How a Butcher Cuts Beef: Know Your Meat pt1-2 1945 OPA color 15min

video for embedding at http://food.quickfound.net/

"On the inspection, grading, and butchering of beef.Beeves are inspected by Bureau of Animal Industry agents and graded Meat Inspection Branch agent. Explains the grading system (marbling, coloring, and, conformation) Describes, in detail, the butchering of a beef in accordance with OPA regulations Explains that meat, displayed in a retail store, mug be marked as to grade, price, and [World War II] ration points required."

Public domain film from the National Archives, with mild noise reduction applied.

part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VTWB7bHDhJg

from USDA fact sheet:
http://www.fsis.usda.gov/factsheets/beef_from_farm_to_table/index.asp

"Since 1910, the first year that statistics were compiled, Americans have been eating an average of 60 pounds of beef yearly. About 36 million cattle were inspected in 1997 alone by USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service. This translates into 64 pounds of beef per person in 1997...

"Beef" is meat from full-grown cattle about 2 years old. A live steer weighs about 1,000 pounds and yields about 450 pounds of edible meat. There are at least 50 breeds of beef cattle, but fewer than 10 make up most cattle produced. Some major breeds are Angus, Hereford, Charolais, and Brahman...

Inspection is mandatory; grading is voluntary, and a plant pays to have its meat graded. USDA-graded beef sold at the retail level is Prime, Choice, and Select. Lower grades (Standard, Commercial, Utility, Cutter, and Canner) are mainly ground or used in processed meat products. Retail stores may use other terms which must be different from USDA grades.

USDA Prime beef (about two percent of graded beef) has more fat marbling, so it is the most tender and flavorful. However, it is higher in fat content. Most of the graded beef sold in supermarkets is USDA Choice or USDA Select. The protein, vitamin, and mineral content of beef are similar regardless of the grade...

Marbling is white flecks of fat within the meat muscle. The greater amount of marbling in beef, the higher the grade because marbling makes beef more tender, flavorful, and juicy...

There are four basic major (primal) cuts into which beef is separated: chuck, loin, rib, and round. It is recommended that packages of fresh beef purchased in the supermarket be labeled with the primal cut as well as the product, such as "chuck roast" or "round steak." This helps consumers know what type of heat is best for cooking the product. Generally, chuck and round are less tender and require moist heat such as braising; loin and rib can be cooked by dry heat methods such as broiling or grilling.

Unfortunately, names for various cuts can vary regionally in stores, causing confusion over the choice of cooking method. For example, a boneless top loin steak is variously called: strip steak, Kansas City Steak, N.Y. strip steak, hotel cut strip steak, ambassador steak, or club sirloin steak...

Oxygen is delivered to muscles by the red cells in the blood. One of the proteins in meat, myoglobin, holds the oxygen in the muscle. The amount of myoglobin in animal muscles determines the color of meat. Beef is called a "red" meat because it contains more myoglobin than chicken or fish. Other "red" meats are veal, lamb, and pork..."

meat, beef, FDA, OPA, cooking, butchering, cutting meat, cuts of beef, butcher, food, steak, meat grade, beef grade, marbling, USDA, agriculture, Dept. of Agriculture,

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