Life is Too Short, Go for Prime!
A good steak is one of life's easy pleasures, but grilling it to perfection takes a little knowledge and expertise. But once you've got it down, you will be able to grill steaks every bit as good as what you'd get at a high-priced steak house.
Before you hit the grill, you will need to get to first base first by educating yourself on the choices out there in terms of steak cuts available.
Have you ever stood in front of the meat counter at your local supermarket wondering about all these grades of beef? You're not alone. Here is the scoop. The USDA has come up with eight beef grades, only four of which you can find at your supermarkets. Meat grading is voluntary, but most producers participate for the consumer's benefit. The grades are a good gauge of what you can expect in terms of flavor and tenderness. The grades are based on the age of the animal and the marbling of the meat. Marbling's are these flecks of fat visible in the meat.
Prime Beef
This is the best you can buy. The marbling is excellent and only 2 percent of beef qualifies for this grade. Most Prime meat is sold to fine restaurants, but you can find it at a good butcher. If it's a special occasion, you have to go Prime. It's tough to beat in terms of taste and juiciness. It has become easier to get this for the past couple of years, mainly because the recession has impacted the restaurant business, steakhouses included. This resulted in a supply surplus for this special cut, so on a lot of occasions, you can even buy it now from your neighborhood Costco.
Certified Angus Beef
Although not an official USDA grade, this is reserved for meat which meet strict standards for tenderness, juiciness and flavor. Only 8 percent of beef meets this standard. A lot of people prefer it over other types mainly because the marbling comes close to Prime. It's widely available in the grocery stores and meat counters and is an affordable alternative to Prime.
Choice Beef
This is the most widely available cut and you can consider it as your second choice. The meat comes from fairly young cattle and has moderate to small amounts of marbling. Choice offers good value for those regular grilling occasions.
Select Grade Beef
This cut is cheaper than Choice and is also much leaner. Because it has minimal marbling, it tends to be tougher and less flavorful. Unless you plan to marinate your steak, you are better off opting for a Choice cut for the grill.
Lastly, let me give you a quick faq about aging. If you happen to visit this famous steakhouse in New York called Peter Luger, and happen to sample their grilled masterpieces, and you wonder why it taste so much better than your backyard version, one of the major reasons for it is aging. Steak gets better with age. There are two types of aging for beef, dry aging and wet aging. Both make the meat more tender and flavorful. In the process of dry aging, beef is hung unwrapped in a refrigerated cooler for 3 to 6 weeks. As you age it, the meat loses up to 10 percent of their weight due to evaporation, resulting in more concentrated flavor. At the same time, the muscles in the meat breaks down making it more tender. Wet aging has a similar storage process except the meat are put in airtight bags so there is no loss of moisture. It's really just personal preference when it comes to wet-aged or dry-aged beef, both enhances the quality of the meat for grilling.
And that concludes our primer. Now go out there and get that Prime cut and start grilling!!
About the Author
Joni is a student who is also into web commerce, promoting a diverse group of web sites. If you are looking for a place with the best selection and pricing on baby strollers or just looking for the hot toys of the year, come and visit her sites.