Beef & USDA Grading

USDA Grades of Beef; Prime, Choice & Select Grade are the most popular – even though there is another grade often used in foodservice named “No Roll” – which means that the seller did not think that their beef would make the lowest stamp roll (Select Grade) so they did not pay to have it graded. Beef that is “No Roll” may contain Select Grade as well some Choice, but never Prime – if the beef contained Prime, sellers would pay for the USDA grading in order to fetch a more premium price tag.

“No Roll” is available and you should ask what grade you are in the market for, whether you are shopping in your local supermarket, ordering in a restaurant or ordering from a licensed caterer.
Some selections of beef wouldn’t be appropriate for all uses, for example, you wouldn’t want to use USDA Prime Beef for hamburgers, unless you wanted to pay the most premium price for that burger.

Grading of beef is based on maturity and quality of the bone structure and the amount of marbling and color in the muscle of the animal. All beef is inspected by the USDA and is inspected on a pass/fail system.

Select grade is considered “good”, while Choice is “better” and Prime is considered “premium”. If you are considering a dinner for a large amount of guests and would like to provide a “Beef Tenderloin” entrée, Select grade would be a logical choice if you are considering budget constraints. You may also use other cuts of beef that may also fit into budgets for “Roast Beef” selections that may be of higher grade.

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