Ranking Meats
Consumers having experience with cooking steaks would know that a marbleized (lines and patterns of fat on a steak) piece of steak delivers much greater taste as compared to a leaner cut. An obvious choice after the fact would be a Ribeye. That is not to say that other cuts such as Sirloins or Striploins aren’t worth buying. It all really depends on the marbleization score or the grade meat has.
The Americans and Japanese — being the nations with some of the best beefs — developed two separate systems to rate their beef.
USDA Rating
Standing for United States Department of Agriculture Rating, it has three categories which divides the beef raised in United States and grades them accordingly.
USDA Select
This is the lowest of the three grades of beef ratings US has. You will very likely find these at the average grocery store. Steaks with this grade are lean and would only cater to a person looking to use the beef for some other purpose such as stir fry or roast beef.
USDA Choice
These can be found on those special days at the grocery store. They have some marbling, and are cheap as well. Most people buy these for cooking at get togethers or for grilling. These cuts are the most common at the beef section when ‘special’ tagged items are put on shelf.
USDA Prime
It is very difficult to find this cut at the average grocery store. You will need to find a butchery or some dedicated meat shop, to buy these. This is the meat lover’s usual choice as it is relatively cheap compared to other high end beefs, and it delivers an excellent taste when cooked right.
Japanese Grade Rating
Japan is famous for their strains of Wagyu beef. You may have heard of Kobé or Wagyu being some of the best and most expensive meats there are. Kobe is a city in Japan where the wagyu comes from, that’s why it’s called kobe (among other reasons, which I explain in a different post) beef. Japan’s rating comes in two types, both used in conjunction with each other.
Letter Grades
These are what you expect them to be. The letters A, B and C. You may have heard of the Triple A rated steaks. That is the japanese system being used to rate a steak. The three alphabets have 5 levels of ratings. I will list the usual ratings people see at restaurants, or at high end butchers. Some of them are not very common.
AAA, A4 or A5 Rating
As you probably already guessed, these are some of the highest ratings a steak can have. One can say that an excellent and carefully chosen USDA Prime is the equivalent of a AAA grade steak. A4 and A5 ratings can be found in wagyu and other very high BMS rated breeds. They are amazing quality and absolute amazing pieces of meat one can ever encounter. They are super expensive, and only dedicated restaurants and/or butchers carry such meat.
If you have some experience with cooking steaks and are known as the “meat person” by your family and friends, then I would recommend finding a butchery which carries AAA or USDA Prime cuts. You would enjoy cooking these steaks, and people will love them. The higher A4 and A5 are reserved for those with extreme love for meats. Also they are very hard to find.
B and C Ratings
These ratings are what the Japanese usually associate with USDA Select or Choice. While good nonetheless, high end steakhouses will not prefer to have them. Such cuts can be found if you go to have beef Ramen, or AYCE Japanese/Korean BBQs.
It is not preferred that you use these for steaks, as they are very lean, or have no outstanding taste of their own. The cattle with such grade is raised primarily for bulk orders to places where more emphasis is on the sauces, spices and other additions to the dish besides the meat.
BMS Grade
Standing for Beef Marbleization Score, it compares the beef to fat ratio among various other things to give meats scores. It ranges from 3-12, as beef with a lower than 3 score doesn’t exist. BMS ratings are hard to find for steaks as no butchery, and/or grocery store lists them on their products unless it is above 7.
BMS 3-5
This is the lowest rating. Such scores are given to very lean pieces of meat which are used in various dishes. These ratings can be associated with USDA Select or Choice pieces. Such a rating is not preferred for cooking steaks.BMS 5-7
These are very decent pieces of meat. It is advised that one must try to find these from butchers or grocery stores as these are relatively cheap and budget friendly pieces of meat. One can either use them for cooking other dishes or make steaks. AAA and USDA Prime rated steaks have scores in this range, going up to 7+.BMS 8-9
At this point one must realize the new realm of meat they are about to enter. This is one of the most carefully raised, fine and tender meats one can encounter. No grocery store will carry meats with this rating as they are exotic meats originating from Australia, Germany, New Zealand and Japan among other various countries. It is extremely difficult to find this BMS rating on a non-wagyu breed. These are the A4 rated steaks. One must also note that due to such high percentage of fat in these steaks, it is not an ordinary piece of meat. It is expensive, and hard to come by. Also it can be difficult to consumer an entire 200g piece as it is quite filling.BMS 10-11+
These ratings are only associated with the holy grail of meat: Pure Japanese Wagyus. Meats with this rating are all A5 rated as well, extremely expensive and only select steakhouses carry them with almost 500% markup. Unless you have very deep pockets, or are a meat enthusiast, it is advisable that you stay clear of such meat because if you ruin it, you will likely regret it. Such meat is usually served in small amounts, to highlight or add to the culinary experience at high end restaurants. It is recommended that if you do buy such a piece, you should also buy a large USDA Prime in order to make sure your guests are fed.