육류 품질 등급 가이드

육류 품질 이해하기

육류 품질은 마블링, 색상, 육질, 지방 품질 등 주요 시각적 특성을 평가하여 결정됩니다. USDA는 이러한 요소를 기반으로 육류를 품질 등급으로 분류하는 기준을 수립했습니다.

이러한 품질 지표를 이해하면 정육점, 셰프, 소비자가 용도에 맞는 적절한 부위를 선택하는 데 도움이 됩니다.

Anatomy

Primal, sub-primal, retail cut

A beef carcass is divided into nine large primals. Each primal does a different job for the animal, which is why a flank steak eats nothing like a ribeye even though they both come off the same cow. Primals get broken down into sub-primals at the wholesale stage, and sub-primals are portioned into the retail cuts you see in the case.

Where a cut sits on the carcass tells you almost everything about how it eats. Muscles that did less work, like the rib and short loin, marble heavily and stay tender. Muscles that did more work, like the chuck and round, build connective tissue and reward slow cooking with deep, beefy flavor.

Names change by region. A ribeye is a scotch fillet in Australia, a cube roll in trade, an entrecôte in France, and ojo de bife in Argentina. Same anatomy, different label.