Know What is on the Table Before You Eat

Know What is on the Table Before You Eat:

Given the popularity of beef on American plates – probably the most common meat served at a family dinner meal – it is interesting how little attention is given to the quality of meat selected for the evening meal. Supermarkets provide the major source of beef to hungry consumers. The varieties of meat available from the freezer or butcher’s display case are well known: hamburger, T-bone, porterhouse, sirloin, London broil, prime rib and rib eye, for starters.

If you compare the quality of meats at the local steakhouse to a grocery store’s select cuts, you will likely find that they score close to one another. But, as a consumer, it may be worthwhile to do some shopping around if you want an excellent selection and quality of meat cuts.

Butchers know that great meat must come from great stock – it’s the reason why so many TV advertisements promote certain brands of beef to attract customers into their restaurants. Besides the right species of bovine, the meat must be prepared in a way that will preserve the most important quality of the meat: the marbling. The more marbling and less fat in the cut of meat results in a higher grade for the meat. Choice meats have the lowest amount of fat and largest percentage of dark muscle, the source of the deep purple-red color.

To prepare the meat for the table, it must be cured, sometimes referred to as aging. Aged prime beef – the top shelf of meat cuts – cures for up to eight weeks before it is ready to be eaten. It is during this process that the meat transforms into an excellent prime or choice piece. If the aging process is flawed, the meat will lose it flavor, its texture and its marbling. A quality purveyor of meats, Allen Brothers, deals directly with ranchers to select the very best livestock based on age and species. Selected portions of highest quality meat are delivered to Allen Brothers to undergo their premier aging process that has made them the gold standard in quality meats.

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