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Beef & Veal
Beef & Veal
Try a restaurant quality choice steak today. You'll be glad you did!
If you are new to the concept of buying steaks online or through a mail order service, rest assured. The meat available here at Restaurant Foods At Home is most likely of a higher quality cut than at your local supermarket and even other online retailers. Meat is graded by the USDA and then placed into eight separate categories, the highest three; Prime, Choice and Select are the most common at the retail level. Restaurant Foods At Home only carries USDA Choice beef products. The chart below explains in detail the differences between the three main grades:
| USDA Prime: Prime grade beef is the ultimate in tenderness, juiciness, and flavor. It has lots of marbling -- flecks of fat within the lean -- which enhances both flavor and juiciness. |
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| USDA Choice: Choice grade beef has less marbling than Prime, but is of very high quality. Choice roasts and steaks from the loin and rib will be very tender, juicy, and flavorful |
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| USDA Select: Select grade beef is very uniform in quality and somewhat leaner than the higher grades. It is fairly tender, but, because it has less marbling, it may lack some of the juiciness and flavor of the higher grades. |
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Grading information courtesy of http://www.ams.usda.gov
When it comes to cooking or grilling your steak, everyone has their own way of doing it. But here are just a few tips: When preparing a steak, you should always trim away any excess fat from the outer edge of the meat to avoid flare ups. Whether you are pan frying, grilling, or even broiling your steak, the same rules apply when it comes to how "done" your beef is. A meat thermometer is the easiest way to determine how cooked your steak is. However, some people prefer the touch method when it comes to determining when it's time to stop cooking. The chart below explains the touch method along with the internal temperature of the 3 levels of preferred cooking.
| Doneness |
Appearance/Feel |
Temperature |
| Rare |
Meat gives easily when touched, no juices appear on surface. |
150° F. |
| Medium |
Meat feels firm but slightly springy, and juices begin to appear on the surface. |
160° F. |
| Well Done |
Meat is covered with juices and does not yield to pressure. |
170° F. |
Chart courtesy of www.fabulousfoods.com
But what if you couldn't eat all the beef you cooked up? The USDA has some guild lines when it comes to storing cooked and uncooked meat. Raw beef, roasts and steaks will hold in the refrigerator between 3-5 days and in the freezer for 6-12 months. Cooked beef of all types will hold in the refrigerator for up to 4 days and in the freezer for 2-3 months.
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