Picking out Steaks

[Anonymous]

I am a student at UGA and we have a local meat sale every Friday. It’s ran by the school so they don’t post what grade their beef is but they usually have a pretty good selection with a few hidden gems if you know where/how to look. How do you pick out a good steak? What do you look for?

Thanks

[Ron Pratt]

Fletcher,
can you narrow down your question? Are you asking about selecting individual steaks or whole sub-primals for dry aging?
Ron

[Anonymous]

I’d prefer to know more about picking sub-primals as that is what I’ll be dealing with but general knowledge about picking out individual steaks would not hurt.

[Ron Pratt]

BTW – yours is a great question! I really hope this thread gets many responses because I can’t say as I have ever read anything other than personal opinions on this. Let me toss out my method – as unscientific as it it is…first I do rely on the USDA grading scale and stick with choice or in those few times I can ever find it prime. Select is just a little too chancy for me. As for traits in the meat itself I look for a good marbling pattern and pick what looks the best – but not just a rind of fat on the edge, but the ripples of fat throughout the meat. When I’m selecting a sub-primal I shop at a couple stores where I know I’ll have a couple dozen subs to inspect and pick through. If they don’t have a large selection I don’t buy, but wait later when they do. Again I inspect the ends for marbling as best I can.

I scored this prime rib a couple years back that had IMHO excellent marbeling.

[Anonymous]

I’ll agree with RRP…look at the ends of the subprimals if they’re easy ones (strip loin or rib roast). Its pretty easy to see what the piece will look like throughout based on that. Top sirloin is a little trickier…

Oh, RRP, those are some nice lookin rib eye’s!

[Ron Pratt]

LOL – Thanks! That picture of mine has taken on a life of its own and is used on a popular cooking blog of what marbled rib eyes should look like!

[Anonymous]

I have to say that those two Rib Eyes would taste great whether they were Dry Aged or not. LOL.

[Ron Pratt]

DoyleS wrote:

quote :

I have to say that those two Rib Eyes would taste great whether they were Dry Aged or not. LOL.

Trust me they were! and no that was before I had ever even heard of Drybags. Funny thing is the owner of the butcher shop cut open a “new” cryovac sealed primal in response to my request for two much larger pieces than he had in their display case. We both were surprised and amazed at how beautiful that meat was and he said “BINGO you won today, Ron! Had I found this myself it ALL would have gone home with me!” Which by the way he did take home – but after selling me those two! We still laugh about that!

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