TENNESSEE 4-H MEAT

JUDGING

PRESENTATION

Gary T. Rodgers

Extension Agent II

Hardeman County

TENNESSEE 4-H MEAT JUDGING

ACTIVITY GUIDELINES

• The 4-H Meat Identification & Judging Contest consists of learning the retail cuts of beef, pork and lamb, as well as variety meats: brains, heart, kidneys, liver, oxtail, tongue, tripe.

• The national ID list is all inclusive(129 cuts).

TENNESSEE 4-H MEAT JUDGING

ACTIVITY GUIDELINES

• Contest Format- State Level The Tennessee 4-H Meat Judging Contest consists of the following classes:

• Retail Cut Identification: 25-30 retail cut (depending on availability); Senior high teams will identify specie, primal (wholesale) cut, retail cut name, type of cut and cookery method. Currently Tennessee 4-H is using the older version of the scorecard which can be found here. You can download a copy of the newest version of the ID card from the American Meat science Association website (www.meatscience.org).

• Primal (Wholesale) Cut Judging: 2 classes selected from Beef Ribs, Beef Short Loins, Pork Fresh Hams or Pork Center Cut Loins

• Retail Cut Judging: 2-3 classes selected from Beef Rib Steak, Small End (Bone-in or Boneless), Beef T-Bone or Porterhouse Steaks, Pork Loin Chops, Pork Loin Rib Chops, Pork Ham Smoked Center Slice or Lamb Leg Sirloin Chops. Note that some cuts have similar terminology to each other (Beef T-Bone & Pork Loin Chop) and to the primal cut judging.

• Questions and Oral Reasons: Senior high teams will give 1 set of oral reasons on a designated judging class and answer questions on 3-4 classes.

TENNESSEE 4-H MEAT JUDGING

ACTIVITY GUIDELINES

• Contest Format- Regional Level The Tennessee 4-H Meat Judging Contest consists of the following classes:

• Retail Cut Identification: 25-30 retail cuts presented via Powerpoint presentation; Senior high teams will identify specie, primal (wholesale) cut, retail cut name, type of cut and cookery method. Junior High teams may only be asked to identify only specie, primal(wholesale)cut, retail cut name and type of cut. Currently Tennessee 4-H is using the 2003 version of the scorecard which can be found here. You can download a copy of the newest version of the ID card from the American Meat science Association website (www.meatscience.org).

• Retail Cut Judging: 2 classes selected from Beef Rib Steak, Small End (Bone-in or Boneless), Beef T-Bone or Porterhouse Steaks, Pork Loin Chops, Pork Loin Rib Chops, Pork Ham Smoked Center Slice or Lamb Leg Sirloin Chops. These classes will also be presented via Powerpoint presentation. Notice that some cuts have similar terminology to each other (Beef T-Bone & Pork Loin Chop).

• Questions: Both Junior High and Senior high teams will be asked five(5) questions on each judging class.

1. B H 27 St D

This is the Retail Identification

Scorecard.

This is how it is filled out for a

Porterhouse Steak.

Cut

No.

Species

1 pt.

Primal

Cut

3 pts.

Retail

Name

4 pts.

Type

1 pt.

Cookery

Method

1 pt.

“How do I determine

what cut it is?”

• Distinguishing between species can be accomplished by looking at several things:

• Color of lean – Beef is usually a bright, cherry-red color. Color varies from light, bright red to

a dark red. Pork lean varies from greyish-pink to greyish-red, while lamb cuts vary from a light, reddish-pink to a brick red.

• Type of fat – Beef fat is usually firm and white, cream-white, or possibly slightly yellow in

color. Pork fat tends to be white and greasy, while lamb fat is often brittle and chalk-white in appearance.

• Size of cut – Beef cuts are large in size, while the same cuts from pork and lamb are usually

half the size of beef. Lamb tends to produce the smallest cuts.

Courtesy of Texas A & M University

“How do I determine

what cut it is?”

• Bone structure

– This can sometimes be the easiest way to identify a cut. Many cuts are named by the bones contained in the cuts, and they indicate where the cuts originated from on the carcass. The shape of bones is similar in all three species, with the size of each bone varying with both age and species.

• Muscle structure

– This can also help identify a cut. For this reason, it can be very useful to understand muscle structure and how the shape of muscles differ in various cuts. Studying retail cut charts is often helpful to becoming familiar with muscle structure.

Courtesy of Texas A & M University

Bone Examples

Beef Chuck Arm Roast

Pork Shoulder Arm

Steak

Lamb Shoulder Arm

Chop

Bone Examples

Beef Chuck 7-Bone Roast Pork Loin Blade Chop Lamb Shoulder Blade Chop

Bone Examples

Beef Rib Steak Small End Lamb Rib Chop Pork Loin Rib Chop

Bone Examples

Beef Loin T-bone Steak Pork Loin Chop Lamb Loin Chop

Bone Examples

Pork Loin Sirloin Chop Lamb Leg Sirloin Chop

Bone Examples

Pork Spareribs Lamb Breast Riblets

Introduction to Wholesale Cuts and

Overview of Retail Cuts

Wholesale Beef Cuts

Beef Retail Cuts

Pork Wholesale Cuts

Shoulder

Side(Belly)

Pork Retail Cuts

Lamb Wholesale Cuts

Rib

French Leg

Lamb Retail Cuts

Square cut

shoulder

• Credit for the photos used in the Retail

Identification portion of this presentation goes

to:

– Texas AgriLife Extension Service and the

AggieMeat website (aggiemeat.tamu.edu)

– University of Nebraska Meat Identification Page

– Meat Identification PB1056. S. K. Winfree. The

University of Tennessee Agricultural Extension

Service.

TENNESSEE 4-H MEAT JUDGING

ACTIVITY GUIDELINES

Additional Resources

• Texas A & M Meat Science Department http://meat.tamu.edu/extension.html

– Has judging classes as well as retail ID practice

– Note that some of the retail ID cuts may not be included in the Tennessee 4-H list.

• American Meat Science Association – 4-H Meat Judging

– Has information on National 4-H Contests

– Has links to several very good resources

What’s Next?

• Hopefully this gives you some idea of what to

expect as you begin preparations for a 4-H

Meats Judging Contest.

• The next lesson will begin to cover the Beef

Retail ID Cuts.