Why Is Marbling Desirable In Meat

Also called intramuscular fat marbling adds flavor and is one of the main criteria for judging the quality of cuts of meat.

Why is marbling desirable in meat.

Marbling keeps the meat moist during cooking so natural juices don t evaporate in the pan. Choice has less marbling than prime and select has the least marbling of all. The presence and type of marbling in meat is important for several reasons. The result is a far tastier steak.

Looking at the upward trend in marbling expected progeny differences epds it s clear genetic selection is effective. Steaks and other cuts of meat with a lot of marbling mostly come from the loin region of the animal. Firmness of muscle is desirable as is proper color and texture. Desirable ribeyes will exhibit an adequate amount of finely dispersed marbling in a firm fine textured bright cherry red colored lean.

This produces a rich buttery texture and enhances the bold beefy flavor of the meat. In fact the temperature at which marbling melts is not far above room temperature. In general the more marbling it contains the better a cut of meat is. When cooking marbling adds flavor and juiciness as the fat melts into the steak.

Heritability is the part of the variance in an observed trait after allowing for environmental factors. Excess calories from the cow s diet get stored here in the form of fat. Producers selecting for quality may already know marbling is moderately to highly heritable averaging near 45. Marbling melts while the meat cooks carrying flavor throughout the meat and while keeping it tender and juicy.

Marbling is so named because the streaks of fat resemble a marble pattern. As the meat cooks the fat melts. Prime beef has the most marbling interspersed throughout the lean meat. As an animal matures the characteristics of muscle change and muscle color becomes darker and muscle texture becomes coarser.

Because marbling is added fat between the muscle not the kind that you cut off the edge it impacts your steak s juicy flavors. This is on the back of the animal where the muscles get very little exercise in comparison to the legs shoulders and rump. Marbling is important to steak because it adds flavor the right kind of flavor juiciness as it melts into the steak when cooking and tenderness because the fat is much more tender than the muscle fiber in the steak. The marbling keeps the meat moist so natural juices don t evaporate in the pan.

Marbling is what gives good beef its desirable silky texture. When cooked hot enough usually upwards of 130 f the marbling in steak begins to melt and coat the muscle fibers surrounding it.