Did you know that any beef with black in the color can, and is, sold as ‘Angus’ beef?
Yes, that does include Holstein dairy cattle!
To all:
I used to work in a meat packing plant. I followed a USDA grader in the cooler and put the grade on the carcasses with a roller and an ink can filled with food grade ink. At that time there were 4 grades. Prime. Choice. Good. and utility. The select grade didn’t come until later when some do-good dieticians and politicians began worrying about consumer health.
All the grade measured was the amount of marbling/fat in the meat. Prime has the most marbling and so on.
As far as determining the breed of a carcass after the skin is off and it is hanging in the cooler, I found it impossible to tell. The only way is by the id tag put on the carcass at time of kill.
For more information. Holstein cattle are dairy. The meat is a different color as well as the fat. And, dairy carcasses are relatively easy to identify by their shape when hanging in a cooler.
An Angus is either all black or all red....unless its a cross breed.