Marbling In Meat Science

Graders evaluate the amount and distribution of marbling in the ribeye muscle at the cut surface after the carcass has been ribbed between the 12th and 13th ribs.

Marbling in meat science.

College station beef with reasonable marbling and juicy taste is preferred among consumers and industry leaders continue to monitor how to consistently produce a product with these traits. Marbling intramuscular fat is the intermingling or dispersion of fat within the lean. Marbling puts the bling in your beef. Degree of marbling is the primary determination of quality grade.

The fat in lean muscle creates a marble pattern hence the name. Marbling is defined as the intermingling intramuscular fat and dispersion of fat within the lean meat von seggern calkins johnson brickler gwartney 2005. It is streaks of unsaturated healthy fats within the lean muscle fibers of a cut of meat. Meat marbling and the imf content are strongly related.

Marbling simply refers to the fat found within a cut of meat and between the muscle fibers themselves. This results in commercial feedlots forcefeeding grain pellets to fatten the cows faster while keeping them confined to small pens so they don t exert energy or work their muscles. The science of bbq marbling skip to main content. The fat should be pure.

Marbling represents a single structure rather than being isolated flecks of fat. The usda grading system rewards marbling above all else so the eight grades that a cut could receive will prize a heavily marbled cut of meat regardless of the history or flavor. Marbling is the white flecks of intramuscular fat in meat most notably red meat. A recent research article addresses the biology and biochemistry of beef marbling and its effects on production systems carcass and fat quality.

The pattern created by this marbling resembles marble like on your countertop. A high quality steak will have a lot of marbling while a lean cut will have very little or no visible marbling.