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Carcass & Meat Quality

Guides on carcass evaluation, meat science, cuts & butchery and cooking & culinary.

Carcass Evaluation

• Backfat Over One Inch: How Excess Fat Costs Angus Carcasses CABFat cover is a necessary part of finishing, but past one inch it becomes a liability.
• Camera Grading and Angus Cross CalvesWhat USDA-approved imaging instruments measure on a carcass, and what that means for crossbred cattle.
• How to Read a Beef Carcass Data Sheet: Ribeye, Backfat and Yield GradeHot carcass weight, ribeye area, fat thickness, marbling and grades: what each number on a carcass report tells you about your cattle.
• Inside the Multipacker Supply StudyA look at what an annual review of nearly 2 million Angus-influenced carcasses can and cannot tell a producer.
• Marbling Texture: The Quiet CAB SpecificationHow much marbling a steak has is one question. How the flecks are sized and spread is another.
• What Moderately Thick Muscling MeansThe muscling requirement is judged by eye on the rail, so it helps to know what graders are looking at.
• What "Modest00" Means on a Carcass GridThe marbling score at the heart of Angus premium programs, explained for producers and buyers alike.
• Prime Share of Fed Cattle Carcasses: What It Means for Angus ProducersHow to read the Prime percentages that circulate in industry reports, and why two honest numbers can differ.
• Reading a Carcass Sheet Against the CAB SpecsHow to match the ribeye, fat and weight columns on your data sheet to Certified Angus Beef limits.
• The Ribeye Size Trade-OffWhy brands cap ribeye size and carcass weight, and why producers are paid to grow more of both.
• Understanding USDA Beef Grades: Prime, Choice and SelectQuality grades and yield grades measure different things. Here is how the grading system works and what it means at the meat counter.
• Why CAB Raised the Ribeye Area Limit to 17 Square InchesA longstanding size limit moved in 2025. Here is the reasoning and what it changes.
• Why Most Angus Carcasses That Miss CAB Miss on MarblingInsufficient marbling accounts for the large majority of misses, and that points toward selection.

Meat Science

• Angus Genetics and Fatty Acid Profiles: What Research ShowsFat composition in beef is partly inherited, which opens a door for selection but not a shortcut.
• Dark Cutters and Capillary Rupture ExplainedTwo appearance defects that keep otherwise good Angus carcasses out of premium programs.
• Marbling and Flavor: Why CAB Starts at ModestThe brand's first specification does most of the work in separating good Angus beef from ordinary beef.

Cuts & Butchery

• Beef Primal Cuts Explained: From Chuck to Round and What to Ask for on a Cut SheetA beef carcass breaks into a handful of big primal cuts, and every steak, roast and burger comes from one of them. What each part is good for and how to fill out a cut sheet with confidence.
• From Carcass to Case: Primals and SubprimalsHow a Certified Angus Beef-type carcass is divided, why the middle meats get the attention, and where the rest of the value sits.
• What Lipid Profiling Reveals About Angus BeefTwo published studies measured hundreds of fat compounds in Angus beef from different finishing systems. Here is what they found.
• Why Ribeye Limits Differ by CutA single number on the carcass sheet governs very different products once the beef is fabricated.

Cooking & Culinary

• Dry-Aged Angus Beef: Marbling, Aging and Trade-OffsDry aging concentrates flavor and costs yield, and well-marbled beef is the usual candidate for it.
• Steak Doneness Guide: Temperatures, Feel and USDA GuidanceRare to well done, what each looks like, what temperature it is and how to hit it every time with a thermometer.
• Why Chefs Specify Angus: Marbling, Texture, ConsistencyWhat a professional kitchen is really buying when the menu says Angus, and what shoppers can borrow from it.