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Removing Excess Subcutaneous and Internal Fat from Beef Carcasses before Chilling¹

Texas Agricultural Experiment Station and Texas A&M University, College Station 77843

Abstract

Steers (n = 52) and heifers (n = 51) were selected randomly from several days' slaughter at a major packing plant. One side of each carcass was trimmed of 1) s.c. fat in excess of .64 cm, 2) all trimmable kidney, pelvic and heart fat and 3) all cod or udder fat in the flank region. Hot fat trim was calculated as a percentage of hot carcass weight. A subsample of carcasses (n = 20) was fabricated into primal and subprimal cuts. Major subprimal yields, fat trim in excess of .64 cm (fat that should have been removed hot; used to adjust the data on percentage hot fat trim for the entire study), and fat trim from the fabrication process (s.c. fat and seam fat exposed during fabrication) were calculated for each of the 20 carcasses. Accounting for the additional s.c. fat removed during fabrication that needed to be removed hot, the percentage adjusted hot fat trim from carcasses of different yield grades and sex classes was as follows: yield grade 1.0 = 5.48% for steers and 6.82% for heifers, 1.5 = 6.75% for steers and 8.09% for heifers, 2.0 = 8.03% for steers and 9.37% for heifers, 2.5 = 9.30% for steers and 10.64% for heifers, 3.0 = 10.57% for steers and 11.91% for heifers, 3.5 = 11.85% for steers and 13.19% for heifers, 4.0 = 13.12% for steers and 14.46% for heifers, and 4.5 = 14.40% for steers and 15.74% for heifers.

¹ Technical Article 23487 from the Texas Agric. Exp. Sta. This study was funded partially by the National Cattlemen's Foundation, Englewood, CO with support from the Colorado Beef Board, the Nebraska Beef Industry Development Board, the Oklahoma Beef Commission and the American Meat Institute, Washington, DC. Appreciation is extended to the Meat Standardization and Review Branch, USDA, Washington, DC for its assistance in this project.

² Meats and Muscle Biol. Sect., Dept. of Anim. Sci.

³ Dept. of Anim. and Dairy Sci., Livest. and Poult. Bldg., Univ. of Georgia, Athens 30602.

⁴ U.S. Meat Export Federation, 600 South Cherry Suite 1000, Denver, CO 80222-1716.