The Science Behind a Steak

Did you know that every food and drink item that you can buy in a grocery store has been through various forms of scientific testing? Whether it be for pathogens, allergens, microbial growth, flavor development, ingredient use, sensory appeal, the list goes on and on, there is a lot of science that goes into the food we eat!

The same goes for the products that you can purchase at the meat counter. Now, when I say that there is science in your steak, I don’t mean that it has been chemically altered. I mean that there has been significant testing put into place to help improve that piece of meat to provide a great eating experience and safe product for you and your family. One of those tests is Warner-Bratzler Shear Force (WBSF).

Although a long name, WBSF is a simple concept. Imagine biting into a big, juicy steak and having one of these two thoughts:

“This is so tender, it just melts in my mouth,” or “This is so tough, I feel like I’m chewing on rubber!”

Sound familiar? These two thoughts are describing the tenderness of the steak. WBSF is a measurement of tenderness. To complete this test, steaks are cooked and cores (basically bite sized pieces) are removed. The cores are then cut with a machine that measures how many kilograms of pressure it takes to cut through the piece (the force it takes to shear the core, hence the name). This represents how much pressure you would have to use to chew through the product. The lower the WBSF value, the more tender the steak. Using this information, we can find different things that can improve tenderness, whether that be a production method (think the animal’s environment it is raised in or what it is fed), a processing method (how long the product was aged, how the meat was cut, etc.) or cooking method (rare vs. well-done).

WBSF is often used alongside taste panels. It is helpful to use WBSF as it gives a definite number without being influenced by personal preference. However, taste panels are necessary because even if a machine tells us it should taste good, it’s people who need to enjoy it.

Step 1: Cook the steaks to a consistent temperature.
Step 2: Remove cores (bite size pieces), try to get a representative group from the whole steak.
Step 3: Shear the core and get the final measurement of force.

For those of you who are new to The Meating Room and haven’t read my bio, I am currently pursuing my master’s degree in meat science. Last week, our lab group spent three days running WBSF analysis. Three days, 230 steaks, 1,400+ cores to cut, all to try to find a method to improve steak tenderness and consistency for the end consumer.

This is just a tiny fragment of the science that goes into producing great tasting steak. As I continue with my project, I hope to share more of the work we are doing in the lab and to give you an insight into what a “meat scientist” really does!

The Journey to Your Table

Do you ever look down at the food that you’re having for supper and think about all the people that had to go to work to provide that meal for you? I do, and it absolutely amazes me. Just think:

Your plate.

The grocery store.

The meat counter.

Truckers to get it from the packing plant to the store.

Packing plant workers.

Farmers.

USDA Inspectors, veterinarians, livestock nutritionists, meat scientists, extension agents, feed salesmen…the list goes on and on. The meat industry in the United States directly employs over 525,000 people and indirectly employs 6.2 million people (those who are not working directly with meat but still play a role in producing the product). All of those people are devoted to producing a safe, nutritious, high quality product for you to serve to your family.

When I was younger I used to go to church camp in the summer. Before meals, we would pray and then do a short, group song. One of them that always stuck with me was as follows:

“Back of the bread is the flour,

And back of the flour is the mill,

And back of the mill is the sun, and the rain, and the maker’s will.”

This rhyme has always stuck with me and makes me appreciate all that goes into the food we eat.

Growing up on a farm I just thought of it as my family raised the livestock, a local butcher harvested the animals, we picked up the meat and our freezer was full. I never really realized how great of a blessing that was. Now that I am living 1200+ miles away from our farm it isn’t quite so simple. During my studies I have been able to tour multiple packing plants and visit with people employed in the meat department at various grocery stores. It is so cool to see the care and passion that goes into producing a high-quality product all the way from the farm, to the packing house, to the grocery store and to your kitchen table. In the following weeks I will break this down into the different phases of meat production and talk about specific practices that are done at each step to ensure a safe product ends up on your kitchen table.

So next time you celebrate a birthday with a steak, or eat a hotdog at your child’s baseball game, take a minute and think about all the hands that had to play a role to provide that meal for you. I think you’ll appreciate every bite just a little bit more.

How much meat do cattle provide?

Have you ever wondered how many pounds of beef that cattle provide? It’s a great question, and something that livestock producers and packers care a lot about:

More muscle (what becomes meat) per animal = More pounds of saleable product

So, how much meat do we get?

The average market weight (body weight of the animal the day that it ‘goes to market’, ie: when it is harvested) of beef cattle is around 1,400 pounds. As the animal goes through the harvest process, the head, hide, blood, viscera (internal organs and digestive system), and hooves are removed. At this point, what is left is referred to as a carcass.

From here, we can calculate the dressing percent of the carcass. Dressing percent is equal to the carcass weight, divided by the live weight of the animal. For cattle, this value is typically around 63%, but can vary depending on how much muscle and fat the carcass has, as well as what gender and breed the animal was. A high dressing percent means that more product is available to use.

At this point, the carcass is fabricated. This means that it is cut into large, wholesale cuts, and then into retail cuts (what you buy at the store: steaks, roasts, etc). In the agriculture industry, the amount of actual saleable product is known as the amount of yield from a carcass. This is also referred to as the percent of boneless, closely trimmed (much of the extra fat removed), retail cuts (yes, some cuts have bones that remain with the product, but many are removed). The percent yield in beef animals is typically around 65%.

So lets take a look at an example:

Say a steer has a market weight of 1350 lbs. We expect that animal to produce around an 850 lb carcass. From here, we cut the carcass into saleable product and remove excess fat and bones. We are left with approximately 553 lbs of meat.

Now, it is important to remember that all the product that is removed before we reach our final retail cuts is able to be used! Almost nothing from the animal is thrown out. Here are just a few examples of products besides meat that cattle provide us:

Hide: leather for furniture, car seats and clothing.
Bones: Used to make gelatin, used in things like jello and gummy bears.
Fat: Also known as tallow, used in production of biodiesel and in some cosmetics.
Intestines: Cleaned and sanitized and then used for casing for sausages and other processed products.

I hope this post helps answers your question about how much meat that one animal can provide us, but don’t forget, they offer us so much more!

Let’s Talk Quality

Last week we talked about meat inspection, which is based on wholesomeness and safety. Quality grade on the other hand, is focused on determining palatability; determining how tender, how juicy, and how flavorful you can expect the meat to be. While inspection is a legal requirement for all meat that will be sold and is supported by tax dollars, quality grade is optional and paid for by the packer. Whether or not quality grade is used depends on the goals of each operation.

Quality grade in beef is based on two factors:

Maturity: In order to qualify for the highest level of quality grade, the animal must be under 30 months of age. This is determined by dentition (how many teeth they have). As an animal gets older, the meat is known to become more tough and have a poorer color which is often seen as a turn off to consumers. Since the packer can choose whether to use grading, carcasses that are classified as older may be determined as a “No Roll”, meaning they won’t receive a ‘rolled on’ stamp for their quality grade. Much of the meat from this carcass will be ground for hamburger or used for jerky products, where the quality grade is not as important, rather than being used for steaks. *Important note: Even though it may not receive a quality grade, the carcass is still inspected to ensure that it is safe to eat. *

Marbling: The most important factor for determining quality is the level of marbling, or intramuscular fat (Fat that actually lies within the muscle). While cooking, this fat will melt into the meat, making it juicy, tender and very flavorful.

At the plant, the animal is ‘ribbed’, exposing the loin muscle. Here, USDA representatives from the Agricultural Marketing Service use a camera to determine the grade. Grades can range from:

Prime: Young carcass, VERY high level of marbling. Meat should be very tender, juicy and flavorful due to the high levels of fat.
Choice: Young carcass, Small to moderate level of marbling. This is the grade that is most often seen in the industry and ensures a tasty, tender product.
Select: Slight level of marbling but still from a young animal. Meat in this category may still be very tender but will be less juicy than the grades above.
Standard: Young animal but very, very little marbling.
Cutter, utility, commercial: Low grades often from older animals, 100% safe to eat but may not make a tasty steak. It is rare to see these quality grades because carcasses that would fall into this section are often not graded.

The photo on the left shows a carcass with a select grade, while the one on the right shows a choice grade. Notice the differences in marbling, or specks of fat that lie within the muscle.

To wrap this up, inspection is a legal requirement to ensure meat safety. Quality grade is optional, but often used by packers as a method to inform consumers how palatable a product will be. Quality grade is determined primarily by how much marbling is in the loin muscle and signifies how tender, juicy and flavorful the meat will be!