USDA Choice Beef

19 years ago

Has anyone noticed USDA Choice meat is very hard to find now days? USDA Choice used to be the standard here in the US, but since grain prices have shot up so much from the Ethanol scam very few feedlots can afford to fatten up cattle for commercial resale, so what you mostly find in your local supermarkets is USDA Select. Chains like Albertsons and Safeway now have a marketing brand like Angus that are USDA Choice but charge a very high premium and only a small selection of cuts..

Fortunately I raise my own beef and if graded would be Choice+ or Prime-, yes there different levels of Prime and Choice, but my question is: What is available in your market are?

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Comments (8)

fairegold
19 years ago
Costco is the largest retailer of Choice grade beef in the country. And the prices are well below most supermarkets.

I buy 90% of all my meat at Costco.
kframe19
19 years ago
I eat so little beef I'd never know the difference.

Occasionally I'll get a chuck roast or a London broil, but the amount of poultry I eat in relation to beef is probably 75 to 1.
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A little clarification might be in order. This section of meat in the cow is one of the main divisions when cutting meat. Therefore it is known as a primal cut. When it is cut as a roast (as opposed to steaks) it is considered a Prime roast. There is confusion and a lot of debate on the matter because prime is also the highest grading given to meats that meet a certain criteria of quality. But Prime rib is such an accepted term for the cut, even if it does not meet prime grading standards, the USDA gives it a pass and doesn't get anal about the title. You can purchase prime graded roasts at top dollar- most grocery outlets sell the lesser grade "choice". Your actual question though about middle cut is an interesting one and hard to track down. There are some theories that I'll toss out to throw around. An old meat cutter's term for this setion of meat (ribs 6 through 12) is "middle meat". It could be that the store was simply being redundant and selling the idea of middle as being pretty good stuff. After all there is center cut this and eye of that. Another idea is that some stores call the second cut or slightly less quality Chuck side of the full 16 pound rib, the center cut. It's a rarely used term but maybe that's where the middle cut term comes from. Below is a brief description of first cut and second cut. First Cut Rib Roast An extremely tender and flavorful roast, First Cut Rib Roast consists of ribs 9-12 from the loin end of the cow. First Cut Rib Roast may also be called Prime Rib, Loin End, or Prime Rib Small End. Not surprisingly, this is one of the most expensive cuts suitable for a beef roast. Second Cut Rib Roast Also known as a Large End Rib Roast, the Second Cut Rib Roast is cut from ribs 6-9, closer to the chuck area of the cow. As a result, this beef roast is slightly fattier and slightly less tender than the First Cut Rib Roast. It remains, however, an excellent choice for cooking a beef roast. It is also a rather pricey cut of beef, though slightly less expensive than a First Cut Rib Roast. Michaelp
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texas_weed
Original Author
19 years ago
Costco is noted, but not available to the masses.
fairegold
19 years ago
Not available to the masses?

Here's a list of US locations. And membership is only $50, which if you are buying USDA Choice beef, you'll pay for pretty quickly.

It might not be available where you live, but most of the US seems to have Costco access.

Here is a link that might be useful: Costco locations
wizardnm
19 years ago
I can get both Choice and Select. Usually it's the Select when it's a weekly special but Choice the rest of the time. I know the meat dept mgr quite well, he gave me the scoop...

I can also get Prime at one meat market....just certain cuts.

Nancy
Virginia7074
19 years ago
I buy ground beef and steaks at Costco - never bought a roast there, though. Had a bad experience one time; bought ground beef from a different Costco and it was loaded with fat. Usually, I'll cook up the ground beef and put it in a strainer over a bowl, and about 1 teaspoon of fat drains into the bowl. I took my receipt back to them and the reimbursed me for the amount I'd used. I think they would have fully refunded my money, but I figured that since I hadn't used it all, it was fair.
annie1992
19 years ago
I also grow my own beef, but contrary to popular choice, I don't fatten mine and never will again. Of course, mine also get no antibiotics, no growth hormones, no chemical "assistance" of any type and I've never had a sick animal yet.

Mine are strictly grass fed, lean and tender. Since Dad has all his heart problems he sure doesn't need the extra fat that comes from feeding corn to all those cattle in feed lots. Neither do I and I'm appalled by the fact that people are actually paying Choice prices per pound for what is essentially suet, but they will and that's their choice.

Of course, it's simply my opinion, but I don't think cattle need to be so fat. And yes, I know. Fat translates to marbling which translates to tender. Fat also translates to heart disease in some instances so I'll chew more and stay healthier.

And, although I live in the absolute boonies in Northern Michigan even I have a Costco within 50 miles. I've never been in it, but I know there is one.

Annie
tkln
19 years ago
I used to buy NY Strip from Costco as it was the cheapest around and the quality was really good...since then I have switched to grass fed beef that I buy from farms in upstate NY and in Vermont...I feel much better about supporting local farms, and also that the cattle eat what they are supposed to and that they live their lives in pasture, not in a box.

The only meat I buy from Costco now is the occasional package of baby back ribs, but I'll be weeding that out soon as well...testing out sources for good pork.

USDA Choice Beef

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fairegold

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USDA Choice Beef

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fairegold

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texas_weed
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