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Some basic industry knowledge for discussing steaks.

90%+ of the beef in the U.S. comes from cattle that are raised on grass, and then finished on corn or another grain for a few months.
Corn is much richer and causes the cattle to put on weight in the form of fat.

At the time of slaughter, the U.S.D.A. inspects all carcasses for health reasons.

The packing house has the option to pay a fee to have each carcass “graded” for marbling.
This grading process determines the amount of fat mixed in with the lean beef.
Beef with higher amounts of fat “marbled” through the beef is considered desirable and sells for more money per pound.
The carcass is then “roll stamped” with a grade such as “Select”, “Choice’ or “Prime”.

If the packing house does not think a carcass will grade very high, they can choose to not pay the fee, and the carcass will be considered “No Roll”, or ungraded.

*No Roll or ungraded beef is used everywhere for canned and frozen processers like the premade beef stew you see in grocery stores to dog food and typical ground beef.

*Select graded beef is utilized everywhere a customer is looking for consistent quality at a reasonable price. Most of the products you see in average grocery stores is select graded.

*Choice is a noticeable step up in tenderness and juiciness.
Many grocery stores sell choice beef, and most decent steakhouses will use only choice or better.

*USDA graded “Prime” is a step up from Choice. Typically, only the top 2% of cattle will grade out as Prime. It is reflected in the price. A Prime steak can cost 50% more than a choice steak.
High end steak houses buy up almost all the USDA Prime middle cuts like Ribeye, Striploin (New York steaks) and tenderloin (Filet Mignon steaks).
Names like Ruth Criss, Flemings and Mortons. They typically charge $50 or more for an “ala cart” steak.

*Grass fed, refers to beef that has not been grain finished.
Grass fed is only a tiny fraction of the beef on the commercial market.

I know that it is possible to get a tender, juicy steak from grass fed beef, but that is the exception, not the rule.
For the most part, grass fed beef will be dryer, tougher and slightly gamey tasting when compared to it’s grain finished counterpart.

Some people prefer grass fed beef. I won’t argue with them, To each his own.