Certified Angus Beef

[TrishCT]

It seems like this stuff is in every supermarket nowadays and heavily advertised... "We only sell certified angus beef." It's also appearing on a lot of restaurant menues. Is this worth tooting a horn about? From what I can tell there is nothing outstanding about the meat. Is there some kind of cache' I am missing?

[tommy]

i'm extremely interested in what people think about this. i get sucked into the angus thing for the most part. although i think there was some discussion recently on it.

[Fat Guy]

I'm always confident that, when purchasing CAB, I'm going to get a piece of meat that is "high choice." The sum total of everything CAB does (limits on breeds, special inspection standards, etc.) means that -- according to the company and confirmed by my experience -- a piece of CAB Choice beef is going to be from the top 35% of the USDA Choice range. The USDA Choice range is far too big a range to be meaningful, because it includes beef that could pass undetected at a good steakhouse and beef that's pretty mediocre. So CAB is a guarantee of a certain standard, whereas randomly selected supermarket beef could be worse or could be better -- but there's no way to tell. I think what you'll find is that CAB (with the exception of the CAB Prime program for steakhouses) is an upper-middle market beef brand. In other words, it's not an indication that you're getting the best, but it's an indication that you're getting much better than average.

[beans]

I think the only beef my employing restaurant serves has always been CAB. Here's some paraphrased info from a bunch of their literature I always seem to have floating around on my desk:

Features:

Angus being a breed of cattle that are traditionally the beef industry's recognized quality leader.

The beef must meet eight stringent standards that ensure superior taste, some of which: modest or higher degree of marbling, specifically medium to fine marbling texture. (coarse marbling=bad)

More of the "eight stringent standards:"

-From "A" maturity range of cattle (9 to 30 months) -- younger cattle produce superior colour, texture, firmness and tenderness

-USDA Yield Grade 3 or leaner, with Grade 1 being the leanest.

7 out of 100 cattle meet these rigid standards

Benefits to the Consumer for choosing CAB:

Consistency. Perfect marbling, maturity and leanness = excellent flavour.

I hope some of this helps and isn't too propaganda like....

edit: clarity

Edited April 13, 2004 by beans (log)

[Anna N]

We almost always splurge on CAB when we want steak and never regret it. But, we have visions of very unusual looking cows producing this beef since we have never seen anthing other than top-of-the-line steaks and roasts labelled CAB - hmmmmm - guess the rest of the cow ends up in the supermarket case unremarked.

[hannnah]

Angus being a breed of cattle that are traditionally the beef industry's recognized quality leader.

Not to put too fine a point on it, that's marketing BS. It's unlikely anyone would be able to pick "Angus" out of a lineup of equivalent graded meat - it all looks the same once the skin's off, and any of the other traditional ("British") breeds such as Hereford or Shorthorn provide the same approximate level of marbling and fat cover. There's currently a lot of research going on to identify genetic markers for tenderness and marbling, and from the preliminary results, there's not a significant genetic difference between Angus and the other two.

The beef must meet eight stringent standards that ensure superior taste, some of which:  modest or higher degree of marbling, specifically medium to fine marbling texture.  (coarse marbling=bad)

Again, all to USDA standard - all you're paying a premium for is preselection and the Angus Association's marketing budget.

More of the "eight stringent standards:"

-From "A" maturity range of cattle (9 to 30 months) -- younger cattle produce superior colour, texture, firmness and tenderness

Approximately 82 percent of cattle slaughtered in the US in 2003 (28.8 million of 35.5 million) fit this qualification.

-USDA Yield Grade 3 or leaner, with Grade 1 being the leanest.

According to the most recent National Beef Quality Audit, 88.2 percent of cattle slaughtered are yield grade 1, 2, or 3. Again, you're paying for the marketing.

7 out of 100 cattle meet these rigid standards

Maybe 7 of 100 Angus meet these standards, but since less than half of cattle are black (and potentially Angus), that leaves another 7 on the market that meet the standards and aren't Angus.

Benefits to the Consumer for choosing CAB:

Consistency.  Perfect marbling, maturity and leanness = excellent flavour.

I'll give them consistency. And everyone in the industry admires their marketing. It just isn't quite as wonderful as they're trying to paint it for the average consumer.

[beans]

Gee, thanks for deconstructing that hannah.

[Fat Guy]

Hannah, can you deconstruct my assessment above? I want to make sure I've got it right, or know I've got it wrong.

[hannnah]

Hannah, can you deconstruct my assessment above? I want to make sure I've got it right, or know I've got it wrong.

I think the preselection stuff is legitimate to a certain extent - the USDA standard for CAB is Prime and the top 2/3 of Choice beef - not 35% of Choice.

The problem is, there are multiple standards out there in the supermarkets. Excel, Farmland, and Tyson's all have their own "Angus Choice" programs, which have lower standards for yield grade and carcass size than the Association's program. It depends on how scrupulous your supermarket's meat department is being - they're not supposed to slap the logo:

on anything that doesn't come out of the Association program. That doesn't mean it doesn't happen. But yes, even though the other companies aren't using the full CAB standard, they are doing a certain amount of yield grade and marbling preselection, and that does take some of the guesswork out of the equation, even though it's not quite a guarantee of top 1/3 Choice.

As far as the breed selection thing - well, even the Angus Association admits that they're not certifying live animals, and that it's animals that "appear to be Angus-type" at the time they're sold that are put in the initial group to be considered.

Theoretically, assuming a Wagyu (Kobe-type) breeder ran his calves through the sale at the local stockyard, they'd be flagged as CAB-potential because they're black. Not that any self-respecting Wagyu breeder would do that, since Wagyu's fetching an even higher premium than CAB-potential, but they could - no one's asking for registration certificates.

I'd be comfortable with calling anything labeled as "Angus" in whatever form a reasonable assurance of Choice plus the marbling/yield grade criteria - although I'd say "middle market and up" rather than "upper middle market." And, to be fair, a properly conducted comparison study did find that the CAB steaks were tenderer than run-of-market Choice or Select, in part due to those additional selection criteria.

[TrishCT]

Thanks for the lesson, very interesting.

Would that mean that the best bet for CAB is steaks with marbling, i.e. sirloins, and that for something like cube steaks the designation is less significant?

[hannnah]

Thanks for the lesson, very interesting.

Would that mean that the best bet for CAB is steaks with marbling, i.e. sirloins, and that for something like cube steaks the designation is less significant?

Absolutely. Cube steak is cubed because it's from parts where the marbling isn't a factor - it needs the mechanical tenderization to be easily eaten as a cutlet. The certification's also kind of useless for ground beef - you're not going to benefit from the marbling, just from whatever fat has been intermixed to bring it up to the percentage at which it's being sold.

The selection for marbling might possibly make a difference in flavor in ground sirloin for something like steak tartare, but I wouldn't buy preground beef for that anyway.

[auntdot]

Have to agree with FM.

Where we usually purchase CAB we get a very good to fine cut of beef, far better than most choice we get at that supermarket or other local chains.

Perhaps it is the buyers for the supermarket but believe we are getting the high end of the choice.

[paul o' vendange]

Angus being a breed of cattle that are traditionally the beef industry's recognized quality leader.

Not to put too fine a point on it, that's marketing BS. It's unlikely anyone would be able to pick "Angus" out of a lineup of equivalent graded meat - it all looks the same once the skin's off, and any of the other traditional ("British") breeds such as Hereford or Shorthorn provide the same approximate level of marbling and fat cover. There's currently a lot of research going on to identify genetic markers for tenderness and marbling, and from the preliminary results, there's not a significant genetic difference between Angus and the other two.

This is all interesting, and timely for me. I am considering this very thing for my own startup. I have never used Highland beef, but from discussions with other chefs and with our purveyor, fits some nice quality parameters I am looking for. Will have to see, of course, cook with it and see how our guests take to it. Also looking at Longhorn.

Nice discussion.

Paul

[bleachboy]

This is the key. You're eating "Certified Angus Beef® Brand" beef. Just because you're eating "Iowa Pride®" brand pig, doesn't mean it's from Iowa or that anyone's actually proud of it. It's just the brand name. It's all marketing!

[beans]

See that's where I fail to believe an "It's all marketing." catch all.

As far as consistency in a quality and flavourful product, our local purveyor Blue Ribbon Meats, stand behind the product. If a guest ordered a CAB product and were displeased in anyway with it, they guarantee a double refund for that piece of beef. It hasn't happened, yet.

I guess they've got to be doing something right.

[lleechef]

CAB dry aged strip loins are the best.....with their cover of green fur......but underneath the meat is succulent!

[FistFullaRoux]

This is the key. You're eating "Certified Angus Beef® Brand" beef. Just because you're eating "Iowa Pride®" brand pig, doesn't mean it's from Iowa or that anyone's actually proud of it. It's just the brand name. It's all marketing!

Actually, that's not quite true, the way the label is done. You could be wiping up the dog's drool with "Certified Angus Beef® Brand" paper towels.

It's like Grape Nuts® cereal, which contains neither grapes nor nuts.

[bleachboy]

See that's where I fail to believe an "It's all marketing." catch all.

As far as consistency in a quality and flavourful product, our local purveyor Blue Ribbon Meats, stand behind the product. If a guest ordered a CAB product and were displeased in anyway with it, they guarantee a double refund for that piece of beef. It hasn't happened, yet.

I guess they've got to be doing something right.

Well, no, it's probably not a catch-all, and I don't doubt that your butcher is serving you delicious beef.

However, the assertion that Angus beef is somehow tastier than other breeds of cow has only recently flown onto my radar. Hardee's and Back Yard Burger prominently advertise their use of only 100% Angus beef, a fairly recent development, and suddenly Kroger's has "Angus beef" stickers on their beef -- they used to just say "Choice" or "Select".

All this leads me to suspect that somebody in marketing looked at our Hummer-loving society, and realized that "Angus" (or "Black Angus") had a good ring to it, and decided to start pushing it, since you just can't say "Platinum beef".

[flapjack willy]

i have been selling CAB beef for sixteen years at the wholesale level. I have a lot to say, but not enough time right now. I will hold forth when I have a moment, but I do want to weigh in and dispell some of the above info. CAB is a very good product. It is the only premium beef product that is graded by federal graders, this is important because the other premium programs can produce all the "angus" cattle they want or need to market. We tell a joke about it; "hey johnny, go out back and brand somemore angus, we got a big order."

The program was started by the American Angus Association to protect and promote their breed. When the US government broardened the acceptibility criteria for Choice back in the seventies which lessened the overall quality of the Chocie grade the AAA farmers were angry. They did and do pay more for their bull sperm and their breed stock and wanted a decent return for their product. Hence, the beginning of the CAB program.

More later

[beans]

Welcome to eG flapjack willy.

More later

[hannnah]

See that's where I fail to believe an "It's all marketing." catch all.

As far as consistency in a quality and flavourful product, our local purveyor Blue Ribbon Meats, stand behind the product.  If a guest ordered a CAB product and were displeased in anyway with it, they guarantee a double refund for that piece of beef.  It hasn't happened, yet.

I guess they've got to be doing something right.

Sure, but that guarantee's from your vendor, not from the Angus Association. And again, yes, they are doing some preselection for marbling and yield grade, so you do have an increased percentage of a decent steak - especially considering some of the gray, tough, and tasteless stuff that was gracing your average restaurant table in the 70s and early 80s. They found their market niche at that time and jumped right on it. I'm just saying that they're neither the only game in town nor necessarily the best - that impression is wholly due to their marketing.

[Holly Moore]

I have found Certified Black Angus beef - specifically rib eye steaks from Philadelphia Chef's Market from, I am pretty sure, Well's Meats - to be consistantly good, and occasionally exceptional.

Ussingers uses Certified Black Angus for their premium franks. Part gimmick, perhaps, but an outstanding hot dog.

Edited April 13, 2004 by Holly Moore (log)

[hannnah]

It is the only premium beef product that is graded by federal graders

Not true. The Hereford association has a branded beef program, certified and inspected by USDA, and they're asking that the producers prove that what they're bringing to market is genetically at least half Hereford, not just that it sort of looks like it.

[beans]

They found their market niche at that time and jumped right on it.

So what's wrong with that? That's called market savvy, answering an identified consumer perceived need and launching that product platform to the identified target market. That, sorry to relay a pun, became quite a cash cow.

I'm just saying that they're neither the only game in town nor necessarily the best - that impression is wholly due to their marketing.

Again, perception is everything, especially for fickle consumers. Then factor in higher end, "luxury" product!

Product/brand identity, recognition and the creation of a commonly used household word in association with that product/service is a marketer's dream come true.

I'll have to check with the local purveyor that sells CAB, but I'm sure CAB backs up their consistent in quality, flavour and texture; satisfaction guaranteed philosophy.

I know that we proudly display the CAB sticker on our door, and at one time the logo graced a menu or two. We may have even had enameled pins and one lucky server got a logo'ed necktie (yes, I wanted it for my collection of pop culture, logos and cocktail themed ties I often have to wear for work). The logo has become a synonymous representation to our guests that we serve up a quality product.

[FistFullaRoux]

Then tell me why I never see Kobe burgers? What do they do differently?