Innovative Carcass Fabrication to Create New Product
PHOENIX, Ariz. (Jan. 28, 2009) — The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) group of culinary chefs, meat scientists and marketers will do whatever it takes to ensure producers are getting their dollar’s worth. During the NCBA Cattlemen’s College Wednesday, Jan. 28, cattle producers and industry guests viewed a culinary demonstration of how to develop new ways to create value while enhancing consumer demand.
Jim Ethridge of the Beef Innovations Group and Bridgette Wasser, NCBA meat scientist, showed off new cuts available from the chuck, which represents 30% of the total beef carcass.
“By creating more steak options from the chuck roll that are [priced] between the high-end cuts and ground beef, we can single out that ‘diamond in the rough’ that will create more options for the consumer,” Wasser said.
The second-most tender muscle in the beef carcass is from the chuck and used to get “chucked.” By managing the connective tissue, NCBA has developed cuts that are similar to traditional cuts, creating the best value for the slab of beef.
“Cattle-Fax says that $50 to $70 per head since 1998 had been added to the total beef carcass value from shoulder clod cuts alone,” Wasser said. “Now we have to get to business and show them (retailers and foodservice) that we have a source for all the different parts of the chuck.”
When NCBA developed new cuts from the round, the timeline from conception to retail and foodservice took about 10 years. However, with that effort to build upon, getting the chuck cuts to the public may not be such a difficult task.
“Tech work started in 2006-2007,” Ethridge said. “We then took those ideas to the industry,” meetings with chefs, meeting with retailers, inviting them to visit the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), and conducting in-home tests.
Throughout the demonstration, producers raised questions that both speakers said they would take back to their team members. National recognition of products from the chuck roll is still in development stages. However, some retail markets are getting the cuts in their stores today. For cooking tips and additional information visit www.beefinnovationsgroup.com.
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