at slaughter.

CONCLUSION
SteakPerfection welcomes your comments. Please share them below. SteakPerfection is a complex process that involves every detail, from pasture to plate.

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Terminology: "Natural"

SUMMARY OF "NATURAL" STEAK?

In summary, "natural" steak is a steak which:

Contains no artificial ingredients;
Contains no added color;
Is minimally processed so as not to fundamentally alter the product; and
Has a label which explains the meaning of the word "natural".

DETAILS OF "NATURAL" STEAK

In order for a steak to be labelled "organic", the steak must comply with the requirements of the USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS). The FSIS maintains a glossary of meat and poultry labeling terms and is the agency responsible for ensuring the truthfulness and accuracy in labeling of steak (as well as all meat and poultry products).

FSIS provides the following definition of the word "natural""

"A product containing no artificial ingredient or added color and is only minimally processed. Minimal processing means that the product was processed in a manner that does not fundamentally alter the product. The label must include a statement explaining the meaning of the term natural (such as "no artificial ingredients; minimally processed")."

UN-NATURAL STEAK

The word "natural" has a fundamental flaw, when applied to "natural", because it implies that any steak which does not comply with the "natural" definition must therefore be "un-natural".

In fact, many steaks that are sold do not qualify for the natural label. These include, for example, any steak which:

Has been tenderized with needles (e.g. a Jaccard) or other mechanical means;
Has been tenderized with any un-natural, chemical means (see note, below); or
Has been injected with saline or any other solution.

Note that tenderizing a steak with natural means (such as dry-aging) does not disqualify a steak from the being labelled as natural.

NATURAL vs. ORGANIC

Natural and Organic have very different meanings. Click here for our blog on "Organic Steak". In addition, the Food and Marketing Institute has an excellent summary of the differences between the terms.

In summary, the two terms have very different meanings, with some steak qualifying for one but not the other, some qualifying for both, and a small proportion qualifying for neither.

CONCLUSION
SteakPerfection welcomes your comments. Please share them below. SteakPerfection is a complex process that involves every detail, from pasture to plate.

A short link to this blog is http://bit.ly/rpFwed

Terminology: "Organic"

This is an update of a blog first posted on January 18, 2011,
which is online at http://bit.ly/gSxULZ

SUMMARY OF "ORGANIC" STEAK?

In summary, an "organic" steak means a steak from cattle that has been certified, by an independent agency, as meeting three requirements:

The cattle were fed only 100% organic feed;
The cattle were not treated with any routine antibiotics; and
The cattle were not treated with any hormones.

DETAILS OF "ORGANIC" STEAK

In order for a steak to be labelled "organic", the steak must comply with a long list of specific requirements.

With regard to the diet of the cattle from which the steak is produced, none of the grasses or grains may be treated with any non-organic pesticide, any non-organic insecticide, any non-organic herbicide, and most non-organic fertilizers.

In addition, none of the cattle's diet may have been subject to chemical ripening, irradiation, genetically modified ingredients or processes, artificial sweeteners, artificial food colors and artificial flavoring.

With regard to the cattle themselves, they may not be treated with routine antibiotics. However, antibiotics may be used in order to treat a specific medical condition.

The cattle may not be given any artificial growth hormones. However, cattle may be given artificial growth enhancements that are not hormones.

Because of the strict requirements, less than 1% of the steaks sold domestically qualify for the organic label. Because the supply is so limited, and because there is considerable demand for organic steak, the price of an organic steak is much higher than the price of a comparable conventional steak.

NON-ORGANIC CATTLE

The common term used for non-organic cattle or steak is "conventional" cattle or steak. In this sense, conventional refers to the method by which the great majority of domestic beef cattle are raised, from which the vast majority of steak is produced.

A more precise term for non-organic cattle or steak is "non-organic cattle or steak".

LEGAL REQUIREMENTS

The word "organic" is defined by federal law. The word is codified in the "Organic Food Production Act of 1990, 7 USC § 6501-22". The Regulations are set forth in "7 CFR Part 205". The program is regulated by the USDA's "National Organic Program".

There are approximately "90 certification agencies" which have been accredited (approved) by the USDA.

COMPARING ORGANIC WITH NON-ORGANIC STEAK

There is no difference in the palatability (i.e. the taste, texture or juiciness) between organic and non-organic steak.

Some claim that there are health and environmental benefits of organic steak compared with non-organic steak. Some claim that there are no measurable differences, and some claim that there are health and environmental risks associated with organic steak.

As noted above, the price of a organic steak is higher than a comparable non-organic steak.

CONCLUSION
SteakPerfection welcomes your comments. Please share them below. SteakPerfection is a complex process that involves every detail, from pasture to plate.

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Friday, September 9, 2011

Does Your Steak Cause Global Warming?

NO, YOUR STEAK DOES NOT CAUSE GLOBAL WARMING?

In the past year, claims that livestock produces significant greenhouses gasses have been discredited by new scientific evidence.

In fact, raising livestock for food accounts for about 3 percent of all greenhouse gas emissions in the U.S.

In comparison, transportation creates 26 percent.

ANTI-MEAT EXTREMISTS

Those who promote the meat=heat misinformation are anti-meat extremists who use irrational, emotional arguments.

Many are hard-core vegetarians and vegans, whose goal is to eliminate all meat from everyone's diet. Celebrities like Paul McCartney, an outspoken vegetarian, may be "well-intentioned", but they are ignorant about science and the complex relationships among human activity, animal digestion, food production and atmospheric chemistry.

Time and again their arguments are proven wrong. What is their response? Do they apologize for their errors and acknowledge the science? No, of course not. Like true-believers throughout history, when proven wrong, they deny any error, they attack the messenger, and they change their words but not their message.

For example, recent scientific evidence shows that average temperatures have declined. So extremists deny that they erred, attack the science, and change their wording. Thus, they no longer claim that your steak causes "global warming". Now they claim that your steak causes "climate change".

SCIENCE IS THE VICTIM

Why do anti-meat extremists ignore the science and continue to lie about the facts? For more than two years, science proved that your steak and the cattle who produced it do not cause global warming.

Extremists are not concerned with science or truth. They are driven by their emotions and beliefs. Their goal is to eliminate meat from everyone's diet. They do not care about facts. They are true-believers who will intentionally lie to promote their goal.

They will continue to use unfounded claims to attack steak lovers and the beef cattle ranchers and farmers who produce the best steak in the world.

One of the worst results of the anti-meat extremists is the confusion they cause among those who do not know the science. Extremists claim that science supports their claim that your steak causes global warming, even though they know that their claim is wrong and that science shows the opposite. Science, along with the cattle industry, has become the victim of the anti-meat extremists.

For extremists:
Earth is their god.
Mankind is their devil.
Veganism is their religion.

CONCLUSION
SteakPerfection welcomes your comments. Please share them below. SteakPerfection is a complex process that involves every detail, from pasture to plate.

A short link to this blog is http://bit.ly/nFTwDa

Thursday, August 18, 2011

SteakPerfection Followers and Following

THOSE WHO FOLLOW US

Those who should follow @SteakPerfection on Twitter include those interested in learning about steak. Our tweets focus exclusively on steak-related topics, including the following:

Breeds of beef cattle
Feed for beef cattle
Sex for beef cattle
Age of beef cattle at harvest
USDA Inspection, including health and safety issues
USDA Grades for beef
Marbling scores
Cuts of steak
Aging methods and time
Trimming and pre-cooking preparation
Cooking methods at home and restaurants
Online steak sellers
Steakhouses and restaurants
Science
Scientifically valid blind taste tests

Every steak cooked at home or ordered in a restaurant cannot always be the most expensive available. However, our goal is to help our followers learn how to cook and order an inexpensive steak that is as close as possible to steak perfection. Since we limit our tweets solely to steak-related topics, we limit the topics of our tweets as follows:

No non-steak tweets
No idle chit-chat
No jokes
No non-steak recipes
No politics
No flames

In summary, we tweet about steak, and only about steak. We learn about steak and help others to learn about steak. We do not tweet about other topics. Our philosophy at @SteakPerfection is that consumers should know as much as about their steak as the rancher who raised the cattle, so that consumers can make informed decisions. In the case of steaks at steakhouses and restaurants, we focus on the steak rather than on other entrees, side dishes, service, ambiance, prices, etc.

THOSE WHOM WE FOLLOW

@SteakPerfection on Twitter limits the number of those whom it follows, so that we can read their tweets and process their information. We will be pleased to follow you, and we invite you to notify us if you tweet regularly about any steak-related topics, including the following:

Agriculture, farming and ranching
Breeds, numbers and markets for beef cattle
Grass-fed and grain-finished cattle ranchers
How age, sex, feed, geography and other variables of beef cattle affect the look, taste and texture of steak
USDA Inspection, including health and safety issues
USDA Grade issues
Marbling scores
Cuts of steak
Aging methods and time
Trimming and pre-cooking preparation
Cooking methods at home and restaurants
Online steak sellers
Steakhouses and restaurants
Science
Scientifically valid blind taste tests

Every week @SteakPerfection uses the Tweepi cleanup tool to review and edit the list of those whom we are following. We do not strive to inflate the numbers of our followers and therefore limit those whom we are following to those who provide information about steak and steak-related topics.

CONCLUSION

SteakPerfection welcomes your comments. Please share them below. SteakPerfection is a complex process that involves every detail, from pasture to plate.

A short link to this blog is http://bit.ly/pENmeJ

Wednesday, August 17, 2011

101 Factors Affect Steak Quality

FACTORS THAT AFFECT STEAK QUALITY

We at SteakPerfection have been asked to list the most important factors which affect steak quality. After substantial analysis, we prepared the following list of the 101 major factors that affect the quality of a steak.

7 FACTORS ABOUT COW-CALF RANCH OR FARM-OF-ORIGIN

1. Name - including address, website, number of ranchers, etc.
2. Cattle density - i.e. number of cattle per area, which relates to herd and cattle stress
3. Soil - type of soil will affect cattle directly and, more importantly, indirectly, since it changes the taste of the cattle feed
4. Climate - temperature, wind, snow and rain -- the terroir includes the terrain and the soil, water and weather which affects the taste of the steak because they affect the taste of the fodder that the cattle eat and the way that they grow, and it also includes how the cattle is treated by the farmer
5. Terrain - hills, trees, meadows, streams, altitude, air quality and other terrain factors that affect how much or little the cattle use and develop their muscles, quality of life, etc.
6. Care - details of stress mitigation and other care
7. Special notes - any other factors that may affect the steak quality

4 FACTORS ABOUT TRANSPORT FROM FARM-OF-ORIGIN

8. Method - how are calves moved to the stocker/backgrounder (e.g. cattle drive, truck, etc.)
9. Name of transport company - including address, website, type of equipment, etc
10. Care - details of stress mitigation and other care during transport
11. Special notes - any other factors that may affect the steak quality

7 FACTORS ABOUT SALE-BARN/STOCKER/BACKGROUNDER/OTHER RANCH

12. Name - including address, website, number of ranchers, etc.
13. Cattle density - i.e. number of cattle per area, which relates to herd and cattle stress
14. Soil - type of soil will affect cattle directly and, more importantly, indirectly, since it changes the taste of the cattle feed
15. Climate - temperature, wind, snow and rain -- the terroir includes the terrain and the soil, water and climate which affects the taste of the steak because they affect the taste of the fodder that the cattle eat and the way that they grow, and it also includes how the cattle is treated by the farmer
16. Terrain - hills, trees, meadows, streams, altitude, air quality and other terrain factors that affect how much or little the cattle use and develop their muscles, quality of life, etc.
17. Care - details of stress mitigation and other care
18. Special notes - any other factors that may affect the steak quality

4 FACTORS ABOUT TRANSPORT FROM RANCH

19. Method - how are calves moved to the feedlot (e.g. cattle drive, truck, etc.)
20. Name of transport company - including address, website, type of equipment, etc
21. Care - details of stress mitigation and other care during transport
22. Special notes - any other factors that may affect the steak quality

7 FACTORS ABOUT FEEDLOT

23. Name - including address, website, number of ranchers, etc.
24. Cattle density - i.e. number of cattle per area, which relates to herd and cattle stress
25. Soil - type of soil will affect cattle directly and, more importantly, indirectly, since it changes the taste of the cattle feed
26. Climate - temperature, wind, snow and rain -- the terroir includes the terrain and the soil, water and climate which affects the taste of the steak because they affect the taste of the fodder that the cattle eat and the way that they grow, and it also includes how the cattle is treated by the farmer
27. Terrain - hills, trees, meadows, streams, altitude, air quality and other terrain factors that affect how much or little the cattle use and develop their muscles, quality of life, etc.
28. Care - details of stress mitigation and other care
29. Special notes - any other factors that may affect the steak quality

18 FACTORS ABOUT EACH HEAD OF BEEF CATTLE

30. ID number - the RFID or other unique ID that stays with the animal from birth to slaughter and then to the retail consumer’s steak
31. Sire ID - with which the consumer can trace the sire’s sire, dam, date of birth, etc.
32. Dam ID - with which the consumer can trace the sire’s sire, dam, date of birth, etc.
33. Date of birth
34. Place of birth
35. Breed
36. Sex - male or female at birth
37. Weaning age
38. Weaning method (important as measure of stress)
39. Castration age - (note: castration at birth results in more marbling but lower yield)
40. Castration method - (important as measure of stress)
41. Diet as pre-weaned calf - including details and proportion of cow-fed milk, bottle fed milk, free choice alfalfa, water, etc.
42. Diet as weaned calf - including details and proportions of feed, including grasses, forage, mixes, water, etc.
43. Diet on pasture - including details and proportions of feed, including grasses, forage, mixes, water, etc.
44. Diet in feedlot - including details and proportions of grains, mixes, supplements, water, etc. (note: the amount and quality of water is as important as the quality of feed)
45. Medications and supplements - including dates and details of each vaccine, antibiotic, vitamin and mineral supplements, growth promotant (e.g. hormones), etc
46. Brand - i.e. details about any brand, PVP or similar program in which the animal is enrolled (e.g. CAB, grass-finished, etc.)
47. Special notes - any other factors that may affect the steak quality

11 FACTORS ABOUT ABATTOIR

48. Name - including address, website, number of cattle processed per day, etc.
49. Slaughter date - from which the exact age can be determined by reference to the date of birth
50. Slaughter method - important as measure of stress
51. Hot carcass treatment - i.e. spray with chilled water, shrouded, etc.
52. Days in cooler
53. Date of USDA Inspection
54. Marbling quality - texture, color etc
55. Marbling amount - IMF%
56. Date of USDA Grading
57. USDA Grade - includes more info than just marbling
58. Special notes - any other factors that may affect the steak quality

9 FACTORS ABOUT AGING

59. Name of facility(s) - including address, website, etc.
60. Cut - the name and IMPS/NAMP number
61. Temperature - note that this and the other aging room factors must be reported for each cut and not simply at the facility’s website, since these factors are very important for steak quality and since they can vary from day-to-day and week-to-week
62. Humidity
63. Air-flow
64. Bacterial control
65. Method - dry, wet, hybrid
66. Time - note: all beef is aged at least 2 days in the hot carcass cooler, and almost all beef is wet aged at least during shipment to retailer
67. Special notes - any other factors that may affect the steak quality

5 FACTORS ABOUT BUTCHERY OF CARCASS

68. Name - including address, website, etc.
69. Date of butchering - from carcass to primal
70. Cut - the name and IMPS/NAMP number
71. Method of packaging - e.g. cryovac
72. Special notes - any other factors that may affect the steak quality

5 FACTORS ABOUT BUTCHERY OF PRIMAL CUT

73. Name - including address, website, etc.
74. Date of butchering - from primal to subprimal
75. Cut - the name and IMPS/NAMP number
76. Method of packaging - e.g. cryovac
77. Special notes - any other factors that may affect the steak quality

6 FACTORS ABOUT BUTCHERY OF SUBPRIMAL CUT

78. Name - including address, website, etc.
79. Date of butchering - from subprimal to individual steak
80. Cut - the name and IMPS/NAMP number
81. Thickness of steak
82. Method of packaging - e.g. cryovac if portion-cut to be shipped to steakhouse or retailer
83. Special notes - any other factors that may affect the steak quality

5 FACTORS ABOUT PREPARATION BEFORE COOKING

84. Trim - i.e. removal of fat
85. Temperature - of steak before cooking
86. Drying - details about drying the steak
87. Pre-seasoning - salt, pepper, marinating, applying a rub or oil, etc.
88. Special notes - any other factors that may affect the steak quality

6 FACTORS ABOUT COOKING

89. Appliance - grill, pan, oven, etc., including utensils (e.g. tongs) for flipping
90. Fuel - (e.g. natural gas grill, propane gas grill, gas broiler (e.g. Montague), infrared broiler, hickory lump charcoal, etc.)
91. Temperature - cooking temperature at meat level
92. Environment - ambient temperature, humidity, airflow, altitude etc.
93. Time - for cooking, including number of flips
94. Special notes - any other factors that may affect the steak quality

6 FACTORS ABOUT SERVING

95. Resting - time and details (e.g. covered and rested 5 minutes on a rack in a 200F oven)
96. Seasoning - details of seasonings, butter, etc.
97. Slicing - details about the direction and thickness of slices, type of knife (e.g. ceramic), etc.
98. Plating - e.g. served on a pre-warmed but not hot plate to retain the steak heat
99. Serving - i.e. garnishes, side dishes, etc. (e.g. serve with separate bowls of coarse sea salts)
100. Special notes - any other factors that may affect the steak quality

(and perhaps the single most important factor) TASTING

101. The steak lover should learn how to taste a great steak (e.g. small bites, chew slowly, detect and appreciate the complex layers of taste, texture and juiciness, etc.).

CONCLUSION

SteakPerfection welcomes your comments. Please share them below. SteakPerfection is a complex process that involves every detail, from pasture to plate.

Click here for our Steak Perfection website

A short link to this blog is http://bit.ly/nEAHaZ

Monday, August 15, 2011

Grilled Fruit

Grilled fruit adds a surprising and tasty twist to backyard grilling. Here are some examples, starting first with our own SteakPerfection Grilled Fruit Kabob Recipe.

SteakPerfection GRILLED FRUIT KABOB RECIPE

This is our SteakPerfection Grilled Fruit Recipe. We credit the recipes shown below and have taken many of their ideas to develop our own unique recipe, which makes 6 servings.

Ingredients

1/4 cup bourbon
2 sticks butter, softened
1/2 cup light brown sugar, packed firmly
2 lemons, juiced
1/2 cup water
1 lb of beef tenderloin, cut into 1-inch chunks
3 firm nectarines, pitted and cut into 4 slices each
3 firm pears, pitted and cut into 4 slices each
3 firm peaches, pitted and cut into 4 slices each
3 firm plums, pitted and cut into 4 slices each
6 apricots, halved
12 bamboo skewers (12" each)
3 tablespoons honey or light corn syrup, warmed

Directions

Soak bamboo skewers in water until ready to use.
Start a mesquite lump charcoal grill for 750 at grill level.
Put the bourbon into a saucepan over medium-high heat and bring it to a boil.
Boil for 1 minute to burn off the alcohol.
Add the butter, brown sugar, lemon juice, and water.
Bring to a boil whisking until all the sugar is dissolved.
Simmer for 5 minutes.
Let cool to thicken for 10 minutes.
Trim pork tenderloins and cut into 1" pieces.
Remove pits from fruit and cut each piece of fruit as noted.
Into a large bowl, place the fruit and glaze, and toss to coat.
Beginning and ending with fruit, thread the bamboo skewers with the fruit and tenderloin pieces, alternating with the meat and a different fruit.
Place the skewers on the grill, and grill uncovered for 8-10 minutes, until the tenderloin is rare or medium rare.
Turn the skewers every two minutes.
Remove from grill, place on a rack and let rest 5 minutes.
Move to a platter and serve.

GRILLED FRUIT KABOB RECIPE

Here's a Grilled Fruit Kabobs Recipe, which yields 6 servings.

Ingredients

1/2 fresh pineapple, trimmed and cut into 1-inch chunks
3 medium nectarines, cut into 1-inch chunks
3 medium pears, cut into 1-inch chunks
3 medium peaches, cut into 1-inch chunks
3 to 4 medium plums, cut into 1-inch chunks
10 apricots, halved
3 tablespoons honey or light corn syrup, warmed

Directions

Thread fruit alternately onto metal or soaked wooden skewers.
Grill, uncovered, over medium-hot heat until fruit is heated through, about 6 minutes, turning often.
Brush with honey or corn syrup during the last minute of grilling time.

ANOTHER GRILLED FRUIT KABOB RECIPE

Here's Another Grilled Fruit Kabobs Recipe, which yields 12 skewers.

Ingredients

1/2 cup margarine
1/4 cup honey
3 fresh peaches, pitted and quartered
3 fresh plums, pitted and quartered
3 bananas, cut into 4 pieces each
12 strawberries, hulled
12 skewers

Directions

Preheat an outdoor grill for medium heat and place a large sheet of foil onto the grate.
Melt the margarine and honey together in a small saucepan over medium heat.
Reduce heat to low and cook gently, stirring occasionally, until slightly thickened, about 5 minutes. Do not let the sauce boil.
Thread a peach quarter, a plum quarter, a banana piece, and a strawberry onto each skewer.
Place the skewers onto the foil on the preheated grill; spoon margarine-honey mixture over each skewer.
Grill until the fruit is softened and the sauce has thickened and cooked onto the fruit, about 5 minutes.
Flip the skewers, spoon more margarine-honey sauce over each, and grill for about 5 more minutes on the other side.

OTHER GRILLED FRUIT KABOB RECIPES

Here is Sandra Lee's recipe for Grilled Fruit Kabobs.

Another recipe features Grilled Fruit Kabobs on Sugar-Cane Skewers.

Paula Deen has a recipe for Grilled Fruit with a Bourbon Glaze.

Pauls Deen also has a recipe that combines chunks of Grilled Pork Tenderloin and Fruit Kabobs.

GRILLED FRUIT SALAD

Here's a recipe for Grilled Fruit Salad with Honey-Yogurt Dressing, which yields 4 servings.

Ingredients

1 pineapple, cored and sliced into 8 rings
2 plums, cored and each cut into 8 wedges
Vegetable oil, for brushing fruit
3/4 cup plain Greek yogurt
1/4 cup honey
1 tablespoon finely chopped mint leaves
1/4 cup pine nuts, toasted

Directions

Preheat grill to medium.
Lightly brush fruit with oil and place on the grill.
Cook until pineapple and plums are nicely caramelized, turning once, about 8 to 10 minutes.
Remove to a plate.
Meanwhile, in a medium bowl whisk together yogurt, honey and mint.
Place 2 rings and 4 wedges on each plate and drizzle with dressing.
Garnish with pine nuts

ANOTHER GRILLED FRUIT SALAD RECIPE

Here's another Grilled Fruit Salad Recipe, which yields 4 servings.

CONCLUSION
SteakPerfection welcomes your comments. Please share them below. SteakPerfection is a complex process that involves every detail, from pasture to plate.

Click here for our Steak Perfection website A short link to this blog is http://bit.ly/pvOFm9

Wednesday, June 22, 2011

Terminology: "Age Verified"

AGE VERIFIED

The term "age verified" has a precise and important meaning in the beef cattle industry. The term means that the age of the cattle has been tracked and verified.

This permits cattle purchasers to know the exact age of the cattle and beef purchasers to know the exact age when the cattle was processed.

IMPORTANCE OF AGE VERIFICATION

The term "age verified" became important in recent years, primarily because of the 1990's outbreak of "mad cow disease" (Bovine spongiform encephalopathy, or BSE). BSE is a cattle disease that affects only older cattle and is a major health risk for humans who eat infected meat.

To eliminate the human risk of BSE, several countries adopted regulations to prohibit trade in cattle older than 20 months and to require that all cattle be age verified.

SIMILAR TERMS

There are several similar terms that are used in the industry that have similar but very different meanings. These include the following:

Source Verified
Traceable
Trackback
Brand
Vintage
Provenance Verified or Proven

Some of these terms, like Source Verified, Traceable and Trackback, mean only that the beef can be traced back to each farm and processor where the cattle was raised and the beef processed.

Other terms, like Vintance and Provenance Verified, mean that the beef is sold with information about the ranch/farm(s) where the cattle was born and raised (including the ranch's terrain and weather), the cattle breed, sex (e.g. steer or heifer), diet, health and care (including medications, vaccines and antibiotics), the processing plant, the beef's USDA Grade, its marbling score, etc.

It is important to remember that age verification concerns only one factor: the age of the animal. Similarly, source verification concerns only one factor: where the animal and meat were raised and processed.

CONCLUSION

SteakPerfection welcomes your comments. Please share them below. SteakPerfection is a complex process that involves every detail, from pasture to plate.

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Saturday, June 18, 2011

Two Buck Chuck and Your $50 Steak

You know more about a bottle of Two Buck Chuck than you know about your $50 Steak.

TWO BUCK CHUCK

"Two Buck Chuck" means the bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon wine, which is sold at Trader Joe's for $1.99 ("Two Bucks") and which is produced by the Charles Shaw vineyard ("Chuck") .

The wine label tells the story of the wine:

The vineyard is Charles Shaw, and the grapes are grown, fermented, aged and bottled in California;
The wine in produced from the Cabernet Sauvignon grape; and
The wine was produced from grapes grown in a specified year and aged for a specified amount of time.

In summary, when you purchase a bottle of "Two Buck Chuck", you not only know all the details of the wine but you can be certain that, if you purchase a second bottle, it will taste exactly like the first, because it too was grown at the same vineyard from the same grape and in the same year.

YOUR $50 STEAK

You might buy a $50 steak at Morton's, Flemings, Ruth's Cris or other steakhouse or restaurant, and you might purchase an expensive steak from your local buther or supermarket.

When you do:

You won't know the name of the ranch, the terrain, the weather or the feed where the cattle was raised;
You won't know the breed of the cattle; and
You won't know the age of the cattle or steak.

In short, when you purchase a steak, you know none of the details about where your steak came from.

COMPARISON

You know much more about a bottle of Two Buck Chuck than your $50 steak.

ORIGIN: Even a cheap bottle of wine gives the name, location, terrain and weather where the grapes are grown, but steak from cattle raised on many different ranches, locations, terrain, weather and feed are mixed and packaged together;
BREED: Even the cheapest bottle of wine names the variety of grape that was used to make it, but steak from many different breeds are mixed and packaged together; and
AGE: Wine labels disclose the year of production, which is very important for a consumer to find the same wine taste, but steak from different years are mixed and packaged together.

DUPLICATE THE TASTE

When you purchase even a cheap wine like Two Buck Chuck, you know all the details about the wine. As a result, if you like that particular wine, you can purchase an identical bottle (the same vineyard, grape, location and year), and you will experience the identical taste. Different bottles of the same wine will taste exactly the same.

However, when you purchase a steak at a steakhouse or butcher, you know none of the details about the steak. As a result, if you like that particular steak, you can never duplicate the taste of that steak, since you don't know any of the details about the steak (the ranch, breed, year etc.). Different steaks at the same steakhouse or butcher do not taste the same, because they come from a single box in which steaks from different ranches, breeds and years are mixed together.

CONCLUSION

Consumers should demand to know as much about their steak as they know about their wine. Consumers have a right to know as much about their steak as the rancher who raised the cattle, including the geography, terrain, weather, cattle breed, sex, feed, age, health and care of the cattle.

SteakPerfection welcomes your comments. Please share them below. SteakPerfection is a complex process that involves every detail, from pasture to plate.

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Saturday, May 21, 2011

Steak Myth #1: Searing Seals in Juices

Steak Myth #1: Searing Seals in Juices

A prevalent myth in grilling steaks is that "searing a steak seals in its juices."

Fact: Searing Does Not Seal in Juices

Searing a steak creates no “seal” or barrier that prevents juices from escaping from the inside.

Steaks do not have pores. Pores exist only in the skin (epidermis) of an animal. Searing the outside of a steak does not close any pores or create any other seal or barrier. In fact, rather than sealing in the juices, searing the meat does almost the opposite: it dries out and removes juices (moisture) near the steak's surface, so searing causes a loss of moisture rather than protecting against it.

Searing Is Important!

There is an important reason to sear a steak, but it is not to "seal in" the juices. Instead, the reason to sear a steak is to caramelize (i.e., in scientific terms, to use the Maillard and browning reactions) to create a flavorful exterior crust.

When a steak is grilled in the heat and smoke of a wood fire, the result produces several desirable contrasts:

Taste: the caramelized exterior versus the beefy interior;
Texture: the crunchy exterior versus the soft interior;
Juiciness: the dry exterior versus the juicy interior;
Appearance: the dark-brown exterior versus the pinkish-red interior.

In short, searing a steak creates a contrasting exterior taste, texture, juiciness and appearance.

Harold McGee

Harold McGee, the esteemed author and food scientist, explains, in "On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the Kitchen", p. 112:

McGee then traces the history of this theory through the 17th, 18th, 19th and 20th Centuries, including the mid-19th Century explanation of the "science" for the "sealed in" theory by the German chemist, Justus von Liebig in his "Researches on the Chemistry of Food. McGee continues:

CONCLUSION

Perhaps it is understandable that laymen and amateurs wax poetic about how high heat "sears in" their steaks' flavor and juiciness. However, expert steakmasters should dispel this prevalent myth and explain to others the science of SteakPerfection.

For more information about this Steak Myth #1 and other myths, click here for our Steak Perfection website.

SteakPerfection welcomes your comments. Please share them below. SteakPerfection is a complex process that involves every detail, from pasture to plate.

This updates an earlier blog at http://bit.ly/apACTJ

A short link to this blog is http://bit.ly/lhk3Qm

Sunday, April 17, 2011

Sous Vide

Sous vide is a cooking method that is becoming more popular. Sous vide is French, pronounced "sue VEED" (accent the second syllable), and means "under vaccuum".

In this method, food (meat or vegetables) is sealed in a plastic bag. The plastic bag is put into hot (but not boiling) water, heated to around 140°F. The bood in the plastic bag cooks for a very long period of time, often over 24 hours. The food is done when the interior temperature of the food reaches the temperature of the water.

In the case of steak, the sous vide method has the benefit of preventing evaporation while it tenderizes the meat.

Professional kitchens have the equipment and chefs to cook a great steak with the sous vide method. Those who want to try sous vide at home must be very careful and use the correct equipment and technique, because a major danger of sous vide is botulism poisoning. Botulism is a grave danger with sous vide.

In this video, Erik Williams, executive chef of MK Restaurant in Chicago, uses the sous vide method for a tenderloin.

This video is on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oKdDfunjYio.

Again, be very careful, when using the sous vide method, to avoid botulism poisoning.

SteakPerfection is a complex process that involves every detail, from pasture to plate.

A short link to this blog is http://bit.ly/dl7acG

Wednesday, March 30, 2011

Question: Which Breed Tastes Best?

TODAY'S STEAKPERFECTION QUESTION

"what is the best type of cow for Ribeye steaks,
Simmental or Angus?"

SUMMARY

There are no scientifically valid studies that rank the taste of high-quality steak from Simmental, Angus or other breeds. Much more research is required on the relationship between taste scores and cattle breeds.

However, a few studies by some researchers tends to show that abundantly marbled steak from the following eight beef cattle breeds would rank for taste in the following order:

Brahman
Gelbvieh
Limousin
Charolais
Hereford
Simmental
Angus
Red Angus

Until further research is conducted, the accuracy of this and other rankings cannot be verified.

ASSUMPTIONS

SteakPerfection strives for precise accuracy. Because the question above contains several ambiguities, we assume, for purposes of this answer, that the question is directed to the following ribeye steak:

Steer not a cow (the highest quality steaks come from steers, which are male cattle that are castrated when young, and not from cows, which are female cattle that have given birth at least once);
Purebred (which means that the cattle are not hybrid);
Well-raised (which means that the cattle are raised in a healthy, low-stress environment);
Best quality (which means here that the steak is either graded as USDA Prime Grade or is its equivalent in terms of the cattle's age and its marbling quality, and that it is dry-aged for a substantial period of time); and
Equivalently and properly cooked (which means that the steak from each breed is cooked in exactly the same manner and is cooked properly).

THE STUDIES

There are a very few scientifically reliable studies which compare cattle breed with taste. We rely on the following three studies:

J.D. Tatum et al. 2008. Producing Flavorful Beef. Online (last retrieved on 3/30/11).
Wheeler, T. L., L. V. Cundiff, S. D. Shackelford, and M. Koohmaraie. 2001. Characterization of biological types of cattle (Cycle V): carcass traits and longissimus palatability. J. Anim. Sci. 79:1209-1222.
Wheeler, T. L., L.V. Cundiff, S. D. Shackelford, and M. Koohmaraie. 2005. Characterization of biological types of cattle (Cycle VII): Carcass, yield, and longissimus palatability traits. J. Anim. Sci. 83:196-207.

APPARENT RANKINGS

As shown in Tatum's study in Figure 6 at Page 18, the relationship between marbling scores and taste scores for eight beef cattle breeds is shown.

Caution: before analyzing the following taste scores,
note that the ranking below is unreliable,
for the reasons discussed in the next section.

Figure 6 shows that the following beef cattle breeds, marbling scores and taste scores, ranked by thier taste scores, from highests to lowest:

Red Angus (590, 4.94)
Angus (585, 4.93)
Hereford (529, 4.90)
Gelbvieh (506, 4.87)
Charolais (518, 4.86)
Simmental (529, 4.84)
Limousin (504, 4.83)
Brahman (473, 4.82)

As cautioned above, the foregoing ranking is very misleading. The taste scores were awarded for steak from different breeds that were not controlled for their marbling scores. In other words, the study compared the taste of steaks which had different marbling scores, which is like comparing apples with oranges. For example, the steak from the Brahman had a marbling score of only 470, but it achieved a taste score that was almost as high as the steak from the Limousin, which had a much higher marbling score (504).

Thus, we adjusted the rankings in order to account for the differences in marbling.

ADJUSTED RANKINGS

For the reasons explained above, the Apparent Rankings in Figure 6 were adjusted to account for the differences in marbling. In order to make this adjustment, we applied a linear regressional analysis. We calculated the expected flavor score for each breed, based upon a marbling score of 900.

A marbling score of 900 equates to
an abundant marbling score of AB-00 and
to an intramuscular fat percentage (IMF%) of 11%.

The adjusted rankings for each breed are set forth below, ranked in order of their adjusted taste scores, from highests to lowest, and with their assumed marbling scores and adjusted taste scores:

Brahman (900, 9.17)
Gelbvieh (900, 8.66)
Limousin (900, 8.63)
Charolais (900, 8.44)
Hereford (900, 8.34)
Simmental (900, 8.23)
Angus (900, 7.58)
Red Angus (900, 7.54)

We ascribe little confidence to this ranking and are aware that a 900 marbling score for a Brahman steer is extremely rare. However, these Adjusted Rankings tend to suggest that a steak from a Brahman steer with a 900 marbling score may achieve a significantly higher taste score than a similar steak from a Red Angus steer.

Actual taste tests and research are necessary to verify these Adjusted Rankings.

ADDITIONAL RESEARCH

Based upon the foregoing, we cannot and do not conclude that these Adjusted Rankings are accurate. Instead, we conclude only that the Apparent Rankings are inaccurate. Moreover, we conclude that additional research is required to measure the taste scores of steak from different breeds but with the same, high marbling scores.

CONCLUSION

SteakPerfection welcomes your comments. Please share them below. SteakPerfection is a complex process that involves every detail, from pasture to plate.

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Tuesday, March 29, 2011

2011 Quest for the Holy Grail SteakPerfection

2011 QUEST

Last year, we asked where can we find the Holy Grail of Steak. This year, we begin our quest anew and ask:

Assuming that price is absolutely no object, where can we purchase a USDA Prime Grade (or equivalent), top loin (New York strip) steak, with the following 16 pieces of information about the individual cattle which produced the steak:

Farm(s): What is the name and address of each farm (the cow-calf, backgrounder and feedlot operator) where the cattle was raised?
Breed: What is the breed (or hybrid) of the cattle?
Sex: What is the sex (e.g. steer) of the cattle?
Sire: What are the name and breed of the cattle's sire?
Dam: What are the name and breed of the cattle's dam?
Date of Birth: What is the date of birth of the calf?
Weight History: What is the birth weight of the calf, its monthly weight throughout its live, and its live weight for slaughter?
Health History: What is the name and date of each vaccine, worming, antibiotic, hormone and other medication and health procedure?
Castration: If the calf is a steer, what is the date and method of castration?
Weaning Date: What is the date when the calf was weaned?
Feeding History: What is the name, date and exact type of each feed (e.g. the exact species of grass, foliage, and grain mixture) eaten by the cattle over its lifetime?
Trucking History: What is the date and trucker for each movement of the cattle from one location to another?
USDA Grade: What is the USDA grade, if applicable?
Date of Slaughter: What is the date of the cattle's slaughter?
Marbling Score: What is beef's marbling score (or IMF%) at Rib 12/13?

Note: USDA Prime Grade or equivalent means that, if a carcass is not USDA Graded, it has the same marbling and aging characteristics as a USDA Prime Grade steak would have.

We call this background information the "provenance" of the steak, and this is our 2011 Quest for the Holy Grail of SteakPerfection.

PLEASE HELP

Is our quest doomed to failure?

We know that all the major conventional producers and processors keep detailed records about every individual animal they process and that they can trace each steak back to the animal that it came from. But we also suspect that no producer or processor makes this information available to its customers, although we believe that we consumers have a right to know everything about our steak that the producers and processors know.

We also know that the non-conventional producers and processors (such as grass-fed and organic cattle producers) also keep detailed recoreds about every individual animal they process and that they too can trace each steak back to the animal that it came from. The major problem for them is marbling score and age of their cattle, which is usually lean and older than conventional cattle.

Can we purchase an abundantly marbled, top loin (New York strip) steak from a young steer, with all the information listed above? Please post your comments/feedback. Thanks in advance.

CONCLUSION

SteakPerfection welcomes your comments. Please share them below. SteakPerfection is a complex process that involves every detail, from pasture to plate.

The foregoing is based upon a blog posted by SteakPerfection to CattleToday.com on 122810@2136

A short link to this blog is http://bit.ly/eWRVUl

Monday, March 28, 2011

"Generic" Steak or "Proven" Steak?

YOUR STEAKHOUSE WINE AND STEAK

Your favorite steakhouse probably takes justifiable pride in educating you and its other customers about wine, including the name of the farm which grows the grapes, the location, geography, terrain and weather of the farm, the type of grapes, the year of the crop and harvest, the age of the wine, etc. The sum of all these details is the "provenance" of the wine. A wine with a known provenance is called a "proven" wine (from the word provenance). So your steakhouse tells you quite a lot of information about the provenance of the wine they serve you.

Yet, even though it is a steakhouse, it gives you almost no information about the provenance of your steak! Your steakhouse doesn't reveal the name or location of the farm, the cattle breed, sex, date of birth, age, the feed, or other information about the cattle or steak. All these and many more attributes affect the taste and texture of your steak. Yet your steakhouse does not give you any of the provenance, because the steakhouse itself has none of this information.

So your steakhouse tells you more about your wine than about your steak. You are informed about the difference between a Cabernet Sauvignon and a Merlot, but nothing about whether your steak is male (steer) or female (heifer), whether its breed is a Shorthorn or Friesian, whether the calf was born in the Spring or Fall, whether it was fed grain or only grass, whether it was raised in the snow or in the desert, and so forth. You know everything about your wine and can even visit the winery, but you know almost nothing about your steak.

Why?

Because, although beef processors keep detailed records of the cattle they process, they provide none of that information to the distributors. As a result, the butchers, markets, steakhouses and you know nothing about where the farm or cattle where your steak came from. The beef industry today operates in exactly the same way as the wine industry in past decades.

"GENERIC" JUG WINE

In the 1960s, most Americans drank "jug wine" at their favorite steakhouse -- jug wine like Gallo Hearty Burgundy.

At that time, there were many different grape farms, which grew many different types of wine grapes (Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Pinot Noir, Sauvignon Blanc, etc.). The grape farms sold their grapes to a central processor (a winery), which mixed and blended the grapes together to produce "generic" wine.

In the 1960's, this "generic" or "jug wine" was almost the only wine available, and the consumer had no information about the provenance of the "generic" wine, including the name of the winery, the location of the vineyard, the type of grape, the year it was grown, etc.

"PROVEN" WINE (WITH A PROVENANCE)

In the 1970s, the best wineries began to teach consumers about the differences in grapes and geography, and Americans began to demand wine with a vintage, varietel, and known provenance.

Wineries taught consumers, who demanded that vendors not sell only "generic" wine but also "proven" wine -- wine that was sold with a disclosed provenance.

Today, "jug wine" has all but disappeared from the shelves of American markets, having given way to the era of "proven" wine -- with a known provenance.

"GENERIC" STEAK

Steak in 2011 is like wine was in the 1960s. Today's steak is like "jug wine" -- from an unknown farm, and unknown breed, and unknown age, etc.

Beef processors today treat cattle like wineries treated grapes in the 1960s. Beef processors purchase dozens of breeds of cattle from thousands of individual farmers. Then the processors mix and process all the cattle together, where the cattle are slaughtered and the beef is cut. At the end of the process, the beef is boxed, and no purchaser can know anything about the farm that raised the cattle or the cattle's breed, sex, date of birth, feed, etc.

Thus, Americans today can purchase only "generic" steak. A "generic" steak means a steak which comes from an unknown heifer, steer, cow or bull, with an unknown breed, unknown date of birth, raised at an unknown farm, fed an unknown diet with undetermined additional hormones and antibiotics, etc. Unfortunately, the only steak available at almost all steakhouses and butchers today is "generic" steak.

In contrast, a "proven" steak (from the word "provenance") includes all the details of the steak's origin, including its breed, sex, age, feed, etc. This detailed information may be printed on a label or may be available online. "Proven" steak is extremely rare today, sold at only the most exclusive (and expensive) steakhouses and by only the very best butchers and markets.

Today, we live at the beginning of a new era, in which the consumer will be able to find "proven" steak, not just "generic" steak. Steak with a known provenance will become more widely available, where the name of the farm, the breed of the cattle, its age and breed, and other attributes can be determined by the consumer.

"PROVEN" STEAK (WITH A PROVENANCE)

On March 20, 2010, at the annual North American Meat Processors Management Conference in Chicago, a panel of distinguished American chefs explained the benefits of offering "proven" steak. Some beef processors continue to object to the extra work involved in tracking the provenance of each head of cattle.

However, as Carrie Oliver of The Artisan Beef Institute has been teaching for years, the wine industry went through the same "provenance" issue two generations ago. In the 1960s, the wineries which did not recognize the beginning of the new era of "proven" wines were doomed to fail.

Today, the beef processors, steakhouses, butchers and markets which do not recognize the end of the era of "generic" steak and the beginning of the era of the "proven" steak are doomed to fail, just as the Gallo lost the market dominance of its Hearty Burgundy jug wine.

SteakPerfection welcomes the day when a steak buyer at a steakhouse or butcher can decide whether to purchse a "generic" steak or a "proven" steak.

EXAMPLE STEAK INFORMATION

Here is an example and sample of the information that will soon be available with the purchase of a "proven" steak. This type of information will be avaialbe, not on the label or menu, but online at the farm's website and with the entry of the steak's serial number:

On September 18, 2009, the male calf was born at the CC Farms in San Luis Obispo, California;
The breed of the calf was Friesian;
The calf was castrated at birth, thus becoming a steer, since castration at birth results in increased marbling (but decreased yield);
During the 8 months from September 18, 2009 through May 18, 2010, the calf was milk-fed at CC Farms;
On May 18, 2010, at the age of 8 months, the calf was weaned and trucked humanely and with minimal stress by C. Trucking from CC Farms to VV Farms in Brawley, California;
During the 10 months from May 18, 2010 through March 18, 2011, the steer was raised at VV Farms, where it was fed a 100% vegetarian diet consisting of a mixture of corn, barley, alfalfa, soy and molasses, with the addition of vitamins and minerals but no hormones or antibiotics;
On March 18, 2011, the steer was slaughtered at the age of 18 months at BB Processing, in Central City, California, where it was inspected, graded as USDA Prime Grade, scored as Abundantly-Marbled-40, and processed into various subprimals, including two Short Loin subprimals, which were cryovaced and boxed;
During the 14 days from March 20 through April 3, 2011, the short loin was wet-aged in the cryovac package at a temperature of 33°;
During the 56 days from April 3 through May 29, 2011, the short loin was dry-aged at Bob's Butcher Shop in West Beach, California, in an aging room with a temperature of 33°, humidity of 80%, air-flow of 0.5 meters/second, and bacterial control of 100% UV;
On May 29, 2011, the short loin was removed from the aging room, trimmed of fat, and cut into the several 2"-thick steaks, which included 3 Porterhouse steaks; 3 T-bone steaks; and one loin steak (which is the authentic Delmonico steak); and
On Memorial Day, May 30, 2011, the top loin was grilled to perfection and enjoyed.

If you want a "proven" steak, then the solution is for you and your friends to ask your favorite steakhouse and your favorite butcher to give you the same information about your steak as they do about your wine. Encourage them to try, and give them a little time to succeed. But if they cannot give you this information, then give your business to steakhouses and butchers who do provide information about your steak.

CONCLUSION

SteakPerfection welcomes your comments: please share them, below. SteakPerfection is a complex process that involves every detail, from pasture to plate.

A short link to this blog is http://bit.ly/cUTl1s

Saturday, March 26, 2011

Trim The Fat Before Grilling The Steak

This morning I was asked, "Do you eat the fat on a prime steak?"

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

There should be no fat on any grilled steak. Period.

There should be no fat layer or fat chunks on a grilled steak, whether or not it is USDA Prime Grade. Any untrimmed fat layer and chunks will burn and taste horrible, and it will harm the taste of the entire steak.

On the other hand, the fat layer and chunks should not be trimmed off a steak which is cooked at a low temperature. In that case, the fat melts and makes the steak juicier and tastier.

Read on for the details and reasons.

MARBLING

Marbling does not refer to the fat layer around a steak or to the large chunks of fat on the interior of a steak.

Instead, marbling refers to the tiny specks and thin streaks of fat in the steak meat. These tiny specks and thin streaks are called "marbling" because they resemble the white streak in Italian black marble.

Marbling itself is made from fat, but it does not mean the thick layer of fat on the outside of a steak or the large chunks of fat that are sometimes found on the inside of a steak.

Marbling is always desirable, but whether the fat layer and chunks are desireable depends on the cooking method.

BUTCHERS' STEAKS

When steaks are sold by butchers, the fat layer around the steak and the chunks of fat inside the meat itself are rarely trimmed off. There are two reasons for this.

The first is that, since steak is sold by the pound, the butcher wants to increase the weight, by leaving as much fat as possible. Therefore, butchers usually sell steak with untrimmed fat, since it increases their profits.

The second reason is that butchers do not know how you are planning to cook your steak: at a low temperature, or at a high temperature. If you cook at a low temperature, then you will probably want to cook the untrimmed steak. But if you cook at a high temperature, then you will probably trim the steak yourself to remove the outside fat layer and large interior fat chunks.

LOW TEMPERATURE COOKING

If you're planning to cook the steak at a relatively low temperature (e.g. sauteeing at 350F), you want the steak with a thick fat layer and abundant fat chunks. As the steak cooks, the fat layer and chunks melt away into the meat.

When cooked with the fat at a low temperature, the melted fat enhances the juiciness and flavor of the steak meat, and even the remaining steak fat may be eaten and taste good.

HIGH TEMPERATURE COOKING

However, if you're planning to cook the steak at a relatively high temperature (e.g. grilling at 750F), you yourself will have to trim off the fat layer and the big fat chunks in the meat. Why? Because otherwise, when your untrimmed steak is cooked at a temperature over 400F, the fat doesn't melt, it burns.

Beef fat has a "smoke point" of 400F. The smoke point means the temperature at which fat begins to break down. Every fat (including cooking oils and butter) has a different smoke point. When fat exceeds its smoke point, the fat breaks down and takes on a foul odor and taste, which it transfers to any other food in its presence.

In the case of an untrimmed steak that is grilled over live coals, the fat layer and chunks immediately burn and fill the air with acrid smoke. The burning fat ruins the flavor of both the fat and the meat around it.

Moreover, scientific studies are beginning to show that grilling an untrimmed steak creates "free radicals", which may pose a cancer risk. Whether or not further studies prove or disprove the cancer link, the fact is that burned fat tastes bad and makes the steak meat taste bad.

Therefore, a steak that is to be grilled should be first trimmed of the surrounding layer of fat and any fat chunks inside the meat.

CONCLUSION

SteakPerfection welcomes your comments. Please share them below. SteakPerfection is a complex process that involves every detail, from pasture to plate.

A short link to this blog is http://bit.ly/hCOQzk

Wednesday, April 18, 2012

Friday, February 24, 2012

Sunday, February 5, 2012

Friday, December 23, 2011

Friday, September 9, 2011

Thursday, August 18, 2011

Wednesday, August 17, 2011

Monday, August 15, 2011

Wednesday, June 22, 2011

Saturday, June 18, 2011

Saturday, May 21, 2011

Sunday, April 17, 2011

Wednesday, March 30, 2011

Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Monday, March 28, 2011

Saturday, March 26, 2011

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