Having been to Britain I can safely say British beef I ate didn’t stand out as any different from “Choice” American beef (the most common grade). Now if you really want the best beef in the world, go to Argentina. The beef there is the best; I think every last cow down there could be graded “US Prime”. Even McDonald’s hamburgers taste better there than they do in the US.
Whoosh! Good one, Peter Morris.
I don’t think they don’t even have to be Angus. I think I read somewhere that a black Saler qualifies.
You all seem to be forgetting Red Angus. Considering some findings mentioned in the link, the 51% hide being black thing seems rediculous. Another breed that appears quite similar to Red Angus is Limousin, with the Limousin being somewhat taller. My dad raises both breeds on his hobby farm.
This next part is purely my opinion, but I would say that if you are buying beef based on an Angus sticker chances are you are just paying more for marketing. It’s much more important to find a good butcher or meat counter, than to rely on a sticker.
Thank goodness this is about cows. I thought it might have been about someone’s beef with a manic Australian guitarist.
It’s ridiculous, not rediculous. In any case, it’s immaterial whether you think it’s ridiculous or not; that’s the standard, as set by the USDA, the governing body behind the Certified Angus Beef program.
Unfortunately, it’s true that there’s a lot of mediocre beef around these parts. Too many people just want cheap meat. The only way to get top quality stuff is to seek out a particularly good butcher - who are few and far between.
(And it wouldn’t surprise me at all if Argentinian beef is better. 
)
Bah… I worry about getting the two links right and fall into a spelling error instead. Typical. :smack:
I’m not disputing what the standard is for Certified Angus Beef as set by the USDA. I am saying that there is at least one thing in the standard that makes no sense. I’m also saying that a person (especially those fighting ignorance) needs to use some common sense. The OP mentions how big the use of the “Angus” buzzword has become in the last year or so. Does anyone really think the Angus populations have grown that much in the last year? Common sense would say that a lot of people are just paying more for the same thing that they used to get, only now it has a sticker on it.
In the case of fast-food “Angus Beef”, yes, you’re absolutely right, as one of my earlier quoted links indicates. However, buying the brand name Certified Angus Beef arguably gets you a superior product–which is the whole point behind the CAB program.
The Master has commented on this issue. McDonald’s gets lean cuts from dairy cattle and adds in “beef flank” cuts from steers to make their patties taste less like dried cardboard.
I’ve had Kobe beef, in Japan in the 60’s, and I’m here to tell you it was damned tasty and tender. Tender is a big one with me. If I want to gnaw, I’ll get some jerky, which I also like.
I saw one foodie say Kobe beef was over rated. I disagree wholeheartedly.
But that was forty (sheesh) years ago. :eek:
I read that link. There are terms being thrown around carelessly and repeated in the quoted post above.
A steer is a castrated bull. It does not specify if the animal is a beef or dairy breed. It has nothing directly to do with meat tasting like cardboard. What it probably does indirectly indicate is the age of the animal. I’m going to make some guesses here based on observations of my dad’s hobby farm. The growth of cattle seems to slow somewhere around 18 months. That would put the ideal age for butchering a steer somewhere between 14-20 months. In any case, it should be under 2 years.
Some quick web searching is showing that a typical Holstein (the black and white breed that most think of) cow starts producing milk around age 2 and is generally slaughtered around age 6. I think that is actually early compared to what I’ve seen in some diary farms in the Cheddar State. Regardless, that would still put an average cow 4 years older than an average steer when slaughtered.
I agree that you will generally get a nicer steak from a beef breed. However, if the animal is butchered at a young age, a lot less people would be able to tell the difference between beef or dairy breeds. Even fewer people would notice any difference in hamburger. I don’t think the animal being a cow or steer would matter if they were both slaughtered at the same age. I believe it’s the age of the animal more than anything else that makes the difference in typical grocery store or fast food meat.
Just as some added notes. I base my above comments on having tasted just about all combinations. I will admit that my dad was very good at overcooking beef, so maybe there is more of a difference in steaks than what I’m giving credit. As far as ages of beef cattle, my dad has a very nice Limousin cow that is around 10 years old and still having calves. His beef steers are usually born in the spring and sold for slaughter in the fall a year later, so about 18 months old. He sells to friends and relatives mostly.
If you’ve made it this far, I guess the thing that I want to make clear is that you should go by what you taste. Find a good butcher or grocery store with a good meat counter. Let the taste decide for you if that sticker is worth it. To me it’s just marketing.
Here’s another link with some cattle information.
Don’t buy your beef because of a marketing campaign. Buy it because you like it and you know what you’re getting.
I tend to agree with those who say Angus beef tastes better. Most Americans like a little extra fat in their beef to give it flavor. But if you’re looking for healthy, you’d probably want a lower-fat meat. Some folks go with buffalo (well, bison, really) or some completely different critter. I’m mighty fond of elk meat. A good beef option for those who like leaner meat is Corriente. I got some of them a few years ago, and they’re both tasty and lean.
Remember, too, that the breed often doesn’t matter as much as the feed. I’ve never fed my cattle anything I didn’t grow here on my own property, except for some “bull developer” supplements for the youngsters.
If you have a big enough freezer and you want good beef, try going to the 4-H or FFA auction at your local county fair (or a nearby county, if yours is too urban). You can pick up an animal that’s been hand-raised and well-fed, and there are professionals around to answer your questions. Not only that, you’re supporting a good program for kids.