Marbling Score In Beef Cattle

Certain breeds have higher marbling scores on average due to the way they metabolize food.

Marbling score in beef cattle.

These cattle were fed to age constant average basis of 457 d and the means for carcass weight fat thickness and marbling score are presented in table 1. Marbling fat develops at a young age in beef cattle. Non creep fed calves non creep fed creep fed marbling score 318 348. Marble score descriptions marble score 3 and 4.

Marbling was significantly higher for purebred angus than purebred hereford steers and the angus steers were also fatter. Like i said earlier some breeds are more inclined to marbling than others. Feeding higher energy feeds to young calves will help increase the amount of marbling. Dairy breeds such as jersey holstein friesian and braunvieh stand out as well.

Marble score or grades are a component of the aus meat beef quality grading system and is assessed within the ribeye muscle. Cattle breeds such as angus murray grey herefords shorthorns japanese wagyu and kobe are all high quality breeds. It has slightly abundant marbling the amount of fat interspersed with lean meat and is generally sold in upscale. These factors include carcass maturity firmness texture and color of lean and the amount and distribution of marbling within the lean.

Marbling score score bulls 343 18 0 20a 56 74 0 03a 3 08 0 01 heifers 336 64 0 37b 55 57 0 06b 3 07 0 01 table 3 regression coefficient estimates of slaughter age and slaughter weight on carcass weight dressing percent and marbling score of crossbred fattened beef cattle traits slaughter age year p value slaughter weight kg. Prime beef is produced from young well fed beef cattle. Feed and finishing may also impact marbling with grass finished cattle offering a leaner beefier flavor whereas grain finished beef are much milder. A quality grade is a composite evaluation of factors that affect palatability of meat tenderness juiciness and flavor.

The following factors affect marbling in beef. In addition to the quantity of marbling the distribution and texture of visible fat flecks within the ribeye are also considered during assessment of marbling score. Wagyu beef for example can be extremely marbled due to its genetics so much so that it s prized for that marbling. Creep feeding is the easiest way to do this as shown by research from the university of georgia.

As the cattle make fat the feed efficiency goes down and for consumers we trim off all the excess fat. Marbling scores of creep vs.