Onthebit":29lxcv4d said:
I am wondering about the quality of the meat produced by the dif. breeds....seems to me when I go to the store they advertise Black Angus and charge a premium for it....once it is on my plate how can I tell it is black angus and not a hereford? I used to buy meat from an organic producer who raises Belgium Blues but he bred them to angus to put back fat on them......would a black charolais taste better than a white one? With so many dif. breeds out there I am wondering if there are taste facts associated with them...I know that lots of marbling makes the meat taste better, but herefords marble supperior and why did they fall out of favor? I have 2 rather large Dexter steers in the barn, Is the black one going to taste better than the red one? (all things being equal)
First things first: Cooking can affect your eating experience, not just the quality of the beef. But
MARC has data showing the more Brahman influence in a carcass, the more likely it will be tough. The higher quality grade a carcass, the more likely it will be tender. One in four Select grade steaks will probably not be tender. I think it's one in six Choice steaks and it's
practically unheard of for a Prime grade steak to be tough.
The last time I saw a figure there were about 40 branded beef items in the supermarket containing the word "Angus" in their name. The only one that belongs to the American Angus Association is the Certified Angus Beef (CAB) Brand. It's a USDA certified product. Most of the beef you see in the supermarket with "Angus" on them isn't USDA certified, they're using the name for marketing purposes.
When Angus cattle first came to the US, they were considered an oddity because they didn't have horns. But when feeders saw how well they gained, they became more popular. Plus they've always had a reputation for quality carcass (marbling). Are you familiar with EPDs? Most breeds these days have EPDs that will help to identify which animals in the breed will give you the most marbling.
Will your black steer taste better than the red one? Depends on their genetic make up and management. Let us know.
There are several Hereford people posting here that can probably address why they fell out of favor. I'm an Angus breeder, but IMO, the Hereford people spent a lot of money fighting between Polled and Horned instead of promoting the breed. They were late starting their branded beef program (CHB). They chase the show ring too much and don't pay enough attention convenience traits (calving ease, udders). Some influencial breeders charge too much for AI certificates, thus cutting down the uI
think stressing the Hereford breed's feed efficiency reputation is a goodse of AI in the breed. move for the Association, if it's not too late.