My experience with select grade beef has been that there is a lot of variation in taste an quality and it is usually kind of tough. This evening I made a fire of pecan wood and some red oak in my fire ring and grilled some select rib eye a little over 1 inch thick. I grilled them hot and fast and left some pink in the center. They were well marbled and were on sale marked down from $11.78 a pound to $6.97 due to going out of date in a day or two. This steak was absolutely as good tasting and tender as I ever ate. I bet most Wagyu isn't any better.

What y'all reckon? Did the grading person mess up? The fat marbling indicated choice to me.

The out of date aging didn’t hurt any for quality.

As the old saying goes, “Even a blind hog finds an acorn onct in awhile “ !

I think you might be right on that. It looks good, but might have been breaking down a bit.

The USDA inspector that grades the beef makes one small incision between two ribs and measures the amount of marbling at that exact spot.
It is a good indicator of how well marbled the rest of the beef is, but not a guarantee.
There are lots of other reasons why a choice or even prime animal might not "make the grade'.
Often age is a factor. Any animal over 30 months of age can not be graded choice or prime.
I have beef that was marked no-roll or even commercial that clearly should have been USDA prime, but the animal was 33 months old by the time it got the slaughter.

Select is almost always Mexican or Brazilian beef. My guess is you probably got lucky..... you'll know for sure by the morning.

Ok ..I'll give up some real info... Meat ..all things being the same 2 side by side pieces one's bigger one smaller both the same height the one that's bigger and the same price has more fat in it fat = volume.... Take any two pieces of the same stuff ..same same.. hang both over a 3/8th dowel. The one that hangs the best..I mean like a wet rag .. that your friend. ... . I made a lot of money cooking over the years ..my best year was burning though 9 pallets of Kingsford...

What about dry aged? Both pieces same size but dry aged one weighs less.

it's all in what the animal was fed... schit in, schit out... grading doesn't matter much IMO... i haven't gotten lucky with store bought meat in about 20-30 yrs... that said, i have given up trying....

Select is the bottom 40% of beef. Occasionally select is decent but usually not very good.

This explains the grades of beef pretty good....

https://www.webstaurantstore.com/blog/4454/beef-grades-explained.html

No telling what you got Hastings, even tho USDA inspectors are suppose to check.

We cut our own steaks and the softer the cover the more tender the steak will be. A few other steps to raising really tender beef, don't let the bovine breed or be bred, don't slaughter the animal till it's 3 years old and feed the animal a little daily, not just 6 weeks before slaughter. We have one on the kill list for mid January.....can't wait.

I ate a lot of select beef when I was a bachelor, because it was cheap. Also because the military commissary didn't often get any better grade. Aside from that, I know little to nothing about meat grades. If it looks good, I'll eat it.

I don't really pay attention to grading. I have learned to "eyeball" the cuts that I prefer. Every now and then, I'll buy a cheap one that disappoints, but that has happened with prime too.

Are you sure it wasn't some marketing wank?


Some companies try to use the words "choice, select or prime" in their advertising to get you to buy their products.

How much did they weight then? We always killed our when the got to 1000-1200lbs. IIRC, that was about 18mos.

Been too long, I miss having cattle.

Aged beef - for 40% off.

Win/win.




GR

water out , taste different...it's a different game .THEY always tell u to ..let rest to let the moisture return / distribute the juices...

The biggest thing to watch out for, is perforating (needle) tenderizing.

Costco does this.

Transfers all the process bacteria down into the meat, so it's like hamburger.

Slab meat - you can sear and then eat essentially raw.




GR

I got some really good top sirloin at Albertsons the other day for $4.99 a pound. I usually go to Costco and get new Yorks but they are $14/ pound now.

I put olive oil on the sirloins then rabbed them down with blackened seasoning. I gave them a quick hot sear and then slowly cooked them on low with the lid on. Then melted blue cheese crumbles on the top.

My kids used to not like blue cheese but they'll eat it now.

Bb

3/8 dowel. So not 5/32?

I raise 1/2 and 3/4 wagyu Angus cross on the side. The people are lined up for my beef. I finish on corn . The waiting list is long and expensive but every cut is worth it. So disappointing cooking a tough steak. People will pay a premium knowing that they're getting the best. Not all but the ones in my circle do. It does take quite a bit longer to finish them though

Hastings: When entertaining or on special occasions I prefer the "top" grade of U.S. meat - which is this:

"U.S. Prime
This is the highest grade of beef with the most fat marbling. This meat is very tender and only accounts for about 2.9 percent of all graded beef. U.S. Prime is usually reserved for high-end dining establishments. Because this grade of beef has such a high level of fat marbling, it is excellent for dry-heat cooking methods. These include roasting, grilling, frying, broiling, and baking".

You only live once - and to date I have never been displeased with "Prime".
I am happy your "Select" grade beef was so tasty for you (and especially so at that price!).
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

"Science"

lolololol

Hastings a good friend raises his own beef all it grass fed as he’s a part of the natural grasslands restoration effort.

He has his aged a full 21-24 days and that is some delicious beef.

You probably do similar with your beef cattle,

SDLefty, curious where you obtained your breeding stock?

My experience, being as I am a Boomer, is The Cheaper The Better.

I like select beef because it is cheaper. Does it not taste as good as other options? I don't care, it is cheaper. Texture-wise worse? Doesn't matter. Health-wise? I don't even know what you mean, beef is beef as far as I am concerned. Does it mostly come from places outside the US? Don't know don't care. If they can legally sell it as beef I am in. Cheapest possible.

On another subject does anyone know a mexican who will mow my lawn for cheap?

We AI to wagyu bulls to get some calves to feed out every year.

My goal is to raise cattle that is all prime rib

I do this with our 100% choice prime moose! A favorite recipe.

Are any of you cattlemen familiar with the blonde d'aquitaine breed? That's what my uncle used to raise for his beef and it was the best beef I've ever had and I've had kobe in Tokyo.

He said it was a French breed. He finished them by getting pickup loads of old bread, cupcakes, piedmont, and twinkled from the hostess outlet store. I spent a few Saturdays unwrapping all the stuff and feeding to to the cows and bison. It was a pain to unwrap everything but the meat was amazing.

Bb

It would break ... or a Kiddy table size serving... I thought we were all men here

Well I am disappointed, I thought this was a thread about plus size women 😢

The topic would then be fatty pork.

No no no Select Grade is accurate 😁

Good Point ! Some of our best beef here in Nebraska aren't corn fed as many believe but open range grazed..We buy a side every yr from a rancher friend,

Angus or Hereford no appreciable difference always tender with great flavor..The quality of store bought prime doesn't even come close ..

Heaven forbid someone has to chew a few extra times. They must be in a hurry to scarf down their deserts.

I don't mind chewing as long as it is actually chewable.

I don't mind a little resilience in the cut, but chewy is a no no.