Carcass evaluation

What is carcass:-The trunk of animal (sheep ,goat ,cattle)for cutting up as a meat.

1st step in beef carcass evaluation – To determine CLASS or SEX group

Class: Based on evidences of maturity and sex condition at the time of slaughter • Steer • Bullock • Bull • Heifer • Cow • Calves and Veal

Kind: Based on evidences of maturity (but not sex condition) at the time of slaughter

Veal : meat from a bovine usually less than 3 months old.Calf:

A young pre-puberty bovine of either sex.Beef:

more advanced maturity.

Determination of kind is based on :

• lean color (major factor) • lean texture • fat character • bone and cartilage color, size and ossification • General contour of the carcass

Determination of kindVeal calf beaf

Lean color grayish pink to dark grayish pink color

grayish red to moderately red lean color

moderately red in young beef carcasses to very dark red in mature beef carcasses

Fat slightly soft, pliable fat

flakier type of fat flaky fat

Ribs narrow and very red ribs

wider ribs with less red color

Flat ribs

Bone ossification Ossified cartilages in the sacral and lumbar regions

Determination of Class

To determine the sex condition consider the following three things Pizzle eye Cod fat Udder fat

Pizzle eye:- It is a ligamentous attachment of penis to pelvis. It is seen only in males.Cod fat:- As a result of castration fat deposit in cod regionUdder fat:- It is present in heifers or cows.

Steer – 1) a male bovine that was castrated before reaching sexual maturity (puberty); (2) a carcass that does not exhibit secondary sex characteristics associated with bulls or bullocks.

BullocksAn uncastrated or latently castrated male bovine. ‘’Bullocks must be in the A skeletal maturity group, otherwise, they are classified as bulls.’’

Bulls 1) A live uncastrated male bovine; 2) A male bovine carcass in the B or older skeletal maturity group which exhibits masculine secondary sex characteristics.

Heifer A female bovine that has not calved.Cow A female bovine that has given birth to at least one calf.

Veal and Calves• Carcasses also classified as steers, heifers, and bull • But, not attained sexual maturity.

Class CharacreristicsSteer Rough and irregular shaped fat deposit in the cod region

A relatively small pizzle eye A relatively small pelvic cavity

Bullock heavy development of rounds , noticeable crests, thickly fleshed chucks large pizzle eyes rough and irregular shaped scrotal fatDarker, coarser lean texture

Bulls heavy development of rounds, crests, chucks large pizzle eyes Rough, irregular scrotal fat dark red and coarse textured lean

Heifer Smooth, uniform fat in the udder region No pizzle eye A slightly larger cavity More angular than steers, especially in the round, loin, rib, and chuck areas

Cow relatively large pelvic cavity nearly straight aitch bone (pelvis to accommodate parturition, calving) Rather large udder (usually removed during slaughter).

Weight and Dressing Percentage

Dressed weight also called carcass weight is the weight of animal after being partially butchered removing all the offals.It is also called hanging weight or (on the rail).

• Hot carcass weight Obtained on beef carcasses just before chilling • chilled carcass weight Usually calculated from hot carcass weight• Hot carcass weight is 1 to 2% higher than chilled carcass weight. Chilled carcass weight = Hot carcass weight x 0.985dressing percentage = carcass weight/ live weight x 100 Beef Carcass Grading

• U.S.D.A (U.S. Department of Agriculture) Agriculture in 1916 ist standard QUALITY GRADEIt is used to Estimate eating charecterstics,tenderness, flavor

• U.S.D.A (U.S. Department of Agriculture) in 1916 ist standard ,official gradind begin 1927 There are eight USDA Quality Grades for beef:

USDA Prime

USDA Commercial

USDA Choice

USDA Utility

USDA Select

USDA Cutter

USDA Standard

USDA Canner

Eating quality generally is most desirable for “Prime beef” and least desirable for “Canner

beef”.

Marbling= white streak of fat on meat

Marbling score =lean color ,lean texture, lean firmness

Rib eye area=meat along outer side of ribs.

QUALITYGRADE DEPEND ON

Carcass maturity age

Marbling score

Carcass maturity depend upon bone ossification in sacral, lumber ,thoracic region

CARCASS MATURITY AGE

A=9 to30 monthsB=30 to42 monthsC=42to72 monthsD=72 to96 monthsE=more than 96 months

MARBLING SCORE

abundant moderately

abundant slightly abundant moderate modest small slight traces practically devoid devoid

USDA Yield Grades It estimate beef carcass cutability, which is defined as the combined yield of closely trimmed, boneless retail cuts (%CTBRC) from the round, loin, rib and chuck. This is an estimate of the relative amount of lean, edible meat from a carcass. The five Yield Grades for slaughter cattle and beef carcasses are: USDA Yield Grade 1 USDA Yield Grade 2 USDA Yield Grade 3USDA Yield Grade4USDA Yield Grade 5

Carcass cutsBrisketThe brisket consists of the point end and the navel end. This flavoursome cut located on the underside of the animal below the chuck primal has a coarse and stringy texture. It contains the breastbone and the lower ends of ribs 1-5.

ChuckThe chuck primal cut extends from the neck to the fifth rib and includes the shoulder blade and upper arm. It contains cuts such as the blade, oyster blade and chuck tender. The texture varies from coarse to fine and so does the degree of tenderness. The chuck has plenty of connective tissues that melt when the meat is cooked.

FlankThe flank consists of a bone-less section located on the underside of the animal below the loin primal. 

LegBeef cuts from the leg are located in the rear portion of the carcass, which includes cuts such as the topside, knuckle, silverside and eye round. Cuts from the round primal are lean, but not necessarily tender.

Prime Rib (Bone-in) / Ribeye (Bone-less)The beef carcass has 13 pairs of ribs, but not all of the ribs are included in the rib primal cut. The first 5 ribs are part of the chuck cut in the front of the animal. The 13th rib is part of the loin. The rib primal contains ribs 6 through 12. A bone-less prime rib is known as the ribeye. The cuts obtained from the rib primal are very tender and contain many of the best steaks and roasts.

Rump

YEILDGRADE%

1grade=>52.4%2grade=50.0 to 52.3%3grade=47.7 to50.0%4grade=45.4 to 47.7%5grade=<45.4%

YEILD GRADE DEPEND ON12th rib backfatRib eye area% kidney; pelvic, heart fat12th rib backfat=3/4 of longitudinal length of rib muscleAva rib fat=.5Range=.15 to .80Ava rib eye area=12.8inch.sqRange=10.0 to 18.oinch.sq%KPH fat=ava 2.0%

YEILDGRADE FORMULARib eye area=LxW

2.5+(2.5X12th ribfat) _(0.32Xribeyearea)+ (0.20XKPHfat%)+(0.0038Xhot carcass wt)

The rump consists of several loose muscle layers and the large pelvic bone. It is located between the short loin and the leg and includes the hip section and ends at the socket of the pelvis.

Shin ShankThe shin consists of a large proportion of bone and a lot of white connective tissue (collagen), which makes this a tough but tasty cut. This is one of the least expensive cut and is best to use a moist, slow cooking method to produce a tender and tasty meat.

Short RibsShort rib refers to a small piece that has been trimmed of the main portion of a rib when the rib section is trimmed into smaller cuts. It is the continuation of the prime rib towards the brisket (belly). 

Shortloin (Bone-in) / Striploin (Bone-less)The short loin is the most tender of the primal cuts because the muscles in this area are the least used. The sirloin muscle is the largest muscle and the tenderloin is the smaller inside muscle. They are very lean, but usually lack the flavor of some of the tougher beef cuts that contain more fat and connective tissue.

TenderloinThe tenderloin is situated inside the carcass alongside the backbone, running from the sirloin to the rump. This meat cut is a long tapered muscle that becomes larger towards the rump; it is boneless and contains very little fat. The tenderloin is the most desirable beef cut in terms of tenderness but it is also the most expensive.