When buying meat for your roast beef recipes, it’s a good idea to have at least some general understanding of the different meat grades. While all meat bought at proper retailers will be graded for human consumption, it is still worthwhile to understand what the meat grades are, what the expected quality of meat is for each of the meat grades, and which outlets supply particular grades of meat.
Meat grades are decided after taking into consideration the color, appearance, beef’s consistency and last but not least the quantity of marbling in the meat. The standard meat grades are:
High Grade Meat
- Prime – the top grade of meat, usually found in hotels, restaurants, and fine dining establishments. Usually has more marbling, very tender and more flavor.
- Choice and Select – great quality, less marbling, usually found in butcher stores and supermarkets.
- Standard and Commercial – usually sold as ungraded meat, or in brand-name packages.
- Utility, Cutter and Canner – typically used for ground beef or hot dogs.
Generally speaking, the higher the meat grades, the higher the price. A prime cut of meat may be perfect for a special occasion or for a particular treat, but choice and select cuts are usually fantastic reasonably priced meat cuts, perfect for family cooking. Even standard and commercial grade meat while cheaper, can cook well if you use cooking techniques (such as slow roasting) to improve the tenderness. Personally I would avoid the lowest meat grades.