What is the most tender cut of meat?
Since you asked, I will try to explain what we don't know about TENDER MEAT, because many things that are beyond the meat grading boards control. Much of the tenderness has more to do with the handling of the host (the cow) than the aging. What happened to the herd prior to it's demise, and what happened immediately after, probably has more to do with 'Warner-Bratzler shear force test' results (the tender test) than the aging, or ahem, the price. A peaceful end is the more important than the price, aging, feeding, or packaging. Just like with people, stress makes you bitter and tough.
Sex doesn't matter either.. GASP!
Which gender of cattle is more tender than the other is always the determining factor.. is BULL.. :) If a host is fed the proper enzymes, and treated quietly and with care until the moment of .. decision, whether he or she won't matter.
As the owner of high end, Gourmet Restaurants, I spent fortunes on purchasing quality meat with the hopes of getting the most flavorful, tender meats that money could buy. Price isn't the determining factor, but what other method is there? Where you purchase your food is the only real determining factor that I can suggest.
Here are some additional neat facts that won't help you guarentee a perfect piece of meat either.. LOLLOL
Which meat cuts are tender?
Those that you pay most for, basically. But tenderness is not guaranteed by price. There will be tough meat cuts in every grade. Tough meat cannot be recognised by eye when you are buying at the supermarket. In the USA, where cattle are fed grains and other supplements to lay down extra fat within the muscle ('marbling'), consumers often choose the most 'marbled' cuts as an indication of tenderness. Yet marbling accounts for a mere 10% of the variation in tenderness. Many lean carcasses that testing has shown were tender have received lower grades because they don't have enough visible fat marbling to be classified as 'USDA choice' or higher. And yet marbling is a very poor predictor of tenderness.
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Round tip steak |
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Bottom round roast |
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Top round roast |
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Chuck tender steak |
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Chuck roll steak |
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Eye of round roast |
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Rump roast |
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Bottom round steak |
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Eye of round steak |
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From Morgan et al 1991 -tender and tough meat cuts as measured by shear force derived from the US National Beef Tenderness Survey. 'Tender' and 'tough' are grades, and the most tender cut is at the top of each column. The terminology for the cuts is American.
How do you measure 'tenderness'?
Scientists measure the force needed to shear muscles. The more force needed, the tougher the meat is. This is known as the 'Warner-Bratzler shear force test'. It's units of measurement are kilograms of force needed to shear a 1 cubic centimeter muscle sample. The other method used is a straight sensory panel test, where ordinary people eat the meat and record their perception of it's tenderness. In the table above, the most tender cut, tenderloin, had a shear force of approximately 2.6, and the toughest meat cut, top round steak, had ashear force of 5.3.
What factors affect the tenderness of the meat we buy in the supermarket?
By the time the meat is in the refrigerated display, it's tenderness - or otherwise - is largely set. Obviously, the 'best cuts' are the most tender. But even meat that should have been tender can be made tough by stress just prior to slaughter. In general, breed and sex have relatively little effect on tenderness, but pre slaughter treatments such as Vitamin D injections or medication, quiet handling and good transport conditions on the way to the killing plant, electric stunning to render the animals unconscious immediately prior to slaughter, freezing then thawing and then aging to allow muscle enzymes to break apart muscle fibers - all treatments significantly improved tenderness.