Marbling Matters

Marbling Matters

I’m KayDee Gilkey with today’s Open Range.

Marbling is small flecks of fat found within beef muscle and can be seen in meat cuts. Marbling has a strong beneficial effect on juiciness and flavor and may also have a positive effect on tenderness.

Daryl Tatum, Colorado State University meat scientist, talks about the important role marbling plays in an beef eating experience as shown by a recent taste panel survey.

Tatum: “We keep finding that same result -- as fat content went up, marbling levels went up, preference for flavor went up.”

The research found that beef with modest to moderate marbling, the threshold for premium choice brands, the chance for a good eating experience is 82 to 88 percent. That is a vast difference in comparison to low choice at 62 percent or select at 29 percent chance of a good eating experience.

Because consumers often purchase steaks or other muscle cuts as a splurge, it needs to be tender and taste good.

Tatum: “They don’t buy it as a cheap source of protein. It’s not why they are eating beef. Particularly in this country where people are use to eating grain-finished product, and prefer the taste of that. It really kinda of boils down to two things: how tender is it and how flavorful is it. If it is pretty tender, and doesn’t have any tenderness issues -- tenderness is really, really, important -- but if it is pretty tender or some products are similar in tenderness then flavor becomes a huge, huge driver.”