The USDA grading chart at my shop changed how I look at fat cover

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2 Comments

stellat462mo ago

I got a pack of ribeyes marked "Choice" last week and they had maybe a quarter inch of fat on the edge. I trimmed it all off before cooking, and they turned out just as good as any Prime I ever bought. That grading chart at my shop just means I pay more for labels that don't change the actual taste on my plate. Fat cover tells you about marbling, sure, but it doesn't tell you how the cow was raised or how it was aged. I've had lean cuts from a local farm that blew away anything with a fancy stamp on it. People get too hung up on that little white tag and ignore what's in front of them.

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simon_carr2mo ago

Wait, you trimmed a quarter inch off a Choice ribeye and it still beat Prime? That's wild. I've had butchers tell me that fat cap is basically a flavor shield when you cook it, so pulling it all off sounds like you're eating a totally different piece of meat. Either your local farm is doing something magic or my whole life is a lie.

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