The Prime rib you get at the vast majority of restaurants is not USDA prime, most of it is is choice or less but they call it prime rib. As far as I know the only grocery around here that sells USDA prime is fresh market but there may be others

That's because fat or marbling contributes so much to taste.

To earn the Certified Angus Beef ® brand name, cattle must first be Angus-influenced, with a predominantly black coat. Then, beef must pass 10 exacting specifications:

Marbling and Maturity

1. Modest or higher marbling – for the taste that ensures customer satisfaction

2. Medium or fine marbling texture – the white "flecks of flavor" in the beef that ensure consistent flavor and juiciness in every bite

3. Only the youngest classification of product qualifies as "A" maturity – for superior color, texture and tenderness
Consistent Sizing

4. 10- to 16-square-inch ribeye area

5. 1,050-pound hot carcass weight or less

6. Less than 1-inch fat thickness
Quality Appearance and Tenderness

7. Superior muscling (restricts influence of dairy cattle)

8. Practically free of capillary ruptures (ensures the most visually appealing steak)

9. No dark cutters (ensures the most visually appealing steak)

10. No neck hump exceeding 2 inches (safeguards against cattle with more variability in tenderness)


BEEF GRADES:
Prime
Choice
Select
Standard (used to be called "No Roll" as no grade stamp was rolled onto the carcass
Commercial

As you can see, Angus is not a grade. Most packers like IBP, (Iowa Beef Packers) use the CAB Certification first, and then use the top 1/3 of the days choice kill.

Certified Angus Beef has no direct relation to USDA Beef Grading,

"The Certified Angus Beef (CAB) brand is a trademarked brand designed to market quality beef. To wear the CAB logo, the carcass is supposed to pass 10 quality control standards and CAB must be either USDA Prime or one of the two upper sublevels of USDA Choice. Most of it is USDA Choice. CAB costs a bit more because the American Angus Association charges a fee to "certify" the cattle and higher markups take place on down the line.

Interestingly, CAB does not actually certify that the beef labeled Certified Angus Beef is from the highly regarded Angus breed. Their major control is that the cattle must have a black hide, which is a genetic indicator that there are Angus genes in the cattle, but not a guarantee."

Correct - it is a scam to fool purchasers into thinking Angus is a USDA grade. Thanks for pointing this out.


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