KNOW YOUR MEAT

[Music] here is your evening meal ready for the market and from these stairs will come roasts and steaks you've seen Dennis but you'll pay for them not just any price but a ceiling price which is fair to both buyer and seller and you'll pay points too so everybody can have his share in the slaughterhouse yard these fears are examined by a veterinarian of the Bureau of animal industry Department of Agriculture in this examination he makes sure that every animal is entirely healthy and free of disease before slaughter after slaughter the beef is minutely examined for the second time by the veterinarians to give you double protection when the veterinarian has approved the beef after slaughter his stamp is placed many times on each beef when you see these round stamps you can be sure that your meat has been fully inspected not once but twice by an expert federal veterinarian to make certain it contains no trace of disease before this beef can be sold it must be graded the whole beef is split into two sides the quality that determines the price of every beef is now judged by a federal meat grater of the United States meat grading service in making his decision as to grade the grader considers the shape or build of the animal the fat distribution and the age sex and meat texture here are three of the five retail grades of beef on the left is choice or double-a in the Centers good or grade-a and on the right utility or grade see note that the choice hindquarter on the left is more chunky than the law utility grade on the right higher grades have more meat covering on the ribs and the shoulders are stopped yet meat graders refer to this build or shape of an animal as confirmation confirmation is an important factor in grading secondly on the outside and on the inside of high grade beef will be found at generous amounts of light-colored waxy fat the ribs are well covered with fat on the inside as well as on the outside here you can see evidence that the creamy white fat also goes down into the meat and is distributed throughout the lean of the whole beef this distribution of fat is known as marbling marbling is perhaps one of the best indications of high grade meat now let's compare still more closely not the color of the outside fat on the left the utility gravy is definitely more yellow than the choice grade on the right in the ribs of this utility grade is but little fat but the choice grade has plenty and it goes well down into the lean in the choice hindquarter the amount and quality of the fat greatly exceeds that of the lords raid utility here the fat its color and distribution are clearly shown with the leaf in porterhouse steaks or in any retail cut you still can see these same grading factors the confirmation or build of the animal is still evidence the utility grade above does not have the chunkiness or plumpness of the choice grade as to finish or fat distribution the choice grade has an abundance of white and waxy fat these are rib steaks the marbling is very evident note the streaks of white fat in the lean meat of the choice grade while there is little in the utility grade fat is important because it seals in water soluble flavor elements and adds two tendons having considered the conformation finish and quality of beef the greater rolls his stamp on each side in such a manner that the grade will clearly show on each primal part you will find these grade marks on nearly every piece of meat you buy there are five standard rate the first of these five vague is choice or double a good or a commercial or grade B and utility or see the canner and still a lower grade call cutter are not common in retail market with inspection and grading stamps on each side the beef is delivered to the wholesale or retail butcher and is now ready for retail case opa regulations specify the only manner in which beef can be cut the whole side of beef according to these regulations is first cut into two large pieces the hind quarter and the four quarter this cut must be made between the 12th and 13th rib regulations specifying beef cuts assure the customer that he is getting the exact piece for which he pays a certain ceiling price and a certain number of points the four quarters and the hindquarter must now be divided into four principal parts which are known as the standard final cut most retail cuts of meat are named after these primal cuts in the hindquarters the first primal cut removes the leg piece this leg piece is called the round the other part is called the loin with this cut the butcher separates the round one of the primal cuts from the loin the loin or back is composed largely of tender supporting muscles you pay a higher ceiling price per pound and more points for this knee there is not much of it in a beef the round on the other hand is composed largely of muscles of locomotion and is not quite so tender regulations require that all neatly trimmed of fat in excess of one inch in thickness but neither grade nor health stamps can be removed the second primal cut is the Bella T and is called the flank by measuring with a ruler the exact place to cut the customer is assured that no part of the less expensive franc is included on the more expensive loin piece immediately above by the way flank steak and Swiss steaks come from this test now before the loin can be cut further it must first be trimmed the fat the kidney knob of heavy fat is removed this rich suet contains the kidney in the loin our two primal cuts the thick piece called the sirloin and the part which contains t-bone steaks call the short loin the line contains the choicest meat in the sphere t-bone and sirloin steaks come from this section like the hindquarters the four quarter is also to be cut into four primal cuts the first cut removes a more expensive rib section from the lower-priced shoulder and front legs first the skirt steak is removed now the butcher counts five ribs and between the fifth and sixth ribs a cut is made which divides the four quarter into not how clearly each piece displays both health and Grady's fans on the left is the breast or brisket for leg and shoulders on the right the whole rib section in this rib section are more of those tender supporting muscles that make forte feeding below the rib section is the lower breast called the short place the short ribs are part of the primary a stick ten inches long accurately divides the ribs from the less expensive place below this cut the quality is that of stew and boiling you also pay a fairly high point value for ribs but the place has little or no point three inches may also be removed from the ribs to form a short rib retail cut this whole rib section showing the short ribs removed is now complete the remainder of the four quarter is now divided into the last two primal cuts the large shoulder piece is called the Chuck this piece contains numerous rope once more the OPA uses a measuring stick to draw a price line between the higher and lower priced meat this cut separates this chuck from the lower price bridge given for shank the chuck or shoulder contains largely muscles of locomotion which are less tender the chest is best prepared by the use of Mont heat that is pot roast or boiling in the remaining primal cut of the four quarter the four shank is lifted revealing the brisket or breasty separating the fourth Bank and brisket completes the primal cutting of the four quarters here are the four primal cuts the wholesale pieces brisket and pork shank chuck ribs and short ribs and short break and we are now ready to recap the final pieces into the retail cuts you see daily in the butcher shop with the primal cuts well in mind we can now proceed through the individual states and rows found in retail counters starting with a hind quarter the short loin with its tender meat can be cut into steaks too since the customer these t-bone or porterhouse steaks are among the choicest meat in the sphere you may remember before the war buying a cut known as the tenderloin or filet mignon this cut may no longer be sold as a separate test for a higher price but you get it anyway as a part of these tbonz or as a part of sirloin the sirloin final piece is another high-quality section and is cut into steak although these steaks are somewhat comparable to t-bone steaks in appearance tenderness and flavor when seen in a retail counter they are always much larger than other states this steak is cut from the portion of joining the round the large piece of the hindquarters the round is now divided into five standard cuts which are always found in retail counters many find those come from these cutters the first to be removed is the rump roast the familiar rump roasts after being cut from the round is sold with the bone in or bone out either way it is a flavorful piece of meat look for the fat in the lean and juiciness for real flavor as in this piece another part of the round is the tip rope tip roll also called sirloin but are always bonus if it has a bone in it it is not a tip roast or a tip steak this piece is large enough to be cut into two or three small rolls the leg part is now separated the small knuckle is discarded this piece is then cutting - to make a heel piece and the hind shank the first cut removes the lower leg from the round this cut shows a good example of connective tissue surrounding locomotion muscles the heel as you see is boneless meat whereas the hind shank will make good simply the remaining piece of the hindquarters is the full round the full round may be sold with a bone-in or the bone out with the bone removed the full round can be further divided into the top round or inside piece and the bottom round or outside piece neither top round that nor bottom round alone may contain the bone these two pieces are then usually cut into steaks all right top round becomes stakes the bottom round makes good pot roast or on special order excellent hamburger the prime rib piece of the four quarter including the short ribs can now be divided into its retail cut rib roast such as these are customary when the prime rib is not cutting the face the plate piece next to the short ribs yields boiling meat and corned beef note the stamps are markings on the short plate to show you that it has been health inspected and greatest another word for Chuck might be roast because this large piece is just about all that the English cut of the Chuck mix of fine rose and other such chuck roast is called the clock or cross rim another is the arm roll cutting the blade roast reveals more of the quality with expert grading has stamped on this section connective tissue between the lean meats should not be confused with marbling kindling now we come to the fore shank and brisket this breast piece brisket is sold Bornean or born out as boiling but more frequently it's boneless brisket corned beef and so we come to today's home front battleground the retail meat counter here we see our beef on display ready for sale these are sirloin cut from the sirloin final cut note the correct tray posting of this meat every display of meat for sale must be marked at the grade points and price grades cannot be mixed in the same tray do you recognize these look at that bone yes they are t-bones cut from the lawn if see bones are small they are sometimes called Club stakes the large wings are also known as porterhouse these are top round steak cut from the full round of the Lakeview bottom round looks much the same but is somewhat tougher it is pot roast it are sometimes ground for hamburgers and incidentally hamburgers hamburgers according to OPA ground rounder ground cut must go for hamburger price unless it is especially ground in your presence and at your order this is a rump roll pilot takes years of experience to become an expert meat greater the consumer can learn quickly to recognize this as high-grade meat only by relying on the great stamp of the Department of Agriculture which you can see here very clearly can you be sure of just how high or how low this is corn place the grapes am still intact and here is the short rib delicacy boning but very tasty note the connective tissue in the lean of these four shank pieces don't mistake this for marbling it is not fast this is a tip roll also called sirloin butt and it's very tender wait a minute look at that fat when we cut the meat we trim the fat to not more than one inch in thickness this is a violation so the next time you visit the retail meat counter you can help in a vital battle against inflation if you know your meat here is the OPA meat regulation first it specifies only certain cuts of meat which are clearly shown on your beef charts know them second Opa requires that meat be graded according to Department of Agriculture standards and each cut should clearly display these great stamps look for them third OPA requires straight posting of every display with grade points and price 85 cents is illegally high for any country maybe he met 58 cents forth in addition to tray posting OPA requires the butcher to force three times a store group sign a list of ceiling prices and the points required you check them you can help to hold the home front line against ruinous inflation if you know your meat [Music]