I was overly excited when I received the May 2011 issue of BEEF Magazine in our mailbox last week and saw the cover. The magazine’s featured topic focused on value cut meats.
The front cover pictured a scrumptious skillet dish of pan-fried steak, onions, jalapeños, and colored bell peppers called Samba steak stir fry using the round tip Value Cut. The feature written by Betty Anne Redson, was pleasing news to me because I have oftentimes struggled with finding new ways to prepare meals using up the value cuts we get from our beef. For years, they were considered the “bottom of the barrel†pickin’s so-to-speak when our beef supply got low and all the favored meat cuts had been cooked up a long time ago.
I have deliberately tried to find new ways to use the less-favored cuts and challenged myself to make dishes just as tasteful with them as the popular cuts my family favors. Learning about these new cuts was just what I needed to broaden my beef cooking options and I’m confident consumers will agree.
Most consumers don’t have their own beef processed but many people do rely on consumer-friendly meat varieties of beef to save money yet still provide satiating meals made with beef for their families. The article on the muscle-profiling program is good news for consumers who regularly buy value cuts.
Funding through several checkoff programs provided an extensive initiative referred to as muscle profiling to study the chuck and round value cuts in an effort to bring these underutilized meat varieties to the forefront in a new light. The nutrition of these new cuts was also studied for leanness.
Consumers may have already noticed some of these new cuts on the market. Thirteen Value Cuts have surfaced from the initiative—eight of which are in the lean category. I was introduced to some of these new cuts when I attended the annual Women in Ag Conference last fall and was able to sample a few of the new cuts such as the Delmonico, and Denver Cut and I have had our beef processor cut Flat Iron steaks from our butcher. Consumers may have bought or seen some of the other new cuts like the America’s Beef Roast or the Boneless Country-Style Beef Chuck Ribs—which by the way I’m very excited about since I make barbeque ribs for our branding.
The availability of these along with the other eight value cuts are great new choices for the foodservice industry as well as consumers looking for something different to cook for dinner. Recipes using some of these cuts can be found at www.beefitswhatsfordinner.com.
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