As a consumer in the UK, how can I choose well marbled beef?
In the USA beef marbling is graded by the USDA - and this grade labeling is enforced to be passed nearly to the end consumer (i.e. the labeling is on the cryovac). So if I wanted well marbled beef in the USA, I could either buy in cryovac, comparing unit prices between prime grade and premium select grade, or in the grocery store where the cryovac is opened, I can see the marbling myself and make a judgement.
I am living in the UK, and although we technically have access to EU beef and a number of non EU imports, most available beef is UK sourced. And most consumer education is around awareness of beef cuts, food safety and animal welfare, rather than any information about beef quality.
When I approach butchers at say, Smithfield Market, they conflate quality with country of origin, following I think the attitudes of shoppers here (UK citizens seem to think if the meat comes from a faraway country it will be swapped for horse meat).
Finally I find that in the UK we do have carcass grading - to identify females or age of the animal. But as far as I can tell this information is unavailable to the end consumer.
So if I don't care a whit about country of origin, and would simply like the most well marbled best tasting product for my budget... how to shop?
Since meat is heavy, I prefer to make my purchases online.
Best Answer
With online meat shopping in the UK you have to go with the reputation of the source, there's no grading system which you can refer to. Top end butchers and grocery stores carry top end beef, and most of the time you do get what you pay for. Many supermarket chains have premium labels, ie Tesco Finest and Sainsbury's Taste The Difference, which are definitely much better than their regular stuff, but I think the best mainstream grocery store premium brand for meat is Coop.
At the end of the day there's no substitute for getting your own eyes on the meat you are buying, so I would recommend you try local butcher shops. There's still plenty of them around in the UK, and the quality varies dramatically. There are some that will pawn off legs of lamb that are about to turn, and others which control their entire supply chain and have some of the best meat in the world. You just have to try a few and see.
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How do you get the best beef marbling?
The combination of higher grain and protein in diets will lead to more marbling. Marbling fat develops at a young age in beef cattle. Feeding higher energy feeds to young calves will help increase the amount of marbling. Creep feeding is the easiest way to do this as shown by research from the University of Georgia.How is beef graded in the UK?
The EUROP grid consists of a five-point scale in which each conformation and fat class is subdivided into low, medium and high sub-classes, resulting in 15 sub-classes. In the UK, the fat classes range from 1\u20135; classes 4 and 5 each have high and low sub-classes, which results in a seven-point scale for fatness.Why well marbled meat is desirable?
Why is marbling important? Marbling is important to steak because it adds flavor (the right kind of flavor), juiciness as it melts into the steak when cooking, and tenderness because the fat is much more tender than the muscle fiber in the steak.What beef breed is known for great marbling?
Breed. Angus is currently the most popular among North American ranchers. This is partly due to economics\u2014Angus cattle mature quickly and put on weight well\u2014but also because Angus beef is reliably marbled and tender.Pat LaFrieda Demonstrates How Meat is Graded and What to Look for When Choosing USDA Meat
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