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Beef Value Cuts Program Uncovers Hidden Gems
Back in the 1990s, a checkoff-funded muscle profiling study was launched with the goal of understanding more about low-value primals. Meat scientists – Dr. Chris Calkins of the University of Nebraska and Dr. Dwain Johnson of the University of Florida led the study, where they examined several muscles of the beef carcass. As a result, a surprising number of under-utilized muscles from the beef chuck were identified as having potential value. It was also discovered that many cuts from the shoulder clod, a section of the chuck, were comparable in tenderness and taste to cuts from the rib and loin. These findings left many yearning for further exploration; therefore, a checkoff-funded program known as Beef Value Cuts (BVC) launched with the goal of further discovering these hidden gems of the chuck.
Of the top ten most tender beef muscles, it may come as a surprise that five are under-utilized muscles buried in the beef chuck. The chuck contains over 15 muscles; however, the challenge that the BVC program faced was singling out the tender muscles from the tougher, less desirable muscles. The chuck was traditionally kept together, which often resulted in a chewy eating experience. While the chuck accounts for approximately 30% of beef product sales, it was typically processed for ground beef or roasts, as there wasn’t an efficient method for fabricating the individual muscles. With the implementation of BVC and after several years of research, new cutting techniques have been developed to separate the muscles of the chuck in order to more easily get to these diamonds in the rough.
Over the last decade, several new cuts from the shoulder clod and chuck roll have been successfully introduced to the industry. Phase 1 of BVC focused  on the shoulder clod. Cuts from the shoulder clod included the Flat Iron Steak, Petite Tender and Ranch Steak. In 2003, only 321 stores were participating in BVC. By 2007, that number had jumped to over 9,900 stores. The cuts are also menued in over 20,000 restaurants across the U.S. The program has clearly taken off, and the results have been favorable. Below is a chart recapping the 2008 foodservice volume of the three clod cuts in comparison to the Porterhouse and T-bone, as reported by Technomic Inc.
2008 Foodservice Volume
Flat Iron – 83 million lbs.
Petite Tender – 42 million lbs.
Ranch Steak – 36 million lbs.
Porterhouse – 25 million lbs.
T-bone – 51 million lbs
Phase 2 of the BVC program focused on the chuck roll. In 2008, five new cuts were introduced to the industry – America’s Beef Roast, Boneless Country-Style Ribs, Delmonico Steak, Denver Cut and Sierra Cut.
  
America's Beef Roast Boneless Country-Style Ribs Delmonico Steak
 
Denver Steak Sierra Cut
“The initial wave of Value Cuts took 10 years before we started to see
some traction out in the country, and the encouraging part is that
there’s a lot more work to fabricating a shoulder clod than a chuck
roll” says Jim Ethridge, Director, Beef Innovations Group. “Plus, we’ve
already laid out the groundwork for implementing new cutting methods
with our earlier work on the shoulder clod. As a result, we are now
starting to see exciting applications for these cuts in the
marketplace.” NCBA is now working on Phase 3 of BVC, which consists of
discovering hidden gems in the round.
BVC has proven to be an effective program. It is a win-win situation in that the industry is taking advantage of these cuts that have traditionally been difficult to locate, and the consumers are responding favorably to these tasty and tender new cuts. Cutting guides for all of the chuck cuts can be found on beefinnovationsgroup.com. To download the cutting guides, visit the site or select a cut below. For more information on BVC, please contact Jim Ethridge at jethridge@beef.org.
Select a Cutting Guide:
Flat Iron
Petite Tender
Ranch Steak
America’s Beef Roast
Boneless Country-Style Ribs
Delmonico Steak
Denver Cut
Sierra Cut
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