How to Buy Meat (Part II) 1970

people will ask me what is the very best Stak to buy and I suggest that they buy a Porter House USDA prime because with a porter house actually there's two stakes in one if you were to cut out the small round section the tenderloin you'd have a filet minan the this larger loin eye portion if you cut that away from the bone it would be a loin strip steak some places call it a New York strip steak or a Kansas City strip steak then another steak that's certainly nice for family meals or when you're entertaining because it's a nice large size steak is this one a flat bone sirloin and this long flat bone this is the most tender of all your sirloin steaks you notice that this is cut thick a good inch and a half thick and I'd like to suggest that in buying steaks any steak that you buy you'll have it cut at least an inch in thickness you'll get much better results in cooking and of course with this steak being USDA Choice a high quality grade you can be broiled or pan broiled so we'll just put it on the broiler pan ready to go in the broiler and whenever you're handling meat or handling steaks be sure to use tongs so that you don't puncture the meat because in using tongs to handle the meat treat it with tender loving care now another steak that's delicious for broiling or for cooking Outdoors is a beef ribeye steak this has a well developed flavor also you'll notice that this is cut about an inch and a half thick These are nice boneless steaks for broiling or as I said for cooking out of doors now for economy you might like to try a blade chuck steak such as this one this is good for broiling or cooking on the outdoor grill if it's prime or choice or another economical cut is this full cut round steak and you the round steak has several different sections all of which can be prepared in different ways and you can select in prime or choice now here's a booklet entitled how to buy beef steaks which illustrates for you all of the popular retail Cuts as you see them in the meat counter all the popular Stakes some of the ones I've been talking about others included you can request a single free copy of the booklet by writing to agriculture TV Washington DC zip code 20250 now if you select wisely and prepare your Stakes properly you'll be a short of delectable sizzling Stakes just like this one in the broiler if you've considered buying meat in quantity or to stock your home freezer you might have had a few questions along the way and there are basic considerations to make in buying for a freezer for example the amount of freezer space that you have available then the amount of meat that your family can use within a reasonable period of time the type of meat cuts and quality of meat that your family prefers and also the amount of money that you can spend all at one time now in addition to these basic considerations there are several different ways to buy or Alternatives in buying you can buy in carcass form like a whole side side of beef and A good rule of thumb to follow here is that if you buy an entire side like this you'll get 25% steaks 25% roast 25% stewing beef and grinding beef and 25% waste bone and fat so there's all of that to take into account then if you'd like to buy just a hind quarter this section of the side of beef you'll get some of the more tender cuts like porterhouse steak and sirloin steak but this will cost about 15 to 20 cents per pound more than this portion the 44 now the 44 has The Delectable rib roast but it also has some of the less Tender Cuts Like the Chuck which it takes up about 50% of the four quarter so there are all of these considerations to make in buying a four quarter or buying a hind quarter then if you're limited on freezer space You may wish to consider buying by wholesale cut and by wholesale cut for example uh here's a beef short loin where you get your Porter House T-Bone and Club steaks or another wholesale cut would be um a pork loin you can have pork chops or pork loin roast cut just as you wish or how about a leg of lamb or a couple of legs of lamb have the sirloin chops cut off the leg and use the remaining portion of the leg for a leg of lamb roast so you can buy in carcass form you can buy by wholesale cut and then there's another alternative to consider and that's uh buying retail Cuts very often the supermarkets will have specials on various retail cuts and you can buy according to family preference you can buy different steaks when they're on special at the supermarket or there are always delicious roasts that are on special from time to time that you can buy for your family like this beautiful beef rib roast and there's certain guidelines on your meat cuts to help you in buying for example your round inspection stamp which assures you of a wholesome meat product then the USDA quality grade stamp that tells you you're buying a certain degree of quality then there's a yield grade stamp that tells you the percentage of usable lean meat uh in a carcass so it's very important to know about the stamps on the meat cuts uh to help you as guidelines in buying in fact there's so much to know in buying for a freezer there's so many factors to consider and the US Department of Agriculture has published a booklet entitled how to buy meat for your freezer it's a very helpful and informative booklet covers be be pork and lamb has identification charts of all three and even has a chart to show you how to figure the retail value and compare the cost with retail prices and you can write for a single free copy of the booklet by requesting it from agriculture TV Washington DC zip code 20250 as I say it's a very informative booklet and I hope you'll send for it [Applause] [Applause] buying meat is an important job for any Homemaker you know we spend about 25 cents out of every food dollar for meat so it's very important from that standpoint also meat is a food that we all like especially when it's tender and juicy and flavorful and whenever you're buying meat to prepare a beautiful entree such as this it's important that you know about two things in particular about the meat quality and then it's important that you know about the cut of meat that you buy now to talk first about quality there are the USDA grades for meat to help you in buying this roast is graded USDA choice and you can see the little purple Shield shaped grade stamp on the outside fat covering this tells you that you're buying a certain degree of quality also it assures you of a of buying consistent quality because this rib roast is going to be just as tender and juicy and flavorful if you buy it today or if you buy it two weeks from now when you buy by quality grade so the grade stamps or uh the grades are there to help you in selecting now these are the top three grades that you'll find most often in today's Supermarket the top quality grade USDA prime and then this one which is the most popular and one which you're most familiar with USDA Choice you'll find this all over the country uh in today's meat counter and the third quality grade USDA good and very often a store will offer two grades if you were going to buy a beef roast to prepare as a pot roast you went in the store and there was USDA choice and USDA good available and this one being a USDA Choice blade check roast and this roast being a USDA good blade cheuck roast and this one selling for a few cents less per pound than this now if you're going to prepare it as a pot roast why not buy the USDA good for a few cents per pound less because the way you cook it cooking it slowly and adding liquid you're going to tenderize it the way you cook it so it's to your advantage to uh choose the grade according to how you're going to uh cook the particular cut that you select so the grades do help in buying you see now meat grading is strictly voluntary it's a service that's provided by the US Department of Agriculture and it's provided by the request of Meat Packers and others who pay a fee for the service and a specially trained Federal meat grader uh judges the quality of the meat and then rolls the purple Shield shaped grade stamp all along the back side of a carcass and across the shoulder and up the brisket and he rolls the grade stamp this way so that it appears on the outside fat covering of your retail Cuts now this roast you can see the purple Shield shaped grade stamp on the outside fat covering of the roast and um this is what tells you the quality of meat that you're buying so I say it represents a certain degree of quality and also assures you of consistent quality now all not all meat is grated only uh beef and calf and ve and lamb are grated for Quality pork is not grated now in addition it's important to know the various cuts of meat that you buy and how to properly prepare them because the cuts will vary uh within the animal for example in a side of beef you have the more tender cuts along the center back portion of the side of beef and then in this front section the Chuck you have your shoulder and blade cuts which are less tender and then in the back section in the round you have your round steak and cin tip roast also less tender so you have to prepare according to cut and as I say the cuts will vary in tenderness within uh one animal or within a side of beef now there are booklets to help you that have been published by the US Department of Agriculture one entitled how to buy beef roast the other how to buy beef steaks and in each of these booklets there's an identification chart in the center fold illustrates all of the popular retail Cuts just as you see them in the meat counter and you can write for your single free copy of each write to staks and roast agriculture TV Washington DC zip code 20250 and you'll find with the help of these booklets that you'll be a much wiser Shopper at the meat counter and you can serve your meat cuts with pride a beautiful delectable beef rib roast this is certainly suitable for for special family dinners or special dinner guests and this particular roast has a quality grade of USDA choice so it has a high degree of quality and it's a very tender cut of beef and it can prepar be prepared by oven roasting the dry heat method of cookery you simply place the roast in a shallow roasting pan like this set it on the rib bones you see these rib bones form a natural r on the underside and then insert your meat thermometer in the very center of the lean because it's this meat thermometer that assures you of getting the desired degree of denness and now it's ready to go in the oven and we'll put the roast in the oven at a temperature of 325° and whether you're cooking a beef rib roast like this one or any roast a pork roast leg of lamb roast a beef chuck roast if you'll cook your meat at a lower oven temperature you'll get much better results in cooking also if you use a meat thermometer for all your roast then you'll always be assured of getting the desired degree of dness now I mentioned that that rib roast was USDA Choice well the very top quality grade is this one USDA prime and the little Shield shaped grade stamp on the outside fat covering tells you that it's USDA prime the letters USDA and the grade name and you see with prime there's an abundant amount of marbling in the lean meat and this is the very best in beef quality then the next quality grade is this one USDA Choice also a high quality grade I might add and this is what you find most often in the supermarket but each one of these grades represent a distinct level of quality now another roast that's certainly good for family meals another delectable beef roast is a blade Chuck and this blade chuck roast is also USDA choice and in the top three grades this can be oven roasted or prepared by the dry heat method of cookery like your rib roast so this roast we would place on a rack in a shallow roasting pan and then insert the meat thermometer in the very center of the lean portion of the roast put it in the oven at 325° same temperature as the rib roast now for more economical meals perhaps you'd like to serve your family a fresh beef brisket such as this one also GR USDA choice or perhaps a shoulder arm roast both of these Cuts have a high percentage of lean meat small amount of bone small amount of outside fat but being a less tender cut this shoulder arm for example should be prepared by the moist heat method of cookery you put it in a roasting pan on a rack and then add liquid and the liquid that you add you can use water you can use various vegetable juices or fruit juices and after you add the liquid you simply put a cover on the roasting pan put it in your oven at 300 to 325° and this is pot roasting a less tender cut of beef now another beef roast that's certainly good for family meals is this beautiful sirloin tip roast has a lot of good lean meat it's also grated USDA choice this is sometimes called a loin end uh roast or round and roast but this is another one that's certainly good for family meals I've only mentioned a few of the many popular beef roasts here today but you may want to study more of them and this booklet that's been put out by the US Department of Agriculture entitled how to buy beef roast the booklet has an identification chart in the center fold it also has illustrations of all the PO of the popular retail Cuts just as you see them in the meat counter now you can write for a single free copy of the booklet by requesting it from agriculture TV Washington DC zip code 20250 then the next time you go to the meet counter be sure you look for the purple Shield shaped grade stamp on the meat that you buy as your Assurance of quality [Music] you know it's easy to be popular when you serve your family steak but the real trick is to be economical as well uh that may sound a little bit contradictory but it can be done and it can certainly be done with this versatile cut this first cut of the blade chuck roast now this is a very popular cut of beef among American consumers and many families like it prepared as a pot roast and in preparing it as a pot roast that means cooking it cooking it with moist heat adding vegetables as it's cooking the vegetables that you like uh but this is a very versatile cut and can certainly be used in different ways like most all of the beef that I buy this roast uh is USDA choice and USDA choice this little purple Shield shaped grade stamp on the outside fat covering represents a certain level of quality now for a very special occasion uh if I wanted the ultimate in quality then I would select USDA prime which is the top quality grade or if I wanted to pot roasted like this or cut it all up into stewing beef and make a nice beef stew then I would select USDA good the next quality grade below USDA Choice uh you know beef grading is a voluntary service of the US Department of agriculture's Consumer and marketing service and almost all of the beef that you buy in the retail meat counter is graded for Quality two of using this versatile cut let me show you where it comes from in a site of beef the first cut of the blade Chu is right next to the rib and very tender riye section in the rib extends into the FR of the blade Chuck and you can see with these actual meat cuts your rib and this very tender riye section where you get your tender broil ribeye steaks and it extends into this first part of the Chuck so in selecting this particular roast that's what you want to ask for the first cut of a blade chuck roast now it's very easy to cut this the first thing you want to do is simply remove the rib bone along the back side you want to cut it as close to the bone as possible and then right next to the rib bone is this very tender riye section and this is where you get your boneless broil and very tender steaks follow the natural seam and take out this very tender part then let me turn this over and show you how it looks just like that then you simply cut it into two for two thick broil very tender rib eye steaks now this section of the roast this is the less tender part of the roast and it can be prepared as a small pot roast or you could cut it up into stew for stewing beef now with this entire cut let me show you what I did very quickly took away the rib bone cutting as close to the bone as possible then following the natural seam cut out the very tender riye section then this less tender part this can be used for stewing beef or as a small pot roast now if you'd like more information on the how to of using this versatile cut or other cuts of beef why not write for this very convenient booklet how to buy beef steaks and its companion how to buy beef roasts simply write to agriculture TV Washington DC zip code 20250 so the next time you're shopping to please your family you can also shop to please your pocketbook by Buy trying this very versatile cut of the blade cheuck roast and then you can enjoy good eating [Music] beautiful isn't it you know a steak like this should be labeled handled with care and Handle With Care means just the right amount of cooking the right amount of time in the broiler or cooking over charcoal and also just the right amount of seasoning well the shield shaped quality grade mark this USDA Choice stamp on this sirloin steak speaks of a history of caring because to qualify for the choice grade this beef came from a young well wellfed and well cared for beef animal also to qualify to be graded for Quality it first had to be inspected for wholesomeness now this quality grade stamp represents a certain level of quality also it assures you of buying consistent quality and almost all the beef that you find in the retail meat case today is graded for Quality you see grading is a voluntary service of the usda's consumer and marketing service well this sirloin stake is USDA choice but if I wanted to select a sirloin for a very special occasion then I'd select the top quality grade USDA prime a sirloin such as this one and as I just mentioned each one of these quality grades represents a distinct level of quality now one other variation to the sirloin is this top sirloin it's a boneless cut and very often you'll find top sirloin merchandised in the meat counter just as you see it here also it might be a little bit higher priced per pound it's a very tender very boneless cut and it's one variation of the sirloin steak now one other point about um selection of your steak be sure that you get it cut at least an inch thick preferably an inch and a/ qu to an inch and A2 this particular steak is an inch and 1 half thick and as large as it is would easily serve 5 to seven people now if you had it cut say 2 in thick then it would serve up to eight adults and a sirloin steak this size is certainly nice for a very special uh dinner party or if you're having a special family dinner because it's such a nice large convenient size now to broil the steak you simply put it on the rack in your broiling pan and then be sure to judge the distance between the top of the steak the surface and your element of heat now a steak like this this is about an inch and a half thick and we'd want about 3 in between the top and the surface of heat A good rule of Thum for every inch of thickness between the top of the steak and your source of heat and now it's ready to go in the broiler the sirloin is only one of many tender and delicious steaks for broiling and if you'd like more information on selecting and preparing these steaks write for the con convenient booklet how to buy beef steaks simply write to agriculture TV Washington DC zip code 20250 now after that steak is cooked and of course seasoned after cooking then you want to garnish it properly make it very very attractive and in this suggestion I'm serving since there are several different sections to the sirloin why not slice it in thin diagonal slices like this and then serve a slice from the various sections to the people whom you're serving and then always remember steak time is pleasure time [Music] my guests will really like that a nice thick steak sirloin steak broil to Perfection you know you can hardly go wrong anytime with any cut of steak but there are other cuts of steak that are certainly delectable for broiling such as a porterhouse steak or a nice thick T-bone steak or a rib steak the boneless rib eye and then of course you have a strip loin steak or a nice fet minan there are all sorts of wonderful broil very tender steaks and also very good for cooking over charcoal in selecting these steaks quality is very very important and you have three quality grades to select from uh USDA prime the very top of the line the ultimate in quality then USDA Choice which you find most often in the meat case of your supermarket and the third USDA good and each one of these represents a distinct level of quality and in buying by quality grade of course you're assured of consistent quality uh also all the meat that is graded in the supermarket this is done by voluntary service of the US Department of Agriculture so not all beef is graded now let's look at all of these beautiful steaks such as this Porter House you know very often people ask me what is the best steak to buy and I suggest a porter house because really there are two stakes in one this small round section the tenderloin and then if you were to cut away the larger portion you'd have a strip steak let me show you like this if you were to cut away the small round part your filet Manan the tenderloin and take away this larger part cut it away from the bone and nice boneless strip steak and of course both very very tender for broiling now just a note of interest on the porterhouse steak you know Back in the New York of the 1800s there was a Mr Martin Morrison who had a restaurant called porter house and at his restaurant he served Porter a dark brown beer and then he highlighted his menu with a delicious delectable beef steak which New Yorkers associated with the name Porter house so the name stuck and that's how we know Porter House steak today they very closely related to the Porter House is the T-bone steak and the main difference between a T-bone steak and the Porter House is the size of the tenderloin it's much smaller in the T-bone but you have the same shape of bone then also in the same family of staks is the club stake The Tender Loin has disappeared and you have this very large Tender Loin ey section this is a nice individual size steak for broiling then a sirloin steak such as I'm cooking right now this is a a convenient large size for serving several people for a special family occasion or dinner guests then if your family likes a rib roast they'll certainly like rib steak if this were two ribs thick it would be a roast this is only one rib in thickness certainly very tender for broiling or cooking over charcoal and then the Boneless ribeye steak also perfect for broiling or cooking Outdoors so you really have quite a selection to to make uh in selecting any of these delectable Stakes well let's take a look at the sirloin and see how it's doing just beautiful and if you'd like more information on the sirloin or any of these Stakes that I've been talking about I'd suggest you write for this convenient booklet entitled how to buy beef steaks you can obtain it by writing to agriculture TV Washington DC zip code 20250 and in select ing the just right steak for your special occasion remember that steak time is pleasure time [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] for a menu variety and a change of pace your friends and family will welcome broiled lamb especially if you have nice thick juicy rib chops like these you know lamb is a pleasure to serve anytime and anytime could be breakfast lunch or dinner wouldn't these nice thick rib chops be good for a hearty High prot protein filled breakfast with such favorites as baked eggs hot English muffins and maybe orange marmalade now all of the Lamb cuts are very very tender and they're all suitable for broiling for roasting or pan broiling as I'm doing with these rib chops these rib chops are USDA choice in quality and in buying by quality grade you are assured of buying consistent quality or USDA prime the top of line assures you of the ultimate in quality in buying by quality grade remember you're assured of consistent quality and also buying high quality now not all lamb is graded since grading is a voluntary service of the US Department of Agriculture now in selecting lamb it's important also to select nice thick cuts at least an inch and a quarter or an inch and a half thick those rib chops that I'm cooking are an inch and a half in thickness well you have such an array of lamb cuts to select from also all tender for broiling roasting or pan broiling such as lamb arm chops or lamb blade chops then other favorites include these lamb rib chops such as I'm cooking now or favorites such as lamb loin chops sirloin chops also leg steaks and all of these cuts are certainly suitable for broiling pan broiling or uh any of these would be suitable for roasting now for an economy suggestion let me suggest a leg of lamb this is an entire leg with the Sirloin on and you can simply ask your meatman to slice your sirloin chops at least an inch thick off the end of this leg then you can use the remainder of the leg and prepare it as a roast of course if it's you SDA prime or Choice it would certainly be suitable for roasting but this is a good economy cut because you can get your sirloin chops then use the remaining portion of the leg for a roast now for serving lamb it's important to select garnishes that complement the natural delicate flavor of lamb Mint or mint jelly uh certainly compliments lamb also some of your tart jellies like cranberry or can select according to your taste and of course it's always important to make any cut of meat that when you're ready to serve it to make it very very attractive and select the garnishes that complement the cut whenever you're buying lamb remember that you will certainly add variety to your menu and also remember to ask for nice thick cuts of lamb also look for this quality Shield shaped grade mark it's just a good way to be sure of buying consistent quality [Music]