MisSteak

August 11, 2021
11:14 am

As I was digging through the latest local sales, making mad calculations on prices, and thinking about what to write today, I realized once again how little I know about the food we eat.

And it’s no wonder, not only have most of us been removed from the process of making / getting our own food and knowing where it comes from but there are also so many regulations, grading systems, and agencies involved in our food today that we paid little attention to the details.

Of course, price, value, convenience are all important factors and probably foremost on our mind when we shop for groceries but it is also important to know how food is graded.

One such grading system is for Canadian beef.

What does it mean when a beautiful stake is grated AAA, AA, A and how does this rating system help us as consumers?

The Canadian beef grading system: fulfils the primary purpose of dividing the population of cattle carcasses into uniform groups to facilitate marketing. The system provides an effective means of describing product that is easily understood by both buyers and sellers.

Although I’m not too sure how many people actually understand the system as consumers.

The purpose of this grading system is to lead to improvements in efficiency as producers have a financial incentive to modify their production methods to produce carcases that are the most desired by consumers.

Clear as mud on this grading system?

Here is a chart that helps explain the grade assessment directly related to the tenderness, juiciness, flavour, consumer acceptability, shelf life and cut yield – so you don’t make a MisSteak (okay my bad!):

And to help clarify the comparison between Canadian beef and American beef grading systems (in case you’re traveling to the US) here is this easy-to-use chart:

Now that you are equipped with new information (and to paraphrase Sir Francis Bacon “knowledge is power”), you will be better informed as to what type of meat and quality you are selecting for the right price.

Locally, Sobey’s has a great sale on AA Striploin Steaks for $9.02/lb (we did the math calculations for you: $39.66 / 2.2 = $18.03/lb. $18.03 / 2 = $9.02/lb).

And Lococo’s also has a great sale on AAA Striploin Steaks for $9.99/lb.

And we have a fantastic new recipe for you to check out as well: Steak and French Fries with ZEG Sauce.

So, pick up a few of these tasty striploin steaks (according to your beef grading preference) and enjoy them with some French fries and ZEG sauce for a meal that is simple but will taste amazing! Enjoy!

Savour the Flavour!

Click the picture for recipe