Honest question about the availability of PRIME beef

RRP

Now we see that SAMS is trying to catch up with COSTCO and will also be selling prime beef.

It used to be said (whether true or not) that good steakhouse snapped up most the prime.

Now if SAMS and COSTCO are going to be offering it then where is all this new prime beef coming from to fuel the demand?

And how does a packing house which buys the beef on the hoof know which cows to buy that will be prime - or is it just a crap shoot?

OR does marbling come from how much and how long a cow is fed to fatten them?

Logger

Those are all good questions and I'm interested in how they will be answered.  I have a friend whos dad had a small herd that was graded Prime even before they went to be slaughtered.  It took him many years to develop this herd.

ColtsFan

Or have standards been lowered? Honest question.

Dobie

You just raise more prime stock to meet the demand. 

Hans61

Not as many steakhouses anymore 
https://youtu.be/NFbinI0ARBg

DoubleEgger

Dobie said:

You just raise more prime stock to meet the demand. 

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/05/160505223115.htm

RRP

DoubleEgger said:

Dobie said:

You just raise more prime stock to meet the demand. 

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/05/160505223115.htm

Thank you! At first when I was reading that piece there were so many "big" words which I had to look up that I was about to bale out- and then suddenly the ease of reading and understanding happened. Soooooo - it sounds like raising prime beef is doable! 

thetrim

And with@sgh getting back into the economy, he’s gonna start buying up a bunch and stop having Ringo to the half off oyster spots.  

TexasisBestest

Texas.... It all comes from Texas... #Buylocal

nolaegghead

Mother fvcking G-coupled Protein Receptor 43 (GPR 43), bitches.

HoustonEgger

Currently 8-9% of all cattle are prime - and that's increasing about 1-2% per year to keep pace with demand. This is coming from feed & breeding standards increasing
- https://www.beefmagazine.com/market-reports/cattle-grade-prime-record-pace

Cattle can be "graded" on the lot based on muscle, size or heritage ect.. but they are really graded after slaughter - when cut between the 12th & 13th ribs and graded there on the ribeye -

https://extension.unl.edu/statewide/phelps-gosper/Beef Cattle Grading.pdf

But it's not just a guy looking at the ribeye - there's a bunch of measurements that go into it as well: https://meat.tamu.edu/beefgrading/

littlerascal56

About 10 years ago, there were some local ranchers by Hill City Kansas that formed a company (Americas Best Steaks). They raise beef specifically graded as PRIME, and have a USDA inspector there every week during processing. They ship all over the US, and supply to several local steakhouse's.  This is an excerpt from their home page located at:

https://americasbeststeaks.com/

As quality-conscious beef producers, we were constantly asked: “Where can we find good beef on a regular basis?” In response, a small group of committed beef producers and consumers set out to produce the most naturally tender, juicy, and flavorful beefsteak possible on a consistent basis and at a reasonable price.

Not only was the identification of the proper mix of genetics, nutrition, health and overall management of the beef animals necessary prior to harvest, but the proper care and handling of the beef product was found to be just as important. It was concluded that dry aged steaks versus wet aged steaks provided the most consistent tenderness, flavor, texture, and overall best eating experience of all the beef products sampled.

thetrim

Brandon, FL Sam’s.