I thought Angus was a level of meat quality but the package says Angus and Choice. Can it be both?
by AttentionFlashy5187
10 Comments
IAMJUX
Angus is the cow. Choice is the grade. It can be both.
ffiishs
American beef is muck
[deleted]
[deleted]
SureTechnology696
In some stores it’s the sticker on the package.
Lost-Visit4624
It’s actually just good marketing on the Angus association. Basically in slaughter houses if it’s black on the side the inspector is on it’s labeled angus beef. Don’t buy the hype my friend did his black angus against my jersey. He fattened his and I fattened mine he lost in the cookout battle we had.
_Pill-Cosby_
Angus is a breed of beef cattle.
weejohn1979
Nope unless it’s Aberdeen Angus from Aberdeen “scotland” then I don’t want it!
Black Angus is a breed of cattle, very popular in US.
Not all breeds make for good meat eating, some are used for beasts of burden and some are used for milk production. There are some breeds that are good at all these and some are engineered cross breeds that optimize all categories.
I’m sure you heard of Texas Longhorns (Hence the restaurant name Longhorn Steakhouse) I’m sure you have heard of Wagyu which is a cow breed from Japan.
Holsteins, Guernsey, Jerseys are all great milking cows.
Angus is a breed. There are others, like here ford, longhorn, waygu, jeresy, etc.
Choice is a grade. In the US, there are 8 quality grades determined by the USDA: Prime, Choice, Select, Standard, Commercial, Utility, Cutter, and Canner
Another term you might hear is:
No roll: meaning the beef wasn’t graded. Some farmers opt out of grading to save themselves money, so no roll meats doesn’t always mean the meat is crap. But usually, no roll is the stuff that isn’t graded because they know the meat will get a poor grade anyway.
Grading has to do with palitability, marbling, flavor, and quality of meat.
Chester730
Angus does NOT mean it’s black.
If it is Certified Angus Beef, then it MUST be 51% black with qualifying white markings. These animals are identified on the slaughter side and monitored by a grader. Once the carcass is graded, it must meet 11 other criteria in order to qualify for the Ceritified Angus Beef program.
Choice is the grade, and it strictly has to do with carcass characteristics, mostly marbling but other factors are considered. Grading in the US is optional and a paid for service.
If it says Angus, it just means that it is, “of Angus genetics.” Which means it can phenotypically LOOK like a Hereford or Charlois (red or white respectively), but if it had an Angus parent or I think even grandparent, it qualifies.
Source: I work at a beef slaughter plant in food safety and labeling is under my scope. We make both Angus and Certified Angus claims.
Edited to add: in order to make the breed claims, the slaughter plant MUST submit support documentation to the USDA in Washington D.C. to show that the claim is truthful and not misleading. My support is an affidavit that the producer signs that says their cattle are of Angus genetics.
10 Comments
Angus is the cow. Choice is the grade. It can be both.
American beef is muck
[deleted]
In some stores it’s the sticker on the package.
It’s actually just good marketing on the Angus association. Basically in slaughter houses if it’s black on the side the inspector is on it’s labeled angus beef. Don’t buy the hype my friend did his black angus against my jersey. He fattened his and I fattened mine he lost in the cookout battle we had.
Angus is a breed of beef cattle.
Nope unless it’s Aberdeen Angus from Aberdeen “scotland” then I don’t want it!
Choice is a USDA meat grade (read more here)
https://www.usda.gov/media/blog/2013/01/28/whats-your-beef-prime-choice-or-select
Black Angus is a breed of cattle, very popular in US.
Not all breeds make for good meat eating, some are used for beasts of burden and some are used for milk production. There are some breeds that are good at all these and some are engineered cross breeds that optimize all categories.
I’m sure you heard of Texas Longhorns (Hence the restaurant name Longhorn Steakhouse) I’m sure you have heard of Wagyu which is a cow breed from Japan.
Holsteins, Guernsey, Jerseys are all great milking cows.
Here is a big list of cattle breeds
https://www.thecattlesite.com/knowledge-centre/breeds
Angus is a breed. There are others, like here ford, longhorn, waygu, jeresy, etc.
Choice is a grade. In the US, there are 8 quality grades determined by the USDA: Prime, Choice, Select, Standard, Commercial, Utility, Cutter, and Canner
Another term you might hear is:
No roll: meaning the beef wasn’t graded. Some farmers opt out of grading to save themselves money, so no roll meats doesn’t always mean the meat is crap. But usually, no roll is the stuff that isn’t graded because they know the meat will get a poor grade anyway.
Grading has to do with palitability, marbling, flavor, and quality of meat.
Angus does NOT mean it’s black.
If it is Certified Angus Beef, then it MUST be 51% black with qualifying white markings. These animals are identified on the slaughter side and monitored by a grader. Once the carcass is graded, it must meet 11 other criteria in order to qualify for the Ceritified Angus Beef program.
Choice is the grade, and it strictly has to do with carcass characteristics, mostly marbling but other factors are considered. Grading in the US is optional and a paid for service.
If it says Angus, it just means that it is, “of Angus genetics.” Which means it can phenotypically LOOK like a Hereford or Charlois (red or white respectively), but if it had an Angus parent or I think even grandparent, it qualifies.
Source: I work at a beef slaughter plant in food safety and labeling is under my scope. We make both Angus and Certified Angus claims.
Edited to add: in order to make the breed claims, the slaughter plant MUST submit support documentation to the USDA in Washington D.C. to show that the claim is truthful and not misleading. My support is an affidavit that the producer signs that says their cattle are of Angus genetics.